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

Zats, 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 Zats surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Zats in America

Zats is the 157234th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Zats surname appeared 103 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 Zats.

The history of the last name Zats

The surname Zats has its origins in Eastern Europe, specifically within the regions that today span Poland, Ukraine, and Belarus. The earliest known emergence of this surname dates back to the late medieval period, around the 14th or 15th century. Its meanings and derivations can be traced to several linguistic roots, primarily Slavic. The name may derive from the Polish or Russian word зять (zyat), which means "son-in-law." Another possible origin is the Yiddish word זאַץ (zats), translating to "a simple snack" or symbolically implying something simple and unassuming.

Historical references to the surname Zats appear in various charters, church records, and property documents from the 15th and 16th centuries in regions such as Galicia and Volhynia, areas known for their significant Jewish populations. One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname appears in a 1538 document listing inhabitants of the Galician town of Kolomyia, where a Jakub Zats is listed as a significant landholder.

In the late 16th century, another notable historical figure bearing the surname was Piotr Zats, who served as a court official in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, with records confirming his existence in 1581. Similarly, in the town of Brest-Litovsk (modern-day Brest, Belarus), a Jewish merchant named Mordechai Zats is documented in the municipal archives dating from 1645, indicating the involvement of individuals with this surname in regional trade.

During the mid-18th century, another prominent bearer of the surname was Rabbi Shmuel Zats, born in 1712 and died in 1787. He was an influential rabbinical authority in the Lithuanian city of Vilnius, contributing significantly to Jewish theological studies and local governance, as documented in several Jewish scholarly texts.

Around the late 19th century, we encounter Zalman Zats, born in 1854 in Kyiv, Ukraine, and died in 1907, who was a notable writer and intellectual. He played a crucial role in the Jewish literary circles and contributed to various Yiddish and Hebrew publications.

Finally, a prominent 20th-century example includes Yehuda Zats, born in 1898 and died in 1975, who was an important figure in Zionist movements in Palestine before the establishment of the State of Israel. He was actively involved in organizing Jewish immigration and community building.

The name Zats has seen various spelling adaptations over time, such as Zatz and Zahz, reflecting linguistic assimilation and regional dialects. As historical records show, the surname has been consistently associated with individuals who played significant roles in their respective communities, particularly within the cultural and economic frameworks of Eastern European Jewry.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Zats

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

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 Zats 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.

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

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

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