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

Kurtzweil, 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 Kurtzweil surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kurtzweil in America

Kurtzweil is the 73005th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kurtzweil surname appeared 266 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Kurtzweil.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kurtzweil 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 Kurtzweil

The surname Kurtzweil has its origins in Germany, tracing back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the German words "kurz," meaning short, and "weil," referring to a meadow or pasture. This combination suggests that the name may have initially been a descriptive term for someone who resided in a short meadow or pasture.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kurtzweil can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of historical documents from Saxony, dated around the 13th century. This indicates that the name was already in use during the Middle Ages in the region that is now modern-day Germany.

In the 15th century, the name Kurtzweil appeared in various municipal records and tax rolls in the German states of Bavaria and Saxony. For instance, a Johannes Kurtzweil was mentioned in a land registry document from the town of Nuremberg in 1487.

Notable individuals with the surname Kurtzweil include Hans Kurtzweil (1535-1602), a German theologian and author known for his works on Protestant theology, and Johann Kurtzweil (1618-1690), a German composer and organist who served as the Kapellmeister (music director) at the court of Saxe-Weimar.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Kurtzweil name was also found in various regions of what is now modern-day Austria. One notable example is Johann Georg Kurtzweil (1732-1801), an Austrian painter and engraver who specialized in portrait and landscape art.

In the 19th century, the surname Kurtzweil gained prominence with the birth of Karl Kurtzweil (1836-1901), a German entrepreneur and industrialist who founded the Kurtzweil Brewing Company, one of the largest breweries in Bavaria at the time.

Another significant figure was Hugo Kurtzweil (1871-1944), a German architect and urban planner who played a crucial role in the development of several German cities, including Berlin and Frankfurt.

Throughout its history, the Kurtzweil surname has had various spellings and regional variations, such as Kurtzweil, Kurtzwyl, Kurtzweyl, and Kurtzweil. However, the core meaning and origin of the name have remained consistent, reflecting its roots in the German language and the descriptive nature of its etymology.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kurtzweil

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

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

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

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