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 (1928–2024), 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