Schulz
A German surname meaning a local magistrate, bailiff, or village headman.
The #1,461 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 12,661 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Schulz is a shortened form of the German office name Schultheiß, with many regional spellings including Schultz and Schulze. The word goes back to Middle High German schultheize and Old High German scultheiso, a term for an official who collected dues and acted as a local authority. In plain English, it originally referred to a magistrate, bailiff, or village headman.
History
This is one of the most common German surname types, because many villages had an official of this title. The name produced a wide family of spellings across German-speaking regions, especially Schulz, Schultz, Schulze, and related forms such as Schulte and Scholz. Historical surname writers noted that it was especially frequent in northern and eastern Germany.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
19th-century surname scholars singled out Schulz as one of the most frequent German family names.
From the historical record
“SCHULTZ SCHULZ SCHULZE (Ger,) Magistrate, Bailiff, Mayor [Ger. schulze, f. M.H.Ger. schultheize (mod. Ger. sehultheiss), O.H.Ger. scultheiso (= A.-Sax. scyldkasta]”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)