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

Retz, 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 Retz surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Retz in America

Retz is the 34539th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Retz surname appeared 655 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 Retz.

We can also compare 2010 data for Retz 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 Retz

The surname RETZ is of German origin, with its earliest records dating back to the 14th century. It is believed to have originated from the German word "Retz," which means "reed" or "rush," referring to a person who lived near a marshy area or a place where reeds grew abundantly.

RETZ is thought to have originated in the region of Saxony, Germany, where the first recorded instances of the name can be found. In the 15th century, a record from the town of Leipzig mentions a Johann RETZ, a merchant who traded in reeds and other materials used for thatching roofs.

As the surname spread throughout Germany, variations in spelling emerged, including Retz, Retze, and Retzsch. These variations were often influenced by local dialects and scribal errors in record-keeping.

In the 16th century, the name RETZ appears in the Palatinate region of Germany, where a notable figure named Hans RETZ (1480-1551) was a prominent Protestant reformer and close associate of Martin Luther.

Another notable bearer of the RETZ surname was Johann Friedrich RETZ (1723-1795), a German composer and music theorist who made significant contributions to the development of music education in Germany.

The surname RETZ also found its way to Austria, where a notable figure was Count Philipp Joseph von RETZ (1654-1719), a member of the Austrian nobility and a diplomat who served as the Austrian ambassador to Spain.

In the 18th century, a branch of the RETZ family migrated to the United States, where one of the earliest recorded instances of the name is that of Johann RETZ (1725-1798), a German immigrant who settled in Pennsylvania and became a prominent farmer and landowner.

Throughout the 19th century, the RETZ surname continued to be prevalent in various parts of Germany, Austria, and the United States, with notable figures including Karl RETZ (1811-1892), a German painter and lithographer, and Friedrich RETZ (1835-1910), a German architect who designed several prominent buildings in Berlin.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Retz

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

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

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

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