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

Spath, 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 Spath surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Spath in America

Spath is the 19834th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Spath surname appeared 1,355 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 Spath.

We can also compare 2010 data for Spath 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 Spath

The surname Spath has its origins in Germany, where it first appeared in the late medieval period. It is derived from the Middle High German word "spat," which means "spar" or "crystal," indicating that the name may have been a descriptive one referring to an occupation involving minerals or gemstones.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Codex Traditionum Monasterii Mellicensis, a 13th-century manuscript from the Melk Abbey in Austria, which mentions an individual named Chunradus Spat.

In the 14th century, the Spath surname appeared in various records across German-speaking regions, such as the Heidelberger Schaffnei-Register from 1366, which lists a Johannes Spate from Heidelberg.

The name Spath is also closely associated with the town of Spait, located in the district of Schweinfurt, Bavaria. This place name, first recorded in 1317 as "Spait," likely shares the same etymological root as the surname, suggesting a connection between the Spath family and this particular locality.

Notable individuals with the surname Spath include Johann Leonhard Spath (1708-1775), a German botanist and physician from Nuremberg, who made significant contributions to the classification of plants. Andreas Spath (1790-1876) was a German landscape painter and lithographer known for his depictions of the Bavarian Alps.

In the 19th century, Carl Spath (1805-1888), a German engineer and industrialist from Nuremberg, founded the Spath iron foundry, which played a crucial role in the development of the German cast iron industry. Johann Baptist Spath (1806-1886), a Catholic priest and writer from Bavaria, authored several works on theology and church history.

Another notable figure is Joseph Spath (1822-1886), a German-American botanist and horticulturist, who immigrated to the United States in the mid-19th century and established a successful nursery business in New York.

While the Spath surname has its roots in German-speaking regions, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and diaspora, with various spellings and variations emerging over time.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Spath

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

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

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

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