2000
#11,898
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,409
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.89
Rare Last name
Tietz
A German occupational surname referring to a carpenter or cabinetmaker.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,625 Americans carry the last name Tietz. That puts it at #12,848 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.77 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 130,573 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tietz 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
2.6K
1 in 130,573
Census rank
#12,848
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,289 bearers of the surname Tietz in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.77 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12848th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tietz, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Tietz
The surname Tietz has its origins in Germany, where it first emerged in the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. The name is believed to be derived from the Old German word "tidi," which means "time" or "period," and it may have been initially used as a nickname for someone who was particularly punctual or had a strong sense of timing.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in various German regional records and chronicles from the 14th and 15th centuries, with variations in spelling such as Titz, Tytz, and Tytze. One notable early bearer of the name was Johannes Titz, a merchant and alderman in the city of Nuremberg, who lived in the late 15th century.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Tietz surname began to spread across various regions of Germany, with members of the family often associated with trades or professions that required a keen sense of timing, such as clockmakers, musicians, or astronomers. One prominent figure from this era was Johann Tietz, a renowned astronomer and mathematician who lived in the late 16th century and made significant contributions to the field of celestial navigation.
As the name continued to evolve and spread, it also became linked to certain place names, such as the town of Tietz in modern-day Poland, which was once part of the Prussian Empire. This connection suggests that some bearers of the surname may have originated from or lived in this region.
Among the notable individuals with the Tietz surname throughout history are:
1. Wilhelm Tietz (1816-1892), a German entrepreneur and founder of the Tietz department store chain, which later became part of the Kaufhof group.
2. Kurt Tietz (1882-1964), a German-American architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in New York City.
3. Joachim Tietz (1537-1614), a German composer and organist who served as the Kapellmeister at the court of the Dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg.
4. Heinrich Tietz (1875-1945), a German actor and film director who worked in the early days of German cinema.
5. Gerhard Tietz (1907-1995), a German-born American artist and painter known for his abstract expressionist works.
While the Tietz surname has its roots in Germany and the surrounding regions, it has since spread to various parts of the world through migration and diaspora, with bearers of the name contributing to diverse fields and professions over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tietz
Among Census respondents with the surname Tietz, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Tietz 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 Tietz surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.7% · 2,122
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 95
- Two or more races1.7% · 38
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 10
- Black or African American0.4% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tietz
Tietz 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
#12,869
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,392
-17 bearers (-0.7%)
Per 100,000 0.81
Rank movement Down 971 places
2020
#12,848
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,289
-103 bearers (-4.3%)
Per 100,000 0.77
Rank movement Up 21 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,898 | 2,409 | 0.89 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,869 | 2,392 | 0.81 | -17 bearers (-0.7%) | Down 971 places |
| 2020 | #12,848 | 2,289 | 0.77 | -103 bearers (-4.3%) | Up 21 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 Tietz 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 | #12,869 | #12,848 | 0.2% |
| Count | 2,392 | 2,289 | -4.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.81 | 0.77 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tietz bearers went from 2,392 to 2,289 (-4.3% change). The surname moved up 21 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,869 to #12,848.
FAQ
Tietz surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tietz?
Name Census estimates that about 2,625 living Americans carry the surname Tietz. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 130,573 residents.
How common is Tietz?
Tietz ranks #12,848 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.77 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 2,289 people with the surname Tietz. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,625), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.77 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.77 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 Tietz.
Has Tietz become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tietz went from 2,392 recorded bearers to 2,289. That is a decrease of 103 (-4.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #12,869 to #12,848.
What does the Census say about the background of Tietz?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tietz, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Tietz in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.7% (2,122 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tietz appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.7%), Hispanic (4.2%), Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Tietz (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 Tietz mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a carpenter or cabinetmaker. 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 Tietz (0.77 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 Tietz?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.