Lantz is a surname of German and Swedish origin.

It is thought to possibly be a variant habitational surname adopted by people from settlements called "Lanz,"[3] 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",[4] 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.

[6] 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.

[7] 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.