Waltz
A surname that may come from several similar-sounding European place-name or nickname forms, with some later association to the dance word in English usage.
The #5,131 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 45,277 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The historical evidence points to more than one possible source. One early surname dictionary treats Waltz as a corrupted or adapted form of names such as Wallace, Walsh, or Walls, while also allowing a derivation from Wallis/Valais or from Wiltz, a place in Luxembourg. Other onomastic references group Waltz with Germanic forms like Walz and Walti, suggesting a name that was reshaped as it moved between languages and dialects. Because several similar names could converge in spelling, the exact origin is not certain.
History
In English-speaking records, Waltz appears especially in the 19th century in immigrant and regional name lists, and it was common enough in Philadelphia to be noticed by Bowditch. German-language surname studies also treat Walz/Waltz as a surname family with related spellings across German and Swiss areas. The modern English word "waltz" for the dance is a separate loanword history, but the surname’s spelling has sometimes invited that association.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One 19th-century American name list specifically remarked that both Walz and Waltz were very common in Philadelphia.
From the historical record
“noth, needing help. See NOTHARD. WALTZ, WALZ. 1. Corrupted from Wallace, Walsh, or Walls. [Walls is the name of parishes of Scotland, cos. Orkney and Shetland.] 2. From Wallis or Valais, a canton of Switzer- land. 3. From Wilz or Wiltz, a town of Dutch Luxemburg, on the Wilz. Waltz, Walz, Yoltz are found in…”
— Ludus Patronymicus; or, the etymology of curious surnames