Find out how popular the last name Krantz is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Krantz.

Krantz, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Krantz surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Krantz in America

Krantz is the 5408th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Krantz surname appeared 6,436 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Krantz.

We can also compare 2010 data for Krantz to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Krantz

The surname Krantz is believed to have originated in Germany, with its earliest known records dating back to the 13th century. It is derived from the German word "Kranz," which means "wreath" or "garland," suggesting that the name may have been given to someone who lived near a wreath-shaped landform or was a wreath-maker by trade.

The name Krantz can be traced back to various regions in Germany, including Bavaria, Saxony, and Brandenburg. It was commonly found in medieval German documents, such as parish records and tax rolls. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis, a collection of historical documents from the Margraviate of Brandenburg, which mentions a certain Heinrich Krantz in 1287.

During the Middle Ages, the name Krantz appeared in various spellings, such as Krantz, Crantz, Krantze, and Kranz, reflecting regional variations and scribal practices. It was also occasionally associated with place names, such as Kranzberg or Kranzfelde, indicating that some families may have taken their surnames from the locations where they lived or held land.

One notable figure bearing the Krantz surname was Albert Krantz (c. 1448-1517), a German historian and theologian from Hamburg. He is best known for his work "Saxonia," which chronicled the history of Saxony and the surrounding regions. Another prominent individual was Johann Hieronymus Krantz (1610-1672), a German jurist and historian from Kempten im Allgäu, who wrote extensively on the legal systems of the Holy Roman Empire.

In the 16th century, the name Krantz can be found in records from the Hanseatic League, a powerful commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Northern Europe. This suggests that some Krantz families may have been involved in trade and commerce during this period.

Other notable individuals with the Krantz surname include Johann Philipp Krantz (1639-1699), a German composer and organist from Nuremberg, and Johann Baptist Krantz (1756-1835), a German-American Catholic priest who served as the first Bishop of Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Throughout its history, the surname Krantz has maintained a strong presence in various German-speaking regions, as well as in areas where German immigrants settled, such as the United States and other parts of the world.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Krantz

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Krantz.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Krantz was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Krantz has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Krantz was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Krantz, please contact us.

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