Katz is a common German surname. It is also one of the oldest Ashkenazi Jewish surnames.
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.)
As a Jewish surname, Katz is an abbreviation formed from the Hebrew initials of the term Kohen Tzedeq (Hebrew: כּ״ץ), meaning "priest of justice"/"authentic priest" or Kohen Tzadok meaning the name-bearer is of patrilineal descent of the Kohanim sons of Zadok. It has been used since the seventeenth century, or perhaps somewhat earlier, as an epithet of the descendants of Aaron. The collocation is most likely derived from Melchizedek ("king of righteousness"), who is called the priest ("kohen") of the most high God (Genesis xiv. 18), or perhaps from Psalm cxxxii. 9: Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness ("tzedeq"). The use of the abbreviated and Germanicized "Katz" likely coincided with the imposition of German names on Jews in Germany in the 18th or 19th centuries.
If the reading is correct, this abbreviation occurs on a tombstone, dated 1536, in the cemetery of Prague (Hock, Die Familien Prag's, p. 175); it is found also on a tombstone of the year 1618 in Frankfurt (M. Horowitz (Moses Horowitz?), Die Inschriften des Alten Friedhofes der Israelitischen Gemeinde zu Frankfurt-am-Main 1901, p. 63), in the books of the Soncino family of Prague of the seventeenth century (Zunz, Z.G. p. 262), and in one of the prefaces to Shabbethai ben Meïr ha-Kohen's notes on the Choshen Mishpat (Amsterdam, 1663).
People surnamed Katz include:
Ada Katz, American artist's modelAlex Katz, American artistAlex Katz (baseball), American baseball playerAllan Katz, American comedy writerAmir Katz, Israeli-born musicianAndy Katz, American college basketball journalistSir Bernard Katz, British biophysicist (born in Germany)Boris Katz, computer scientistDaniel Katz (psychologist), American psychologist (1903–1998)Daniel Katz (politician), Mayor of Mar del Plata, ArgentinaDanny Katz (columnist), Australian columnist and authorDaryl Katz, Canadian drug store owner, owner of Edmonton OilersDavid Katz (author), British music historian and journalistDovid Katz, Lithuanian-American Yiddishist and academicElias Katz, Finnish 3,000-meter team steeplechase Olympic championElihu Katz, American sociologistEmmanuel Mané-Katz, Ukraine-born Israeli artistErich Katz (1900–1973), a German-born musicologist and Jewish refugeeHarold Katz, American entrepreneurIan Katz, British journalist (born in South Africa)Jacob Katz, Israeli historianJane Katz, competitive swimmer and author of successful swimming booksJay Katz (disambiguation), name/pseudonym for several peopleJeffrey Katz, American music producerJerrold Katz, American philosopher and linguistJon Katz (born 1947), American journalist and writerJonathan Katz (born 1946), American comedian, actor, and voice actorJonathan David Katz (born 1958), American professorJonathan Ned Katz (born 1938), historian of LGBT American historyJoseph Katz, Comintern member, CPUSA and Soviet spyJudah Katz, Canadian actorLeo Katz, juristLeo Katz (1914–1976), American statisticianLeo Katz (writer) (1892-1954), Austrian writerLeon Katz (born 1919), professor emeritus of drama at Yale UniversityLeon Katz (1909–2004), Canadian physicistMartin Katz, American collaborative pianistMickey Katz, American comedian and musicianMike Katz, American bodybuilderMikhail Katz, Israeli mathematician and professorMiriam Katz (born 1931), birth name of Miriam ZoharNathan Katz (professor), American professorNathan Katz (poet), Alsatian poetNets Katz, mathematicianNicholas Katz, an American mathematicianOmri Katz, an American-Israeli actorPaul Katz, American cellistPhil Katz, American computer programmerPhoebe Cates (born Phoebe Belle Katz), American actressRalph Katz, American bridge playerRandy H. Katz, UC Berkeley professorRaphael Katz, American politicianRichard H. Katz, American bridge playerRonald A. Katz, inventorRobert Katz (1933–2010), American novelist, screenwriter, and non-fiction authorRyan Katz, professional wrestler billed as "GQ Money"Sam Katz, mayor of the city of Winnipeg, ManitobaSamuel Katz (disambiguation)Sandor Katz, American DIY writer and food activistShane Katz, Typical Canadian dude, famous for shootin' da puck and loving molassesSheldon Katz (born 1956), American mathematicianShemuel Katz (1926–2010), Israeli artistSidney A. Katz, mayor of the City of Gaithersburg, MarylandSimon Katz, English songwriter and multi-instrumentalistStu Katz, jazz pianist and vibraphonistTamar Katz, Israeli figure skater living in the United StatesTuvia Katz (born 1936), Israeli artistVera Katz, American politicianWelwyn Wilton Katz, Canadian children's authorWilliam Loren Katz, American historian, specializing in African American historyYuri Katz, Ukraine-born American music producer