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

Schmatz, 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 Schmatz surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Schmatz in America

Schmatz is the 92358th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Schmatz surname appeared 199 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 Schmatz.

We can also compare 2010 data for Schmatz 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 Schmatz

The surname SCHMATZ originated in the region of Bavaria, Germany in the late 15th century. It is believed to be derived from the German word "schmatz", which means a loud kiss or smacking sound. This suggests the name may have initially been a nickname or descriptive name for someone who made loud smacking noises while eating or kissing.

The earliest recorded instance of the SCHMATZ surname can be found in the town records of Augsburg, Bavaria from the year 1492. Here, a man named Hans SCHMATZ is listed as a local resident and tradesman. Similar spellings like Schmatzl and Schmatzer also appeared in other Bavarian town records around this time period.

In the 16th century, the SCHMATZ name spread to other parts of southern Germany and Austria. Notable early bearers include Johannes SCHMATZ, a master stonemason born in Munich in 1534, and Magdalena SCHMATZ, a respected herbalist from Salzburg born in 1572.

The SCHMATZ surname made its way to Switzerland in the late 1600s. One of the first recorded Swiss bearers was Jakob SCHMATZ, a farmer from the canton of Bern born in 1681. His descendants can be traced to the villages around the Emmental valley region.

Moving into the 18th century, the name appeared in records from the Alsace region of France, likely carried there by German immigrants. A man named Johann SCHMATZ is listed in church records from Strasbourg in 1722 as a vinedresser.

As the SCHMATZ name spread more widely, it took on variations like Schmaz and Schmatzer in some areas. A few notable bearers from the 19th century include the German painter Karl SCHMATZ (1807-1868), the Austrian sculptor Franz SCHMATZ (1834-1909), and the Swiss architect Emil SCHMATZ (1853-1924).

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Schmatz

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Schmatz, 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!