How common is the surname Franz?

11,462 people in the United States had the surname Franz in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 26,936 Americans. It ranked 3,153rd of 162,253 surnames.

What ethnicity is the surname Franz?

In the 2010 Census, 94% of people named Franz identified as white (not Hispanic), and 3.3% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

Who is the most famous person named Franz?

Dennis Franz, American actor, followed by Frederick William Franz.

Where is the surname Franz most common?

Wikidata records people named Franz in the United States and Austria.

Is the surname Franz getting more or less common?

Less common. 11,553 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 11,462 in 2010, down 0.8%.

Is Franz also a first name?

Yes. Franz is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Franz

A German surname, carried by 11,462 people in the United States.

1 syllable Soundex F652 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Franz is more common than 98.1% of them.

Origin

German origin

From German Franz. Doublet of Francis.

One of 1,101 German surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 11,462 people named Franz in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 26,936 Americans. That is down 0.8% since 2000, when the Census counted 11,553.

#3,153

rank among US surnames

11,462

people in 2010

3.9

per 100,000 Americans

-0.8%

change since 2000 (was #2,853)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#3,144	Steffen	11,494	26,861
#3,145	Blalock	11,493	26,864
#3,146	Levesque	11,490	26,871
#3,147	Forsythe	11,489	26,873
#3,148	Newby	11,483	26,887
#3,149	Lor	11,479	26,897
#3,150	Sample	11,471	26,915

Who is named Franz

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

94% of people named Franz identified as white (not Hispanic), 3.3% as Hispanic or Latino (any race) and 1.0% as two or more races.

White (not Hispanic) 94%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 3.3%
Two or more races 1.0%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.0%
Black (not Hispanic) 0.4%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.3%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Franzs

10 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Dennis Franz
American actor, born 1944
Frederick William Franz
American Watch Tower Society president (1893–1992)
Eduard Franz
American actor (1902–1983)
Max Franz
Austrian alpine skier, born 1989
Arthur Franz
American actor (1920-2006)
Elizabeth Franz
American actress (1941–2025)
Anselm Franz
Austrian engineer (1900–1994)
Werner Franz
Austrian alpine skier, born 1972
Veronika Franz
Austrian screenwriter, born 1965
Sigismund Francis, Archduke of Austria
Archduke of Further Ausrtia (1630-1665)

Notable Franzs come mostly from the United States (5) and Austria (4).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Franz

Franz has the Soundex code F652, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code F652.

Other German surnames

All 1,101 German surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Franz come from?: From German Franz. Doublet of Francis.
How common is the surname Franz?: 11,462 people in the United States had the surname Franz in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 26,936 Americans. It ranked 3,153rd of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Franz?: In the 2010 Census, 94% of people named Franz identified as white (not Hispanic), and 3.3% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
Who is the most famous person named Franz?: Dennis Franz, American actor, followed by Frederick William Franz.
Where is the surname Franz most common?: Wikidata records people named Franz in the United States and Austria.
Is the surname Franz getting more or less common?: Less common. 11,553 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 11,462 in 2010, down 0.8%.
Is Franz also a first name?: Yes. Franz is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.