Spritzer last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Spritzer

A German surname derived from the word "spritzen," meaning to squirt or spray.

Spritzer, 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 Spritzer surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Spritzer in America

Spritzer is the 69996th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Spritzer surname appeared 280 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 Spritzer.

We can also compare 2010 data for Spritzer 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.

20102000Change (%)
Rank69996636329.52%
Count280293-4.54%
Proportion per 100k0.090.11-20.00%

The history of the last name Spritzer

The surname Spritzer is of German origin, derived from the Middle High German word "spritzen," which means "to sprinkle" or "to spray." The name likely originated in the 13th or 14th century in the German-speaking regions of Central Europe.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Spritzer can be found in a document from the city of Augsburg, dated 1457, which mentions a certain Johann Spritzer, a merchant dealing in spices and herbs. This suggests that the name may have initially been an occupational surname, referring to someone who sprinkled or sprayed liquids or powders in their trade.

In the 16th century, the name appears in various records from the region of Saxony, such as the baptismal records of the town of Zwickau, where a child named Hans Spritzer was born in 1523. Around this time, the name also appeared in the form "Spritzler" in some areas, reflecting regional variations in pronunciation and spelling.

The surname Spritzer can be traced back to several place names in Germany, including Spritzerthal, a village in the Thuringian Forest region, and Spritzergau, a historical administrative district in present-day Bavaria. These place names likely derived from the same root word as the surname, indicating a connection to the local geography or topography.

Notable individuals with the surname Spritzer throughout history include:

  1. Heinrich Spritzer (1487-1554), a German composer and organist who served at the court of the Dukes of Saxony.
  2. Anna Spritzer (1605-1675), a German herbalist and healer renowned for her knowledge of medicinal plants and natural remedies.
  3. Johann Spritzer (1723-1801), a German clockmaker and inventor credited with developing one of the earliest water-powered clocks.
  4. Wilhelm Spritzer (1865-1943), a German architect and urban planner who designed several prominent buildings in Berlin and Dresden.
  5. Elise Spritzer (1901-1989), a German-born American athlete and Olympic medalist in track and field events.

While the surname Spritzer may have originated from a humble occupational background, it has since been borne by individuals from various walks of life, reflecting the diverse and rich history of this German name.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Spritzer

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

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 Spritzer was:

Race/EthnicityPercentageTotal Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only95.00%266
Non-Hispanic Black Only(S)%(S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only1.79%5
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native0.00%0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races(S)%(S)
Hispanic Origin2.86%8

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 Spritzer has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

20102000Change (%)
White95.00%97.95%-3.06%
Black(S)%0.00%(S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander1.79%(S)%(S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0.00%0.00%0.00%
Two or More Races(S)%(S)%(S)%
Hispanic2.86%0.00%200.00%

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

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

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