Hertz
A surname from German names built on a root meaning “hard” or “brave.”
The #7,788 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 72,527 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is linked to German personal names of the Hert- or Hart- type, ultimately from Old High German roots meaning “hard,” “strong,” or “brave.” In that tradition, Hertz is understood as a shortened or descendant form connected with a longer compound name rather than from the modern German word Herz, “heart.” The historical spelling and derivation suggest a name built from the old Germanic hard/brave element.
History
The name is found in German-speaking areas and appears in surname references as a hereditary form from earlier given names. It is also seen among Jewish bearers of German-derived surnames, where similar forms could be adopted or adapted in the 18th and 19th centuries. In English-language sources it sometimes gets linked with spellings like Hirsch or Hart, reflecting both sound shifts and older naming traditions.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Despite looking like the German word for “heart,” the surname Hertz is usually traced to an old name meaning “hard” or “brave,” not to the word for a body part.
From the historical record
“and O.Sax. heri, hart, army -I- man{n] HERTZ ] (Ger.) genit. of a dim. of one of the HERZ J Ger. Hert- or Hart- compound names [O.H.Ger. herti, harti, hard, brave] Hess 323”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)