Lantz (surname)

Lantz is a surname of German and Swedish origin.



German origins
The German surname Lantz is thought to have several origins. It is thought to possibly be a variant habitational surname adopted by people from settlements called "Lanz," a shortened habitational name derived from "Lanzo" or "Lando," which was originally a short form of various compound names using the element "land" or "territory", or possibly derived as a warrior's name from the weapon lance (modern German, "lanze"). Though found throughout Germany, today the surname is most heavily concentrated in the states of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein in the north, and Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Saarland in the southwest. Geographically, it may have originated in the region of Old Saxony.

Swedish origin
The Swedish surname Lantz is thought to have originated as a military-related name derived from "lance," (modern Swedish, "lans") which is a pole weapon designed to be used by a mounted warrior or cavalry soldier called a Lancer. Military-related names became relatively common in the Swedish military in the 17th and 18th centuries as members were required to adopt unique surnames as a means to distinguish themselves from one another.

German Variants

 * Lanz
 * Lanze
 * Lantze
 * Lanitz
 * Land
 * Lanzo
 * Lando

Notable people with the surname

 * Adolf Lantz (1882–1949), Austrian screenwriter
 * Annika Lantz (born 1968), Swedish radio host, comedian and television presenter
 * Charles Lantz (1884–1962), American football coach
 * Francess Lantz (1952–2004), American fiction writer
 * Frank Lantz (born 1963), Director of the New York University Game Center
 * Gustaf Lantz (born 1981), Swedish politician
 * James A. Lantz (1921–2014), American lawyer and politician
 * Jeff Lantz, Canadian lawyer, judge and politician
 * Joachim Lantz (born 1977), Swedish football player
 * Jörgen Lantz (born 1943), Swedish actor
 * Kenneth Lantz (born 1949), Swedish politician
 * Lisa Lantz (born 1987), Swedish football player
 * Marcus Lantz (born 1975), Swedish football player
 * Maria Lantz, Swedish artist
 * Michael Lantz (1908–1988), American sculptor and medalist
 * Mose Lantz (1903–1969), American football player
 * Patricia Lantz, American politician
 * Rick Lantz, American football coach
 * Rob Lantz, Canadian politician
 * Simon E. Lantz (1872–1952), American farmer and politician
 * Stu Lantz (born 1946), American basketball player
 * Walter Lantz (1899–1994), American cartoonist and animator; creator of Woody Woodpecker
 * Paula Lantz, American social epidemiologist