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

Kurth, 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 Kurth surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kurth in America

Kurth is the 6813th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kurth surname appeared 4,951 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 Kurth.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kurth 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 Kurth

The surname Kurth has its origins in the German language and can be traced back to the 12th century. It is believed to have originated in the region of Saxony, which was a powerful state within the Holy Roman Empire. The name is derived from the Old German word "kurt," which means "short" or "small."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kurth can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of historical documents from Saxony, dated around 1180. This document mentions a person named "Conradus Kurth," indicating that the name was in use during that time period.

In the 13th century, the Kurth surname appeared in various records and manuscripts throughout the German-speaking regions of Europe. For example, a document from the city of Mainz in 1245 references a "Johannes Kurth," who was likely a prominent citizen or landowner.

The name Kurth has also been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest examples is Johannes Kurth, a German theologian and writer who lived from 1491 to 1568. He was known for his writings on the Protestant Reformation and his involvement in the religious debates of his time.

Another notable figure with the surname Kurth was Gottlob Kurth, a German historian and educator who lived from 1763 to 1832. He served as the director of the prestigious Gymnasium in Zittau, Saxony, and was renowned for his contributions to the study of history and classical literature.

In the 19th century, the name Kurth gained prominence through the work of Gottfried Kurth, a German-American architect and civil engineer who lived from 1845 to 1914. He was instrumental in the design and construction of several notable buildings and infrastructure projects in the United States, including the original Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty.

Another significant bearer of the Kurth name was Ernst Kurth, a German musicologist and music theorist who lived from 1886 to 1946. He is best known for his groundbreaking work on the analysis of musical form and his contributions to the field of music theory.

In more recent times, the Kurth surname has been carried by individuals such as Jürgen Kurth, a German football player who played for several Bundesliga clubs in the 1970s and 1980s, and Helmut Kurth, a German politician and member of the Christian Democratic Union who served in the Bundestag from 1990 to 2009.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kurth

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

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 Kurth 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 Kurth 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 Kurth was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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