Heinz
A German surname from the short form Heinz, originally a pet name for Heinrich.
The #4,276 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 37,149 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Heinz is a shortened, familiar form of the German personal name Heinrich. Heinrich itself comes from old Germanic elements meaning roughly “home” or “estate” plus “power” or “rule,” so the underlying sense is “ruler of the household.” As a surname, Heinz usually began as a patronymic or nickname meaning “son or descendant of Heinz.”
History
The name is well established in German-speaking areas and appears in historical surname lists as a common surname from the personal name Heinrich/Heinz. Related spellings such as Heinze and Hentze show the same source name with regional or dialectal endings. In English-language records, the spelling may also reflect German immigrants and their descendants, sometimes shifting in pronunciation to rhyme with “hinds.”
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In older German naming practice, a man might be identified as “Heinz der Metzger” (“Heinz the butcher”), showing how a personal name like Heinz could stand right beside a trade name before surnames became fixed.
From the historical record
“Hemus. See Ames Henchman. G. Heinzmann ; a p.n. (a page, footman). Heinz, dimin. of Heinrich Henderson. See Hendry Hendra, Hendrey, Hendry. A loc. n., Cornw. Or JV. EndriSi ; A.S. Henthryth ; p.n. (chief”
— British Family Names: their origin and meaning (2nd ed.)