# 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