2000
#96,918
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 174
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.06
Very Rare Last name
Tatz
A surname of German or Jewish origin possibly derived from the Yiddish word "tats" meaning paw or foot.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 200 Americans carry the last name Tatz. That puts it at #108,494 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.06 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,713,772 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tatz 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
200
1 in 1,713,772
Census rank
#108,494
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
174
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 174 bearers of the surname Tatz in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.06 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 108494th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tatz, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.7%) and Hispanic (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Tatz
The surname TATZ is of German origin, emerging in the 15th century from the region of Bavaria. It is believed to be derived from the Middle High German word "tatze," meaning "paw" or "claw." This suggests the name may have been an occupational surname for a leather worker or furrier who handled animal skins and pelts.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name TATZ can be found in the tax records of the city of Nuremberg, where a Hanns Tatz is listed as a resident in the year 1482. In the nearby town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, church records from 1509 mention a Cuntz Tatz, likely a variation in spelling.
The TATZ surname appears to have been concentrated in the southern regions of Germany during the 16th and 17th centuries. In 1612, a Johannes Tatz is recorded as a landowner in the village of Oberaudorf, near the Austrian border. A few decades later, in 1652, a Hans Tatz is listed among the citizens of the town of Berchtesgaden, in the Bavarian Alps.
As the name spread beyond its original regional boundaries, variations in spelling began to emerge. In the 18th century, records from the city of Leipzig refer to a family with the surname Taz, potentially a simplified form of TATZ. Meanwhile, in the northern German state of Mecklenburg, church records from 1782 mention a Hinrich Tatze, which may have been an alternate spelling influenced by the original Middle High German word.
One notable figure in history who carried the TATZ surname was Johann Tatz, a German painter and engraver born in Nuremberg in 1670. His works, primarily religious scenes and portraits, adorned churches and public buildings throughout Bavaria during the early 18th century.
Another individual of note was Karl Tatz, a German mathematician and astronomer born in Wittenberg in 1802. He made significant contributions to the field of celestial mechanics and served as the director of the observatory at the University of Leipzig from 1837 until his death in 1879.
In the realm of literature, Theodor Tatz, a German poet and writer born in Aachen in 1841, gained recognition for his collections of lyrical poetry and his involvement in the literary circles of Berlin in the late 19th century.
The TATZ surname also found its way into the world of music through the life of Hans Tatz, a German composer and conductor born in Munich in 1901. He is best known for his orchestral works and film scores, which were widely performed and acclaimed during the mid-20th century.
Finally, a more recent figure of historical significance was Gerhard Tatz, a German-born American historian and author born in 1920. His extensive research and writings on the Holocaust and the treatment of Jews during World War II made him a respected voice in the field of Holocaust studies and human rights advocacy.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tatz
Among Census respondents with the surname Tatz, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.7%) and Hispanic (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Tatz 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 Tatz surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.9% · 153
- Two or more races5.7% · 10
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 7
- Black or African American1.7% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tatz
Tatz 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
#114,424
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 153
-21 bearers (-12.1%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 17,506 places
2020
#108,494
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 174
+21 bearers (+13.7%)
Per 100,000 0.06
Rank movement Up 5,930 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #96,918 | 174 | 0.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #114,424 | 153 | 0.05 | -21 bearers (-12.1%) | Down 17,506 places |
| 2020 | #108,494 | 174 | 0.06 | +21 bearers (+13.7%) | Up 5,930 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 Tatz 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 | #114,424 | #108,494 | 5.2% |
| Count | 153 | 174 | 13.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.06 | 16.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tatz bearers went from 153 to 174 (+13.7% change). The surname moved up 5,930 positions in the national ranking, going from #114,424 to #108,494.
FAQ
Tatz surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tatz?
Name Census estimates that about 200 living Americans carry the surname Tatz. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,713,772 residents.
How common is Tatz?
Tatz ranks #108,494 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.06 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 174 people with the surname Tatz. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (200), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.06 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.06 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Tatz.
Has Tatz become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tatz went from 153 recorded bearers to 174. That is an increase of 21 (+13.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #114,424 to #108,494.
What does the Census say about the background of Tatz?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tatz, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.7%) and Hispanic (4.0%). 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 Tatz in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.9% (153 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tatz appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.9%), Two or More Races (5.7%), Hispanic (4.0%). 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 Tatz (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 Tatz mean?
A surname of German or Jewish origin possibly derived from the Yiddish word "tats" meaning paw or foot. 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 Tatz (0.06 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 last name Tatz?
Find out how many people have the surname Tatz on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.