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

Spitz, 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 Spitz surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Spitz in America

Spitz is the 9298th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Spitz surname appeared 3,500 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Spitz.

We can also compare 2010 data for Spitz 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 Spitz

The surname Spitz is of German origin, derived from the Middle High German word "spitz" meaning "pointed" or "sharp". It is believed to have originated as an occupational name for a maker of pointed tools or weapons such as spears, daggers, and arrows.

The earliest recorded use of the name dates back to the 13th century, with records showing the name Spitz appearing in various regions of Germany, including Bavaria and Saxony. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Johannes Spitz, a blacksmith who lived in the town of Nuremberg in the late 13th century.

During the Middle Ages, the name Spitz was also associated with certain place names, such as Spitz an der Donau, a town located along the Danube River in Lower Austria. The town's name is derived from the German word "spitz", referring to the pointed shape of the land at the confluence of the Danube and the Kamp River.

In the 16th century, the name Spitz gained prominence with the birth of Johann Spitz (1484-1534), a German mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the study of planetary motion and the reform of the Julian calendar.

Another notable bearer of the name was Johann Jakob Spitz (1665-1719), a Swiss-born German architect and military engineer who designed several fortifications and buildings in Germany and the Netherlands during the late 17th and early 18th centuries.

In the 19th century, the name Spitz was associated with the German-American painter Carl Spitzweg (1808-1885), renowned for his humorous and satirical depictions of middle-class life in Germany.

Other notable individuals with the surname Spitz include the American physicist Eugene Spitz (1917-1999), known for his contributions to the development of planetarium technology, and Mark Spitz (born 1950), the American Olympic swimmer who won seven gold medals at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.

While the name Spitz has its origins in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of Europe and beyond, with variations in spelling and pronunciation occurring over time.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Spitz

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

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

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

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