2010
#153,769
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Kautza
A surname of German origin, possibly derived from a place name or an occupational surname.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 116 Americans carry the last name Kautza. That puts it at #155,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,954,779 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kautza surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
116
1 in 2,954,779
Census rank
#155,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
101
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 101 bearers of the surname Kautza in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 155270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kautza, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kautza
The surname KAUTZA is believed to have originated in the region of Lusatia, a historical region that today encompasses parts of eastern Germany and western Poland. The name is thought to derive from the Sorbian language spoken by the Slavic inhabitants of Lusatia, though its precise etymology is uncertain.
One theory suggests that KAUTZA may have evolved from the Sorbian word "kóžuch," which refers to a type of sheepskin coat or cloak. It is possible that the name was initially a nickname or occupational surname for someone who made or wore such garments.
Another possibility is that KAUTZA is related to the Sorbian word "kóža," meaning "skin" or "hide," indicating that the surname may have originated as a reference to an occupation involving the tanning or working of animal hides.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname KAUTZA date back to the 16th century in Lusatia. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Hans Kautza, a landowner and farmer who was mentioned in a land registry from the village of Zoblitz (now Sobolecy, Poland) in 1542.
In the 17th century, the name appears in various records from the towns and villages of Lusatia, such as the baptismal register of the church in Lohsa (now Łaz, Poland), which lists the birth of Anna Kautza in 1627.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, as the Sorbian population of Lusatia faced increasing cultural and linguistic assimilation, many families with Sorbian surnames like KAUTZA migrated to other parts of Germany, as well as to neighboring countries like Poland, Czechia, and Austria.
Notable individuals with the surname KAUTZA throughout history include Johann Kautza (1822-1896), a Sorbian poet and activist who played a significant role in the Sorbian national revival movement, and Theodor Kautza (1867-1945), a German politician and member of the Reichstag during the Weimar Republic.
Other individuals bearing the KAUTZA surname include Friedrich Kautza (1891-1977), a German architect who designed several notable buildings in Berlin, and Gertraud Kautza (1921-2008), an Austrian singer and actress known for her performances in operettas and musicals.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kautza
Among Census respondents with the surname Kautza, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Kautza bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Kautza surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White99.0% · 100
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kautza
Kautza appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#155,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
-5 bearers (-4.7%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 1,501 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #153,769 | 106 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #155,270 | 101 | 0.03 | -5 bearers (-4.7%) | Down 1,501 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Kautza surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #153,769 | #155,270 | -1.0% |
| Count | 106 | 101 | -4.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -15.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kautza bearers went from 106 to 101 (-4.7% change). The surname moved down 1,501 positions in the national ranking, going from #153,769 to #155,270.
FAQ
Kautza surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kautza?
Name Census estimates that about 116 living Americans carry the surname Kautza. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,954,779 residents.
How common is Kautza?
Kautza ranks #155,270 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 101 people with the surname Kautza. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (116), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Kautza.
Has Kautza become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kautza went from 106 recorded bearers to 101. That is a decrease of 5 (-4.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #153,769 to #155,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Kautza?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kautza, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Kautza in the 2020 Census, accounting for 99.0% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kautza appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (99.0%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Kautza (2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Kautza mean?
A surname of German origin, possibly derived from a place name or an occupational surname. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Kautza (0.03 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Kautza?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.