Explore the Family Name Volz

The meaning of Volz

German (also Völz): from a pet form of the personal name Vol(k)mar or Volkmer (see Vollmer). This surname is also found in France (Alsace and Lorraine). Compare Voelz and Voltz, and also Faltz and Folz.

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

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

According to the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname 'Volz' has seen a minor decline in the United States over the past decade. In 2000, 'Volz' ranked as the 6193rd most popular surname with a count of 5091, representing 1.89 per 100k people. However, by 2010, the rank had fallen to 6775, and the count decreased to 4978, which is approximately 1.69 per 100k people. This represents a decrease of 9.4% in the surname's ranking and a 2.22% drop in the count.

20002010Change
Rank#6,193#6,775-9.4%
Count5,0914,978-2.22%
Proportion per 100k1.891.69-10.58%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Volz

The ethnicity associated with the surname 'Volz' also saw some shifts between the 2000 and 2010 Decennial U.S. Census data. The majority of individuals with the surname 'Volz' identify as White, although this percentage declined slightly from 95.40% in 2000 to 94.48% in 2010. During the same period, the percentage of those identifying as Hispanic increased by 30.73%, while those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander or belonging to two or more races also saw increases of 11.11% and 31.73% respectively. However, the percentages of those identifying as Black and American Indian/Alaskan Native decreased by 20.00% and 17.95% respectively.

20002010Change
White95.4%94.48%-0.96%
Hispanic2.18%2.85%30.73%
Two or More Races1.04%1.37%31.73%
Asian/Pacific Islander0.63%0.7%11.11%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0.39%0.32%-17.95%
Black0.35%0.28%-20%

Volz 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 Volz is French & German, which comprises 42.2% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are British & Irish (36.5%) and Scandinavian (5.3%). Additional ancestries include Eastern European, Italian, Chinese, Indigenous American, and Spanish & Portuguese.

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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWNCOMPOSITION
French & German42.2%
British & Irish36.5%
Scandinavian5.3%
Other16.0%
Volz

Possible origins of the surname Volz

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 Volz have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.

RECENT ANCESTRY LocationPercentage
West Yorkshire, United Kingdom73.70%
Merseyside, United Kingdom73.70%
Greater London, United Kingdom73.70%
Tyne And Wear, United Kingdom72.90%
Greater Manchester, United Kingdom72.90%

What Volz 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 Volz is J-M267, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup J-M267 is descended from haplogroup J-M304. Other common haplogroups include R-U152 and I-BY332, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Ott, Bower, Clayton, Pawlowski, Baron, Kolb, Weber, Chester, Ackerman, Knight.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Volz surname are: H1, N, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.

volzPaternal Haplogroup Origins J-M304
Paternal Haplo Image

Your paternal lineage may be linked to men who spread the Semitic languages

Men carrying the J-M267 lineage took part in many waves of migrations over the millennia, and domesticated animals and plants weren't the only things they carried. They may also have been among the communities that spread the Semitic languages, a diverse group that bloomed from a single proto-Semitic tongue in the Levant nearly 5,750 years ago. These men likely carried branches of both haplogroup J and of the Semitic language family through the Arabian Peninsula to the Horn of Africa. Still later, some J-M267-bearing men re-expanded from the Arabian Peninsula back through the Middle East and across North Africa in migrations associated with the emergence and spread of Islam.

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.

Maternal Haplo Image

What do people with the surname Volz 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

Volz

Chocolate Ice Cream

Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Volz" Surname 53.8%

23andMe Users 41.3%

Traits

Volz

Misophonia

When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.

"Volz" Surname 32.3%

23andMe Users 27.9%

Habits

Volz

Sugary Drink

Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.

"Volz" Surname 24.6%

23andMe Users 21.1%

Wellness

Volz

Migraine

A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.

"Volz" Surname 12.0%

23andMe Users 16.4%

Are health conditions linked to the last name Volz?

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 Volz are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition

Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Y402H variant

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of irreversible vision loss among older adults. The disease results in damage to the central part of the retina (the macula), impairing vision needed for reading, driving, or even recognizing faces. The 23andMe Health + Ancestry DNA test includes the two most common variants associated with an increased risk of developing the condition: the Y402H variant in the CFH gene and the A69S variant in the ARMS2 gene. Learn more about Age-Related Macular Degeneration

French & German 60.8%

23andMe Users 57.2%