Katz (surname)

Katz is a common German Ashkenazi Jewish surname.

Germans with the last name Katz may originate in the Rhine River region of Germany, where the Katz Castle is located. (The name of the castle does not derive from Katze, "cat", but from Katzenelnbogen, going back to Latin Cattimelibocus, consisting of the ancient Germanic tribal names of the Chatti and Melibokus.)

Where it is a Jewish surname, Katz or Katzenellenbogen is almost always a Hebrew abbreviation (כּ״ץ, Kaf (a) Tzaddi, or Ka-Tz) formed from the initials of the term Kohen Tzedek ("priest of justice", "authentic priest"), indicating descent from Jewish priests (although not all Jewish Katzes are in fact descended from priests).

The full form Kohen Tzedek appears as a surname or title in a number of medieval sources, while the acronym Katz has been used since the seventeenth century, or perhaps somewhat earlier. The expression may be derived from Melchizedek ("king of righteousness"), who is called "the priest of the most high God", or perhaps from : "Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness (tzedeq)".

If the reading is correct, this abbreviation occurs on a tombstone, dated 1536, in the cemetery of Prague. It is found also on a tombstone of the year 1618 in Frankfurt, in the books of the Soncino family of Prague of the seventeenth century, and in one of the prefaces to Shabbethai ben Meïr ha-Kohen's notes on the Choshen Mishpat (Amsterdam, 1663).

An alternative theory suggests that Katz is an abbreviation of Kohen Tzadok (meaning the name-bearer is of patrilineal priestly descent of the Sons of Zadok).

The use of the abbreviated and Germanicized Katz likely coincided with the imposition of German names on Jews in Germany in the 18th and 19th centuries. Jews with the surname Katzenelenbogen may also have shortened their surname to Katz upon arrival in America.

People

 * Abraham Katz (1926–2013), American diplomat, United States Ambassador to the OECD
 * Ada Katz (born 1928), American artist's model
 * Albert Katz (1858–1923), writer
 * Alex Katz (born 1927), American artist
 * Alex Katz (baseball) (born 1994), American baseball player
 * Allan Katz (born 1941), American comedy writer
 * Allan J. Katz (born 1947), American ambassador to Portugal
 * Amir Katz (born 1973), Israeli-born musician
 * Andrew Katz, drummer of Car Seat Headrest
 * Andy Katz (born 1968), American college basketball journalist
 * Sir Bernard Katz (1911–2003), German-born British biophysicist
 * Boris Katz (born 1947), American computer scientist
 * Burt Katz (1937–2016), American restaurateur
 * Charles Katz (1927–1974), American mathematician and computer scientist
 * Daniel Katz (psychologist) (1903–1998), American psychologist
 * Daniel Katz (born 1938), Finnish author
 * Daniel Katz (politician) (born 1961), Argentine politician and former mayor of Mar del Plata, Argentina
 * Danny Katz (columnist), Australian columnist and author
 * Daryl Katz, Canadian drug store owner, owner of Edmonton Oilers
 * David Katz (author), British music historian and journalist
 * Dovid Katz, Lithuanian-American Yiddishist and academic
 * Elias Katz, Finnish 3,000-meter team steeplechase Olympic champion
 * Elie Katz, former mayor of Teaneck, New Jersey, United States
 * Elihu Katz, American sociologist
 * Emmanuel Mané-Katz, Ukraine-born Israeli artist
 * Erez Katz (born 1980), Israeli basketball player
 * Erich Katz (1900–1973), German-born musicologist and Jewish refugee
 * Ethan Katz (born 1983), American assistant pitching coach for the San Francisco Giants
 * Gary Katz, American music producer
 * Haim Katz, Israeli politician
 * Harold Katz, American entrepreneur
 * Harold A. Katz (1921–2012), American lawyer and politician
 * Ian Katz, British journalist (born in South Africa)
 * Israel Katz, Israeli politician
 * Jackson Katz, creator of gender violence prevention and education program Mentors in Violence Prevention
 * Jacob Katz, Israeli historian
 * Jane Katz, competitive swimmer and author of successful swimming books
 * Jane Lobman Katz (1931–1986), American activist
 * Jay Katz (disambiguation), name/pseudonym for several people
 * Jeff Katz, American film producer and comic book author
 * Jeffrey Owen Katz, American scientist
 * Jeffry Katz, American music producer
 * Jerrold Katz, American philosopher and linguist
 * Joanne Katz, American professor
 * Joel D. Katz, Canadian psychologist and researcher
 * Joette Katz (born 1953), American attorney
 * Jon Katz (born 1947), American journalist and writer
 * Jonathan Katz (born 1946), American comedian, actor, and voice actor
 * Jonathan David Katz (born 1958), American professor
 * Jonathan Ned Katz (born 1938), historian of LGBT American history
 * Joseph Katz (disambiguation)
 * Judah Katz, Canadian actor
 * Katriel Katz (1908–1988), Israeli diplomat
 * Lawrence F. Katz (born 1959), American economist
 * Louise Katz, Australian writer of fantasy and young adult fiction
 * Leo Katz, jurist
 * Leo Katz (1914–1976), American statistician
 * (1892–1954), Austrian writer
 * Leon Katz (1919–2017), professor emeritus of drama at Yale University
 * Leon Katz (1909–2004), Canadian physicist
 * Liz Katz, American cosplayer and actress whose credits include Guest House and Borderlands 3
 * Mabel Katz, Argentinian-American speaker and TV show host
 * Martin Katz (disambiguation)
 * Maxim Katz, Russian politician and activist
 * Michael S. Katz, American Chef, restaurateur and Educator
 * Mickey Katz, American comedian and musician
 * Mike Katz, American bodybuilder
 * Mikhail Katz, Israeli mathematician and professor
 * Miriam Katz (born 1931), birth name of Miriam Zohar, Israeli actress
 * Nathan Katz (professor), American professor
 * Nathan Katz (poet), Alsatian poet
 * Nets Katz, mathematician
 * Nicholas Katz, American mathematician
 * Omri Katz, American-Israeli actor
 * Otto Katz, agent of the Soviet Union
 * Paul Katz, American cellist
 * Phil Katz, American computer programmer
 * Phoebe Cates (born Phoebe Belle Katz), American actress
 * Ralph Katz, American bridge player
 * Randy H. Katz, UC Berkeley professor
 * Raphael Katz, American politician
 * Rita Katz, terrorism analyst and the co-founder of the Search International Terrorist Entities (SITE) Intelligence Group, a private intelligence firm based in Washington, D.C.
 * Richard H. Katz, American bridge player
 * Robert Katz (1933–2010), American novelist, screenwriter, and non-fiction author
 * Ronald A. Katz, inventor
 * Ron Katz (born 1985), Israeli politician
 * Rudolf Katz (1895–1961), German judge and politician
 * Ryan Katz (born 1976), American professional wrestler billed as "GQ Money"
 * Sam Katz, mayor of Winnipeg, Manitoba
 * Samuel Katz (disambiguation)
 * Sandor Katz (born 1962), American DIY writer and food activist
 * Sheila Moriber Katz (1943–2023), American pathologist
 * Sheldon Katz (born 1956), American mathematician
 * Shmuel Katz (artist) (1926–2010), Israeli artist
 * Sidney A. Katz, mayor of Gaithersburg, Maryland
 * Simon Katz, English songwriter and multi-instrumentalist
 * Steve Katz (disambiguation), several people
 * Steve Katz (writer) (1935–2019), American writer
 * Steve Katz (musician) (born 1945), American musician
 * Steven T. Katz (born 1944), Jewish philosopher
 * Steven A. Katz (born 1959), writer of the screenplay Shadow of the Vampire
 * Steve Katz (politician) (born 1953), veterinarian and member of the New York State Assembly
 * Stephen Katz (writer) (1946–2005), American teacher and screenwriter
 * Stephen M. Katz (cinematographer)
 * Sky Katz, American rapper and actress
 * Tamar Katz, Israeli figure skater living in the United States
 * Tuvia Katz (born 1936), Israeli artist
 * Vera Katz (1933–2017), American politician
 * Welwyn Wilton Katz, Canadian children's author
 * William Loren Katz (1927–2019), American historian, specializing in African American history
 * Yossi Katz, Israeli politician
 * Yossi Katz (geographer), Israeli professor in political geography
 * Zebra Katz, American rapper