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

Mertz, 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 Mertz surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Mertz in America

Mertz is the 4521st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Mertz surname appeared 7,841 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Mertz.

We can also compare 2010 data for Mertz 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 Mertz

The surname Mertz has its origins in Germany, dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Germanic personal name "Mert," which is a shortened form of the name "Mertwin" or "Mertilo." This name is composed of the elements "marah," meaning "famous," and "win," meaning "friend."

The earliest recorded instances of the name Mertz can be found in various historical documents from medieval Germany. One notable reference is in the Codex Diplomaticus Anhaltinus, a collection of historical records from the Anhalt region, where a person named "Mertze" is mentioned in a document dated 1284.

In the 14th century, the name Mertz appeared in several town and village records across various regions of Germany. For instance, a "Johannes Mertze" is listed in the town records of Mainz in 1327, while a "Henne Mertz" is recorded in the village of Boppard in 1368.

As the name spread across Europe, it underwent various spelling variations, such as Merts, Mertz, Mertze, and Mertzke. These variations were often influenced by local dialects and regional pronunciation differences.

One notable figure bearing the surname Mertz was Johann Heinrich Mertz (1781-1858), a German composer and guitarist who made significant contributions to the development of the guitar repertoire in the 19th century.

Another prominent individual was Johann Peter Mertz (1856-1940), a German-American architect who designed several notable buildings in New York City, including the Hubert Home for Destitute Children and the Church of St. Gregory the Great.

In the realm of literature, the name Mertz is associated with Henri Frédéric Mertz (1830-1895), a Belgian writer and journalist who was known for his novels and short stories depicting life in Brussels.

The surname Mertz also has connections to the world of art. Emil Mertz (1892-1975) was a German-born American artist and educator who played a significant role in the development of the Abstract Expressionist movement in the United States.

Finally, it is worth mentioning Richard Mertz (1905-1993), an American mathematician and statistician who made notable contributions to the field of probability theory and statistical inference.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Mertz

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

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

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

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