Explore the Family Name Pelz

The meaning of Pelz

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): metonymic occupational name for a furrier, from Middle High German bellez, German Pelz ‘fur, (animal) skin’. Compare Peltz. Some characteristic forenames: German Aloysius, Hans, Heinz, Hermann, Kurt, Mathias, Siegfried, Ulrich, Wenzel, Willi.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Pelz in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Pelz saw a slight decrease in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Pelz ranked 23,617 in popularity with 1,001 individuals bearing the surname. By 2010, the rank had slipped to 25,935 with 947 individuals carrying the name, indicating a change of -9.81 in rank and a -5.39 change in count. The proportion per 100k also saw a decrease, falling from 0.37 to 0.32, a change of -13.51.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#23,617	#25,935	-9.81%
Count	1,001	947	-5.39%
Proportion per 100k	0.37	0.32	-13.51%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Pelz

In terms of ethnic identity, the Pelz surname was predominantly associated with White ethnicity in both 2000 and 2010, based on the Decennial U.S. Census data. In 2000, 95.60% of those with the surname identified as White, which slightly decreased to 94.93% by 2010. There was a notable increase in the Hispanic representation within this surname, rising from 1.90% in 2000 to 2.96% in 2010. As for other ethnicities, there were minor decreases in the counts of Asian/Pacific Islander and those identifying as two or more races. A new appearance in 2010 was the Black community, accounting for 0.53% of the Pelz surname holders, while data for American Indian and Alaskan Native was suppressed for privacy in both years.

	2000	2010	Change
White	95.6%	94.93%	-0.7%
Hispanic	1.9%	2.96%	55.79%
Two or More Races	1.5%	1.16%	-22.67%
Black	0%	0.53%	0%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.7%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%