Kurtz (surname)

Kurtz is a surname, mainly a German and Jewish (Ashkenazic/Yiddish), meaning someone who is short in height. It comes from the German word 'kurz' meaning 'short'. Variant: Kurz. Notable people with the surname include:


 * Jacob Kurz von Senftenau (or Latin: Jacob Curtius; Czech: Jakub Kurz ze Senftenavy), Imperial pro-chancellor for Rudolph II
 * Adolf Kurz (1888–1959), German wrestler
 * Bastian Kurz (born 1996), German football midfielder
 * Bob Kurtz (animator), director, producer, artist, and designer, primarily in film and TV commercials
 * Bob Kurtz (broadcaster), American sportscaster
 * David B. Kurtz (1819–1898), American politician in California
 * Edmund Kurtz (1908–2004), Russian-born Australian cellist and music editor
 * Efrem Kurtz (1900–1995), conductor
 * Erwin Kurz (1846–1901), President of the Swiss National Council (1887/1888)
 * Eugene Kurtz (1923–2006), American composer
 * Federico Kurtz (1854–1920), German-Argentine botanist
 * Frank Kurtz (1911–1996), diver and aviator
 * Frank Kurtz (director), American film director and comics writer
 * Fred Kurz (1918–1978), English football player
 * Gary Kurtz, American film producer (Star Wars)
 * George Kurtz American cybersecurity entrepreneur
 * Gerdina Hendrika Kurtz (1899–1989), Dutch historian, writer and archivist
 * Glenn Kurtz (born 1962), American writer
 * Hal Kurtz (born 1943), baseball player
 * Heinrich Kurz (died 1557), Roman Catholic Auxiliary Bishop of Passau
 * Heinz D. Kurz (born 1946), Austrian professor of economics
 * Hermann Kurz (1813–1873), German poet and novelist
 * Howard Kurtz (born 1953), American journalist, author and media critic
 * Ilona Kurz (1899-1975), Czech concert pianist and professor
 * Irma Kurtz (born 1935), American-born UK-based agony aunt
 * Isolde Kurz (1853–1944), German poet and short story writer
 * Jacob Banks Kurtz (1867–1960), US Congressman from Pennsylvania
 * Jeff Kurtz (born 1954), American politician
 * Jerry Kurz (born 1949), one of the earliest leaders of Arena football
 * Johann Kurz (1913-1985), Roman Catholic Presbyter and schoolmaster of the Archbishop seminary Hollabrun
 * Johann Heinrich Kurtz (1809–1890), German Lutheran theologian
 * Josef Kurz, or Josef Kruz (1889-?), Czech sports shooter
 * Joseph Kurtz (born 1964), engineer and builder
 * Joseph Edward Kurtz (born 1946), Roman Catholic Archbishop of Louisville, Kentucky
 * Joyce Kurtz (born 1958), American voice actress
 * Justin Kurtz (born 1977), Canadian ice hockey player
 * Karl Friedrich Kurz (1878–1962), Swiss-German-Norwegian novelist
 * Katherine Kurtz (born 1944), fantasy author
 * Kurt Kurz (1927–2013), Austrian ice hockey player
 * Lucy Kurtz (1861–1937), wife of Douglas Hyde, 1st President of Ireland
 * Marco Kurz (born 1969), German footballer
 * Maxine Kurtz (1921-2009), American city planner
 * Michael L. Kurtz (born 1941), American historian
 * Mike Kurtz (c. 1845–1904), American burglar and gang leader in New York City
 * Nico Kurz (born 1997), German darts player
 * Oliver Kurtz (born 1971), German hockey player
 * Otto Kurz (1908-1975), Austrian historian
 * Paul Kurtz (1925–2012), American philosopher and skeptic
 * Robert Kurz (born 1985), American basketball player
 * Robert Kurz (philosopher) (1943–2012), German Marxist, social critic and editor of the journal Exit!
 * Rosemary Kurtz (born 1930), American educator and politician
 * Rudolf Friedrich Kurz (1818–1871), Swiss painter of native Americans
 * Sarah Kurtz, American solar cell researcher
 * Stanley Kurtz, contributing editor for National Review Online
 * Samuel Kurtz, Welsh politician
 * Sanne Kurz (born 1974), German cinematographer
 * Scott Kurtz, author of the webcomic Player Vs. Player
 * Selma Kurz (1874–1933), Austrian operatic soprano
 * Stephen G. Kurtz, American historian
 * Steve Kurtz, performance artist
 * Swoosie Kurtz (born 1944), American actress, daughter of Frank
 * Thomas Kurz (born 1988), German football player
 * Thomas Eugene Kurtz (born 1928), computer scientist, co-developed the BASIC programming language
 * Toni Kurz (1913–1936), German mountain climber
 * Vilém Kurz (1872–1945), Czech pianist and renowned piano teacher
 * Werner Kurz, Canadian researcher on climate change accountability
 * Wilhelm Sulpiz Kurz (1834–1878), German botanist and garden director
 * William Kurtz (photographer) (1833–1904), German-American photographer based in New York City
 * William Henry Kurtz (1804–1868), US Congressman from Pennsylvania
 * William Joseph Kurtz (1935-2023), Polish Roman Catholic prelate

Fictional characters

 * Kurtz (Heart of Darkness), novel character
 * Colonel Kurtz, film character, from Apocalypse Now