Explore the Family Name Metz
The meaning of Metz
1. German: from a short form of the female personal name Mechthild, composed of ancient Germanic maht ‘might, strength’ + hild ‘strife, battle’. 2. German, French (Alsace and Lorraine), and Jewish (Ashkenazic): habitational name from Metz in Lorraine, which took its name from a Gaulish tribe, the Mediomatrici; in the name of the place this became abbreviated to Mettis, hence the modern name. 3. German: from Mätz, a short form of the personal name Matthias (see Matthew). 4. North German: metonymic occupational name for a cutler, from Middle Low German messet, metset ‘knife, dagger’ or Middle High German metz(e) ‘knife’. Compare Messer 1. This surname is also found in Poland. History: Christian Metz, the founder of the Amana colonies in IA, was born in Neuwied, Rhineland, in 1794. His group arrived in NY in 1842 and proceeded to the Midwest in 1855, where they were able to establish an experimental life style that was more successful than most other Utopian communal religious settlements of the time. — This surname (see 2 above) is listed in the register of Huguenot ancestors recognized by the Huguenot Society of America.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Metz in the United States?
Based on the data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Metz has seen a slight shift in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it was ranked 1640th in terms of popularity and by 2010, it had dropped in rank to 1760th, showing a decrease of 7.32%. However, the actual count of individuals with the Metz surname increased slightly by 1.78% during this same period, from 20,010 in 2000 to 20,366 in 2010. The proportion per 100,000 people also decreased by 7.01%, indicating that while the number of people with the surname may have increased, its overall prevalence in relation to other surnames has decreased.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #1,640 | #1,760 | -7.32% |
| Count | 20,010 | 20,366 | 1.78% |
| Proportion per 100k | 7.42 | 6.9 | -7.01% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Metz
The ethnicity associated with the surname Metz also saw changes between 2000 and 2010, according to the Decennial U.S. Census data. In 2000, the vast majority of the Metz population identified as White (94.35%), but this percentage decreased slightly to 92.54% by 2010. During this decade, there were noticeable increases in the percentages of individuals identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander (increasing by 43.59%), Hispanic (increasing by 65.56%), and Black (increasing by 17.54%). The percentage of individuals identifying with two or more races also increased slightly from 1.20% to 1.48%. The American Indian and Alaskan Native population remained relatively stable, with a marginal increase of 2.33%.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 94.35% | 92.54% | -1.92% |
| Hispanic | 1.51% | 2.5% | 65.56% |
| Black | 2.11% | 2.48% | 17.54% |
| Two or More Races | 1.2% | 1.48% | 23.33% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0.39% | 0.56% | 43.59% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.43% | 0.44% | 2.33% |
Metz ancestry composition
23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Metz is British & Irish, which comprises 39.2% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (33.1%) and Eastern European (7.0%). Additional ancestries include Ashkenazi Jewish, Scandinavian, Italian, Spanish & Portuguese, and Indigenous American.
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| ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
|---|---|
| British & Irish | 39.2% |
| French & German | 33.1% |
| Eastern European | 7.0% |
| Other | 20.7% |
Possible origins of the surname Metz
Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.
Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Metz have recent ancestry locations in United Kingdom and Ireland.
| RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Glasgow City, United Kingdom | 76.00% |
| Merseyside, United Kingdom | 76.00% |
| Greater London, United Kingdom | 76.00% |
| Greater Manchester, United Kingdom | 75.80% |
| West Yorkshire, United Kingdom | 75.00% |
What Metz haplogroups can tell you
Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.
The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Metz is I-Z58, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup I-Z58 is descended from haplogroup I-M170. Other common haplogroups include R-P311 and R-L2, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Schafer, Hartmann, Ernst, Koenig, Schumacher, Norman, Busch, Baker, Wright, Lutz.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Metz surname are: H1, T2b, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.
Paternal Haplogroup Origins I-M170
Your paternal lineage may be linked to Alexander Hamilton
Early in the morning on July 11, 1804, Aaron Burr (then Vice President of the United States) and Alexander Hamilton (founder of the U.S. Treasury) dueled on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. This marked the culmination of a bitter personal and political rivalry between the two men. Alexander Hamilton died as a result of the duel, but his intellectual legacy survives in the founding documents of the nation he helped build. A piece of his genetic legacy survives as well: in the 21st century, genealogists documented the paternal haplogroups of dozens of Hamilton's living descendants and concluded that the Founding Father's paternal haplogroup was a branch of I-DF29.
Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette
Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.
What do people with the surname Metz have in common?
Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.
Preferences
Chocolate Ice Cream
Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.
"Metz" Surname 42.6%
23andMe Users 41.3%
Traits
Misophonia
When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.
"Metz" Surname 29.4%
23andMe Users 27.9%
Habits
Sugary Drink
Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.
"Metz" Surname 27.0%
23andMe Users 21.1%
Wellness
Migraine
A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
"Metz" Surname 15.0%
23andMe Users 16.4%
Are health conditions linked to the last name Metz?
The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.
Disease variant frequency by ancestry
Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Metz are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition