2000
#124,872
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 127
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Knafla
An occupational surname referring to a button maker or seller.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 136 Americans carry the last name Knafla. That puts it at #142,788 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,520,252 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Knafla surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
136
1 in 2,520,252
Census rank
#142,788
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
119
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 119 bearers of the surname Knafla in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142788th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Knafla, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.8%) and Two or More Races (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Knafla
The surname Knafla is believed to have originated in the region of Silesia, which is now part of modern-day Poland and the Czech Republic. It is thought to have first emerged in the late 15th or early 16th century. The name is likely derived from the Old Slavic word "knava," meaning "servant" or "squire."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Knafla name can be found in the Silesian Land Records, which date back to the 16th century. These records were meticulously kept by local authorities and often included details about landowners, tenants, and other prominent individuals in the region.
In the 17th century, the name Knafla appeared in several historical documents related to the Thirty Years' War, a prolonged conflict that ravaged much of Central Europe between 1618 and 1648. These documents suggest that individuals bearing the Knafla surname may have been involved in or affected by the war in some capacity.
One notable figure with the Knafla surname was Jan Knafla (1595-1675), a Polish-born mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics. He is best known for his work on calculating the orbits of comets and planets.
Another individual of note was Anna Knafla (1718-1790), a Silesian-born painter and engraver. Her works, which often depicted religious scenes and landscapes, were highly regarded during her lifetime and can still be found in various art collections throughout Europe.
In the 19th century, the Knafla surname gained prominence in the world of literature with the birth of Jakub Knafla (1832-1891), a Polish novelist and poet. His works, which explored themes of love, loss, and the human condition, were widely celebrated and helped establish him as a significant figure in the Polish literary canon.
Towards the end of the 19th century, the Knafla name also appeared in the United States, as many individuals from Silesia and other parts of Central Europe began emigrating to America in search of new opportunities. One such individual was Tomasz Knafla (1867-1945), a Polish-born farmer who settled in Wisconsin and played a prominent role in the local Polish-American community.
Throughout its history, the Knafla surname has been associated with various occupations, from academics and artists to farmers and tradesmen. While its origins can be traced back to the region of Silesia, the name has since spread across different parts of the world, carried by those who have sought to forge new lives and opportunities for themselves and their families.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Knafla
Among Census respondents with the surname Knafla, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.8%) and Two or More Races (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Knafla bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Knafla surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.3% · 117
- Hispanic or Latino0.8% · 1
- Two or more races0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Knafla
Knafla appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#135,593
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 124
-3 bearers (-2.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,721 places
2020
#142,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
-5 bearers (-4.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 7,195 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #124,872 | 127 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #135,593 | 124 | 0.04 | -3 bearers (-2.4%) | Down 10,721 places |
| 2020 | #142,788 | 119 | 0.04 | -5 bearers (-4.0%) | Down 7,195 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Knafla surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #135,593 | #142,788 | -5.3% |
| Count | 124 | 119 | -4.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -0.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Knafla bearers went from 124 to 119 (-4.0% change). The surname moved down 7,195 positions in the national ranking, going from #135,593 to #142,788.
FAQ
Knafla surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Knafla?
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the surname Knafla. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,520,252 residents.
How common is Knafla?
Knafla ranks #142,788 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 119 people with the surname Knafla. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (136), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Knafla.
Has Knafla become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Knafla went from 124 recorded bearers to 119. That is a decrease of 5 (-4.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #135,593 to #142,788.
What does the Census say about the background of Knafla?
Among Census respondents with the surname Knafla, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.8%) and Two or More Races (0.8%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Knafla in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.3% (117 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Knafla appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (98.3%), Hispanic (0.8%), Two or More Races (0.8%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Knafla (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Knafla mean?
An occupational surname referring to a button maker or seller. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Knafla (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Knafla?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Knafla at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.