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

Zinter, 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 Zinter surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Zinter in America

Zinter is the 45026th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Zinter surname appeared 476 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 Zinter.

We can also compare 2010 data for Zinter 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 Zinter

The surname Zinter is believed to have its origins in German-speaking regions of Europe, particularly around the area of modern-day Germany. The earliest use of surnames in these regions can be traced back to the Middle Ages around the 12th to 15th centuries. The name Zinter is thought to be derived from the German word Zimt, which means 'cinnamon.' It is likely a metonymic occupational name for someone who was involved in the spice trade or worked with cinnamon.

During the medieval period, surnames were adopted as people began to travel more extensively and needed a uniform way of identifying themselves. Records from the 14th century in German-speaking territories show early references to similar surnames, such as Zinthner and Zintler, which might have evolved into the surname Zinter over time.

One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Zinter appears in a 16th-century Bavarian tax record dated around 1580. The entry mentions a Heinrich Zinter, who owned land in a small village near Munich. Another early record includes a 1623 mention of a Johannes Zinter in church records from Cologne.

In the 17th century, the Thirty Years' War led to significant demographic changes, which saw families with the surname Zinter moving across Europe, including to areas in Austria and Switzerland. In 1674, a Conrad Zinter is documented to have emigrated to Geneva where he established a successful weaving business.

A notable individual with the surname is Dietrich Zinter, a philosopher and mathematician born in 1763 in Frankfurt. He authored several influential works on the Cartesian philosophy before his death in 1832. Another significant person is Anna Zinter, an artist from Hamburg born in 1821, whose paintings gained attention during the late 19th century for their vivid portrayal of rural life in Germany.

In the early 19th century, records from the immigration office in Bremen show that a Karl Zinter, born in 1802, emigrated to the United States, settling in New York. His lineage can be tracked through various shipping logs and land transactions, which show the spread of the Zinter family across the New England region of the United States.

The surname Zinter, while not extraordinarily common, holds a rich history rooted in the economic and social transformations of medieval and early modern Europe. Through the movements forced by wars, economic opportunities, and personal quests, bearers of the surname have spread across various regions, contributing to their communities in many fields, from philosophy and art to commerce and craftsmanship.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Zinter

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

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

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

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