2000
#9,744
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,061
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.13
Rare Last name
Schantz
A German occupational surname referring to someone who worked as a cup-bearer or wine server.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,355 Americans carry the last name Schantz. That puts it at #10,473 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.98 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 102,162 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Schantz 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
3.4K
1 in 102,162
Census rank
#10,473
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,926 bearers of the surname Schantz in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.98 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10473rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Schantz, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Schantz
The surname SCHANTZ is of German origin, originating in the late medieval period around the 14th or 15th century. It is derived from the German word "Schanze," which means a fortification or rampart. This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who lived near or worked on a defensive structure such as a fort, castle, or town wall.
The earliest recorded instances of the name SCHANTZ can be traced back to various regions of Germany, including Bavaria, Saxony, and the Rhineland. Some of the earliest known bearers of the name include Hans Schantz, a soldier from Nuremberg mentioned in records from 1439, and Ulrich Schantz, a landowner from the town of Freiburg im Breisgau, whose name appears in a land registry from 1498.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the SCHANTZ name began to spread beyond Germany as families emigrated to other parts of Europe and the New World. One notable bearer of the name was Johann Schantz, a German-born artist and engraver who lived in the Netherlands from 1590 to 1638.
In the United States, the SCHANTZ name can be traced back to the 18th century, when German immigrants began arriving in significant numbers. One of the earliest recorded instances is that of Johann Michael Schantz, who was born in Germany in 1726 and later settled in Pennsylvania.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the SCHANTZ surname. These include Johann Konrad Schantz (1725-1789), a German theologian and writer; Friedrich Schantz (1788-1865), a German-born painter and educator who worked in Russia; and Johann Baptist Schantz (1835-1892), a German architect and builder who designed numerous churches and other structures in the Rhineland region.
Other noteworthy individuals with the SCHANTZ surname include Theodor Schantz (1858-1933), a German-American architect who designed several notable buildings in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Wilhelm Schantz (1837-1919), a German-born businessman and politician who served as the Mayor of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, in the late 19th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Schantz
Among Census respondents with the surname Schantz, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Schantz 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 Schantz surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.1% · 2,753
- Two or more races2.9% · 84
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 62
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 14
- Black or African American0.4% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Schantz
Schantz 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
#9,949
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,245
+184 bearers (+6.0%)
Per 100,000 1.10
Rank movement Down 205 places
2020
#10,473
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,926
-319 bearers (-9.8%)
Per 100,000 0.98
Rank movement Down 524 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,744 | 3,061 | 1.13 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,949 | 3,245 | 1.10 | +184 bearers (+6.0%) | Down 205 places |
| 2020 | #10,473 | 2,926 | 0.98 | -319 bearers (-9.8%) | Down 524 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 Schantz 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 | #9,949 | #10,473 | -5.3% |
| Count | 3,245 | 2,926 | -9.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.10 | 0.98 | -11.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Schantz bearers went from 3,245 to 2,926 (-9.8% change). The surname moved down 524 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,949 to #10,473.
FAQ
Schantz surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Schantz?
Name Census estimates that about 3,355 living Americans carry the surname Schantz. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 102,162 residents.
How common is Schantz?
Schantz ranks #10,473 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.98 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,926 people with the surname Schantz. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,355), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.98 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.98 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Schantz.
Has Schantz become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Schantz went from 3,245 recorded bearers to 2,926. That is a decrease of 319 (-9.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,949 to #10,473.
What does the Census say about the background of Schantz?
Among Census respondents with the surname Schantz, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.1%). 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 Schantz in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.1% (2,753 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Schantz appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.1%), Two or More Races (2.9%), Hispanic (2.1%). 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 Schantz (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 Schantz mean?
A German occupational surname referring to someone who worked as a cup-bearer or wine server. 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 Schantz (0.98 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 are called Schantz?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Schantz, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.