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

Potratz, 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 Potratz surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Potratz in America

Potratz is the 24874th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Potratz surname appeared 1,000 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 Potratz.

We can also compare 2010 data for Potratz 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 Potratz

The surname Potratz is of German origin and is believed to have originated in the northern regions of Germany, particularly in the areas around Pomerania and East Prussia. The name is thought to derive from the Old Prussian word "potratis," which means "to support" or "to prop up."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Potratz can be found in the Prussian Land Register, which dates back to the 14th century. The name is also mentioned in several other historical documents from the region, including the Prussian Chronicles written by the Teutonic Knights during the late Middle Ages.

In the 16th century, a notable figure bearing the name Potratz was Hans Potratz, a merchant and landowner from the town of Danzig (now Gdansk, Poland). He was known for his involvement in the Hanseatic League, a powerful economic and defensive alliance of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe.

During the 17th century, the Potratz family gained prominence in the region of East Prussia, where several members held positions of importance within the local government and military. One such individual was Friedrich Potratz (1628-1701), who served as a colonel in the Prussian Army and played a significant role in the Great Northern War against Sweden.

In the 19th century, a prominent figure with the surname Potratz was Karl Potratz (1815-1892), a German architect and builder who was responsible for the construction of several notable buildings in Berlin, including the Reichstag building, which housed the parliament of the German Empire.

Another notable figure was the German painter and printmaker Max Potratz (1874-1949), who was known for his landscapes and portraits. His works were exhibited in various galleries across Europe and are now part of several museum collections.

Throughout history, the name Potratz has been closely associated with the regions of Pomerania and East Prussia, and many individuals bearing this surname have made significant contributions in fields such as commerce, military, architecture, and art.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Potratz

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!