Find out how popular the last name Knaster is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Knaster.

Knaster, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Knaster surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Knaster in America

Knaster is the 157234th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Knaster surname appeared 103 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Knaster.

We can also compare 2010 data for Knaster to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Knaster

The surname Knaster is of German origin, and it first appeared in records during the 16th century. The name is derived from the Middle High German word "knast," which means "knotty" or "gnarled," and it was likely an occupational name for a woodworker or someone who worked with knotty or gnarled wood.

The earliest known bearer of the name was Hans Knaster, who was mentioned in a document from the town of Nuremberg in 1542. During this time period, surnames were becoming more common, and they were often based on a person's occupation, physical characteristics, or place of origin.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Knaster name spread to other parts of Germany, as well as neighboring countries like Austria and Switzerland. One notable bearer of the name during this time was Johann Knaster, a German painter who lived from 1640 to 1696 and was known for his portraits and religious works.

As the Industrial Revolution began in the 19th century, many Knasters likely found work in the growing woodworking and furniture-making industries. The name can be found in various town and city records from this period, including birth, marriage, and death registers.

One of the most famous individuals with the Knaster surname was Max Knaster, a German mathematician who lived from 1900 to 1976. He made significant contributions to the field of algebraic geometry and is known for the Knaster–Kuratowski theorem, which he co-discovered with the Polish mathematician Kazimierz Kuratowski.

Other notable people with the Knaster surname include:

1. Friedrich Knaster (1892-1968), a German philosopher and logician.
2. Marian Knaster (1908-1995), a Polish mathematician and professor at the University of Warsaw.
3. Tadeusz Knaster (1920-1998), a Polish mathematician and son of Marian Knaster.
4. Paul Knaster (1886-1962), a German-American painter and lithographer known for his landscapes and cityscapes.

While the Knaster name is not as common today as it once was, it continues to be found in various parts of Europe, particularly in Germany and Poland, where many descendants of the original Knaster families still reside.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Knaster

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Knaster.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Knaster was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Knaster has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Knaster was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Knaster, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!