2000
#1,423
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 22,984
First available Census row
Per 100,000 8.52
Uncommon Last name
Schmitz
A German occupational surname referring to a person who worked as a smith or metalworker.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 26,966 Americans carry the last name Schmitz. That puts it at #1,478 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 7.87 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 12,711 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Schmitz 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Schmitz with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
27K
1 in 12,711
Census rank
#1,478
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
7.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
24K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 23,516 bearers of the surname Schmitz in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 7.87 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1478th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Schmitz, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Schmitz
The surname Schmitz originated in Germany, specifically in the Rhineland region. It first appeared around the 12th century and is derived from the Old German word "smit," meaning a blacksmith or metalworker. Over time, the spelling evolved to Schmitz, Schmidtz, Schmidts, and other variations.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Schmitz can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of medieval documents from Saxony, dating back to the 13th century. The name is also mentioned in the Nibelungenlied, a famous German epic poem from around 1200 AD.
In the 14th century, the name Schmitz appeared in the records of the town of Köln (Cologne), where a family of metalworkers bore this surname. This suggests that the name was closely associated with the metalworking trade in its early days.
One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Schmitz was Johannes Schmitz, a blacksmith from the town of Trier who lived in the late 15th century. Another notable figure was Peter Schmitz, a German monk and theologian who lived from 1512 to 1579 and was influential in the Counter-Reformation.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Schmitz surname spread across Germany and into neighboring regions, such as the Netherlands and Belgium. The name was also associated with several place names, such as Schmitzhausen and Schmitzberg, which were likely derived from the surname itself.
In the 18th century, Johann Schmitz (1711-1779) was a prominent German philosopher and educator who wrote extensively on ethics and moral philosophy. Another notable figure was Johann Jakob Schmitz (1742-1826), a German historian and author who wrote about the history of the Rhineland region.
As the Schmitz family spread across Europe and beyond, the name became associated with various professions and achievements. For example, Eduard Schmitz (1837-1898) was a German-American philologist and educator who taught at various universities in the United States.
Overall, the surname Schmitz has a rich history that can be traced back to medieval Germany, where it was closely associated with the metalworking trade. Over the centuries, the name has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, including philosophers, historians, educators, and more.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Schmitz
Among Census respondents with the surname Schmitz, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Schmitz 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 Schmitz surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.5% · 21,976
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 657
- Two or more races2.5% · 580
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 155
- Black or African American0.4% · 86
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 62
Timeline
Historical Census data for Schmitz
Schmitz 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
#1,496
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 23,931
+947 bearers (+4.1%)
Per 100,000 8.11
Rank movement Down 73 places
2020
#1,478
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 23,516
-415 bearers (-1.7%)
Per 100,000 7.87
Rank movement Up 18 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,423 | 22,984 | 8.52 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,496 | 23,931 | 8.11 | +947 bearers (+4.1%) | Down 73 places |
| 2020 | #1,478 | 23,516 | 7.87 | -415 bearers (-1.7%) | Up 18 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 Schmitz 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 | #1,496 | #1,478 | 1.2% |
| Count | 23,931 | 23,516 | -1.7% |
| Per 100K | 8.11 | 7.87 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Schmitz bearers went from 23,931 to 23,516 (-1.7% change). The surname moved up 18 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,496 to #1,478.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Schmitz
FAQ
Schmitz surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Schmitz?
Name Census estimates that about 26,966 living Americans carry the surname Schmitz. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 12,711 residents.
How common is Schmitz?
Schmitz ranks #1,478 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 7.87 per 100,000 residents, which is about 8 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 23,516 people with the surname Schmitz. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (26,966), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 7.87 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 7.87 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 8 of them to have the surname Schmitz.
Has Schmitz become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Schmitz went from 23,931 recorded bearers to 23,516. That is a decrease of 415 (-1.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #1,496 to #1,478.
What does the Census say about the background of Schmitz?
Among Census respondents with the surname Schmitz, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) 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 Schmitz in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.5% (21,976 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Schmitz appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.5%), Hispanic (2.8%), 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 Schmitz (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 Schmitz mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a person who worked as a smith or metalworker. 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 Schmitz (7.87 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 share the surname Schmitz?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.