Kranz

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 2 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Kranz is also recorded as another name, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• German surname22K records spelled Kranz4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Germany, United States, Liechtenstein, Austria

  Also written Kränz, Kraenz

41 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Kranz is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In German, from 'wreath/garland', or from mhd. grans 'beak'; also from PN Chranzo

  as a name·Deutsche Namenkunde: Unsere Familiennamen nach ihrer Entstehung und Bedeutung

• In German, 3. In some cases it may also be one of the several German spellings of the Slovenian habitational name Kranjec (also found as Krajnc or Kranjc), denoting someone from Kranjska province (Latin Camiola, German Krain), an old name for the historical central part of Slovenia.

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

• In German, from Middle High German kranz ‘garland’, ‘wreath’; a metonymic occupational name for a maker of chaplets and wreaths, a habitational name for someone who lived at a house distinguished by the sign of a garland, or a nickname for someone whose hair was tonsured.

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

• In German, ornamental name from German Kranz or Yiddish krantj ‘wreath’, ‘garland’.

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

• In German, wreath, garland

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

FR INSEE — Fichier des noms de famille (1891–2000) — 11 years between 1891–1991. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Walther Kranzb. 1884DEGerman classicist and educationist (1884–1960); affiant in the Einsatzgruppen Trial (NMT 9)
• Ernst-August Kranzb. 1919DEGerman politician (1919-2003)
• Ken Kranzb. 1923USAmerican football player (1923-2017)
• Gene Kranzb. 1933USNASA Flight Director and manager
• George Kranzb. 1956DEGerman musician
• Günther Kranzb. 1958LILiechtensteiner politician
• Maciej Kranzb. 1964PLpolish-American business executive and author
• Markus Kranzb. 1969DEGerman footballer
• Fran Kranzb. 1981USAmerican actor
• Michael Kranzb. 1983DEGerman actor

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 39 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Kranz?

We estimate roughly 6.2 thousand people bear Kranz (counting its spellings and scripts) across 13 countries in our records.

In which country does Kranz have the most bearers?

We estimate about 5.1 thousand people bear Kranz in the United States, more than in any other country in our records, where it is most often spelled kranz.

How common is Kranz compared with other names?

In Antigua & Barbuda, Kranz is the 221st most common surname of 21,438 surnames recorded there.

What does the name Kranz mean?

Recorded meaning: (i) ‘wreath-maker’ or one living in a house marked by a wreath or garland; (ii) an invented Jewish name based on German Kranz ‘wreath, garland’.