2000
#14,134
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,953
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.72
Rare Last name
Knaus
Derived from the Middle High German word "knūs," meaning a rugged or craggy hill or mountain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,277 Americans carry the last name Knaus. That puts it at #14,454 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.66 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 150,529 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Knaus 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
2.3K
1 in 150,529
Census rank
#14,454
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,986 bearers of the surname Knaus in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.66 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14454th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Knaus, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Knaus
The surname Knaus is of German origin, with roots dating back to the 14th century in the regions of Bavaria and Swabia. It is derived from the Old High German word "knollo," which referred to a rounded hillock or knoll. This suggests that the name may have initially been a descriptive surname for someone who lived near or on a small hill.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Knaus can be found in the Bavarian town of Landshut, where a certain Johann Knaus was mentioned in a municipal record from 1375. Another early reference comes from the town of Nördlingen in Swabia, where a Heinz Knaus was listed in a tax register from 1412.
In the 16th century, the name Knaus began to appear more frequently in various historical documents across southern Germany. For example, in the records of the Imperial City of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, a Balthasar Knaus was mentioned as a respected citizen in 1543.
The name Knaus is also connected to several place names in Germany, such as Knausmühle (Knaus Mill) and Knausheide (Knaus Heath), further reinforcing its geographical associations.
One notable figure bearing the surname Knaus was the German painter, Ludwig Knaus (1829-1910), who was renowned for his genre paintings depicting scenes of everyday life in the 19th century. Another famous Knaus was the Austrian poet and dramatist, Friedrich Halm (1806-1871), whose birth name was Eligius Franz Joseph von Münch-Bellinghausen, but who adopted the pen name Friedrick Halm, derived from his mother's maiden name of Knaus.
Other historical figures with the surname Knaus include Johann Nepomuk Knaus (1781-1857), a German Catholic theologian and professor at the University of Freiburg, and Johann Baptist Knaus (1637-1696), a German Catholic priest and composer of sacred music.
The surname Knaus has also been found in various spellings throughout history, such as Knaus, Knauß, Knauss, and Knaus, reflecting regional variations in orthography and pronunciation.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Knaus
Among Census respondents with the surname Knaus, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Knaus 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 Knaus surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.2% · 1,812
- Two or more races3.9% · 78
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 47
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 18
- Black or African American0.5% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Knaus
Knaus 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
#14,558
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,047
+94 bearers (+4.8%)
Per 100,000 0.69
Rank movement Down 424 places
2020
#14,454
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,986
-61 bearers (-3.0%)
Per 100,000 0.66
Rank movement Up 104 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,134 | 1,953 | 0.72 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,558 | 2,047 | 0.69 | +94 bearers (+4.8%) | Down 424 places |
| 2020 | #14,454 | 1,986 | 0.66 | -61 bearers (-3.0%) | Up 104 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 Knaus 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 | #14,558 | #14,454 | 0.7% |
| Count | 2,047 | 1,986 | -3.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.69 | 0.66 | -3.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Knaus bearers went from 2,047 to 1,986 (-3.0% change). The surname moved up 104 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,558 to #14,454.
FAQ
Knaus surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Knaus?
Name Census estimates that about 2,277 living Americans carry the surname Knaus. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 150,529 residents.
How common is Knaus?
Knaus ranks #14,454 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.66 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,986 people with the surname Knaus. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,277), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.66 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.66 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Knaus.
Has Knaus become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Knaus went from 2,047 recorded bearers to 1,986. That is a decrease of 61 (-3.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #14,558 to #14,454.
What does the Census say about the background of Knaus?
Among Census respondents with the surname Knaus, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Knaus in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.2% (1,812 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Knaus appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.2%), Two or More Races (3.9%), Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Knaus (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 Knaus mean?
Derived from the Middle High German word "knūs," meaning a rugged or craggy hill or mountain. 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 Knaus (0.66 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 many Americans have the surname Knaus?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.