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

Spitzer, 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 Spitzer surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Spitzer in America

Spitzer is the 5002nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Spitzer surname appeared 7,027 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 Spitzer.

We can also compare 2010 data for Spitzer 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 Spitzer

The surname Spitzer originates from Germany, with records dating back to the 16th century. It is derived from the German word "Spitz," meaning "pointed" or "sharp," which was likely used to describe someone with a distinctive physical feature or occupation. The name was initially found in various regions of Germany, including Bavaria, Saxony, and Prussia.

One of the earliest known references to the name Spitzer can be found in the Kirchenbücher (church records) of Saxony, dating back to the mid-16th century. These records often mentioned individuals with the surname Spitzer, along with their occupations, such as tailors, blacksmiths, or shoemakers.

In the 17th century, the Spitzer surname began appearing in various historical documents, including tax records and land registries. For instance, in 1672, a record from the town of Freiburg im Breisgau mentions a Michael Spitzer, a respected craftsman and landowner.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, as urbanization increased, the Spitzer name became more widespread across Germany and neighboring countries. Notable individuals with this surname include Johann Spitzer (1786-1858), a German composer and violinist, and Carl Spitzer (1821-1888), a renowned German-Austrian architect known for his work on the Vienna State Opera House.

As German immigrants began to settle in other parts of the world, the Spitzer surname traveled with them. In the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the 1790 census, where a Johann Spitzer was listed as a resident of Pennsylvania.

Other notable individuals with the Spitzer surname include:

1. Lyman Spitzer (1914-1997), an American theoretical physicist and astrophysicist, known for his contributions to the field of stellar dynamics and his role in the development of the Hubble Space Telescope.

2. Eliot Spitzer (born 1959), an American lawyer and politician who served as the 63rd Governor of New York from 2007 to 2008.

3. Serge Spitzer (1951-2023), a Russian-American billionaire and businessman, founder of the Spitzer Engineering Corporation.

4. Ralph Spitzer (1921-2010), an American lawyer and philanthropist, known for his support of educational institutions and civil rights organizations.

5. Arnon Spitzer (born 1965), an Israeli mathematician and professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, known for his work in probability theory and stochastic processes.

While the Spitzer surname has its roots in Germany, it has since spread across the globe, with individuals bearing this name making significant contributions in various fields, from science and academia to politics and business.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Spitzer

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

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

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

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