2000
#8,841
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,409
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.26
Rare Last name
Spitz
A German and Jewish occupational surname referring to someone with a sharp or pointed appearance, like a pointed beard.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,845 Americans carry the last name Spitz. That puts it at #9,317 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.12 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 89,143 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Spitz 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.
Bearers in the US
3.8K
1 in 89,143
Census rank
#9,317
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,353 bearers of the surname Spitz in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.12 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9317th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Spitz, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Spitz
Among Census respondents with the surname Spitz, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Spitz 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 Spitz surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.4% · 3,097
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 111
- Two or more races2.7% · 92
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 35
- Black or African American0.3% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Spitz
Spitz 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
#9,298
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,500
+91 bearers (+2.7%)
Per 100,000 1.19
Rank movement Down 457 places
2020
#9,317
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,353
-147 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 1.12
Rank movement Down 19 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,841 | 3,409 | 1.26 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,298 | 3,500 | 1.19 | +91 bearers (+2.7%) | Down 457 places |
| 2020 | #9,317 | 3,353 | 1.12 | -147 bearers (-4.2%) | Down 19 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 Spitz 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 | #9,298 | #9,317 | -0.2% |
| Count | 3,500 | 3,353 | -4.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.19 | 1.12 | -5.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Spitz bearers went from 3,500 to 3,353 (-4.2% change). The surname moved down 19 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,298 to #9,317.
FAQ
Spitz surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Spitz?
Name Census estimates that about 3,845 living Americans carry the surname Spitz. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 89,143 residents.
How common is Spitz?
Spitz ranks #9,317 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.12 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,353 people with the surname Spitz. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,845), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.12 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.12 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Spitz.
Has Spitz become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Spitz went from 3,500 recorded bearers to 3,353. That is a decrease of 147 (-4.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,298 to #9,317.
What does the Census say about the background of Spitz?
Among Census respondents with the surname Spitz, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Spitz in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.4% (3,097 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Spitz appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.4%), Hispanic (3.3%), Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Spitz (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 Spitz mean?
A German and Jewish occupational surname referring to someone with a sharp or pointed appearance, like a pointed beard. 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 Spitz (1.12 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 have the surname Spitz?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.