2000
#4,209
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,805
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.89
Rare Last name
Mertz
Derived from a German personal name, a pet form of Meinhard, composed of elements meaning "strong" and "brave."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,691 Americans carry the last name Mertz. That puts it at #4,546 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.54 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 39,438 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mertz 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
8.7K
1 in 39,438
Census rank
#4,546
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,579 bearers of the surname Mertz in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.54 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4546th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mertz, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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The earliest recorded instances of the name Mertz can be found in various historical documents from medieval Germany.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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mertz
Among Census respondents with the surname Mertz, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Mertz 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 Mertz surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.4% · 7,076
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 208
- Two or more races2.5% · 190
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 51
- Black or African American0.4% · 27
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 27
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mertz
Mertz 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
#4,521
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,841
+36 bearers (+0.5%)
Per 100,000 2.66
Rank movement Down 312 places
2020
#4,546
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,579
-262 bearers (-3.3%)
Per 100,000 2.54
Rank movement Down 25 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,209 | 7,805 | 2.89 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,521 | 7,841 | 2.66 | +36 bearers (+0.5%) | Down 312 places |
| 2020 | #4,546 | 7,579 | 2.54 | -262 bearers (-3.3%) | Down 25 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 Mertz 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 | #4,521 | #4,546 | -0.6% |
| Count | 7,841 | 7,579 | -3.3% |
| Per 100K | 2.66 | 2.54 | -4.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mertz bearers went from 7,841 to 7,579 (-3.3% change). The surname moved down 25 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,521 to #4,546.
FAQ
Mertz surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mertz?
Name Census estimates that about 8,691 living Americans carry the surname Mertz. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 39,438 residents.
How common is Mertz?
Mertz ranks #4,546 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.54 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,579 people with the surname Mertz. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,691), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.54 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.54 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Mertz.
Has Mertz become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mertz went from 7,841 recorded bearers to 7,579. That is a decrease of 262 (-3.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,521 to #4,546.
What does the Census say about the background of Mertz?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mertz, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Mertz in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.4% (7,076 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mertz appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.4%), Hispanic (2.7%), Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Mertz (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 Mertz mean?
Derived from a German personal name, a pet form of Meinhard, composed of elements meaning "strong" and "brave." 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 Mertz (2.54 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 have the surname Mertz?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.