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

Setzer, 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 Setzer surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Setzer in America

Setzer is the 6825th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Setzer surname appeared 4,940 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Setzer.

We can also compare 2010 data for Setzer 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 Setzer

The surname Setzer is believed to have originated in Germany, specifically in the regions of Bavaria and Austria, around the 12th or 13th century. It is derived from the Middle High German word "setzen," which means "to set" or "to place," and likely referred to an occupation or a person's role in the community.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Setzer can be found in the Nuremberg Burgerbuch (Citizen's Book) from the late 14th century, where a certain Hans Setzer was listed as a resident of the city. The name was also mentioned in various medieval records and manuscripts from the German-speaking regions.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name Setzer was prominent in the areas around Augsburg, Regensburg, and Munich. Notable individuals with this surname include Johann Setzer (1495-1572), a Lutheran theologian and reformer from Nuremberg, and Georg Setzer (1534-1619), a German composer and organist who served at the court of Duke Albrecht V of Bavaria.

In the 18th century, the name Setzer appeared in the records of several German states, including Prussia and Saxony. One notable figure from this period was Johann Christoph Setzer (1716-1785), a German painter and engraver who worked in Dresden and Leipzig.

As the Industrial Revolution took hold in the 19th century, many people with the surname Setzer were involved in the printing and publishing industries, owing to the name's connection with the act of setting type. One prominent example was Johann Georg Setzer (1805-1870), a German printer and publisher from Leipzig.

Other notable individuals with the surname Setzer include Hans Setzer (1876-1939), a German-American painter and illustrator known for his work in the Arts and Crafts movement, and Ralph Setzer (1915-2004), an American baseball player who played for several Major League Baseball teams in the 1940s and 1950s.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Setzer

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

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

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

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