2000
#5,293
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,055
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.24
Rare Last name
Krantz
A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of wreaths or garlands.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,769 Americans carry the last name Krantz. That puts it at #5,664 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.97 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 50,636 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Krantz 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
6.8K
1 in 50,636
Census rank
#5,664
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,903 bearers of the surname Krantz in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.97 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5664th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Krantz, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis, a collection of historical documents from the Margraviate of Brandenburg, which mentions a certain Heinrich Krantz in 1287.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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Krantz
Among Census respondents with the surname Krantz, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Krantz 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 Krantz surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.6% · 5,464
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 198
- Two or more races2.6% · 156
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 40
- Black or African American0.5% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 17
Timeline
Historical Census data for Krantz
Krantz appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#5,408
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,436
+381 bearers (+6.3%)
Per 100,000 2.18
Rank movement Down 115 places
2020
#5,664
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,903
-533 bearers (-8.3%)
Per 100,000 1.97
Rank movement Down 256 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,293 | 6,055 | 2.24 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,408 | 6,436 | 2.18 | +381 bearers (+6.3%) | Down 115 places |
| 2020 | #5,664 | 5,903 | 1.97 | -533 bearers (-8.3%) | Down 256 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 Krantz 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 | #5,408 | #5,664 | -4.7% |
| Count | 6,436 | 5,903 | -8.3% |
| Per 100K | 2.18 | 1.97 | -9.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Krantz bearers went from 6,436 to 5,903 (-8.3% change). The surname moved down 256 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,408 to #5,664.
FAQ
Krantz surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Krantz?
Name Census estimates that about 6,769 living Americans carry the surname Krantz. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 50,636 residents.
How common is Krantz?
Krantz ranks #5,664 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.97 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,903 people with the surname Krantz. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,769), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.97 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.97 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Krantz.
Has Krantz become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Krantz went from 6,436 recorded bearers to 5,903. That is a decrease of 533 (-8.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,408 to #5,664.
What does the Census say about the background of Krantz?
Among Census respondents with the surname Krantz, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Krantz in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.6% (5,464 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Krantz appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.6%), Hispanic (3.4%), Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Krantz (2000, 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 Krantz mean?
A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of wreaths or garlands. 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 Krantz (1.97 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 share the surname Krantz?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.