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

Knechtel, 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 Knechtel surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Knechtel in America

Knechtel is the 38484th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Knechtel surname appeared 575 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 Knechtel.

We can also compare 2010 data for Knechtel 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 Knechtel

The surname Knechtel has its origins in the German language and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old German word "kneht," which means "servant" or "bondsman." This suggests that the name was likely initially given to someone who worked as a servant or serf on a manor or estate.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Knechtel can be found in various medieval documents from the regions of southern Germany and Switzerland. One notable example is the mention of a Johann Knechtel in a land registry from the town of Freiburg im Breisgau, dated 1387.

During the 15th and 16th centuries, as the practice of adopting hereditary surnames became more widespread, the name Knechtel began to appear more frequently in various records across central Europe. It is believed that the name was particularly common in the areas around the modern-day German states of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria.

One of the earliest notable individuals with the surname Knechtel was Hans Knechtel (1480-1549), a German farmer and landowner from the village of Eschenau in what is now Baden-Württemberg. His descendants went on to establish themselves as a prominent family in the region.

Another historical figure of note was Johann Knechtel (1537-1605), a Lutheran theologian and author from Nuremberg. He wrote several influential works on theology and was a prominent figure in the Protestant Reformation.

In the 17th century, the name Knechtel began to spread beyond the borders of Germany and Switzerland, as members of the family migrated to other parts of Europe and even as far as the Americas. One such individual was Peter Knechtel (1622-1692), a German immigrant who settled in the Dutch colony of New Netherland, which later became part of the state of New York.

A more recent example is that of Johann Nepomuk Knechtel (1824-1899), an Austrian sculptor and artist who was renowned for his work in creating religious sculptures and monuments in churches throughout Austria and Germany.

Throughout its history, the surname Knechtel has also been subject to various spelling variations, such as Knechtel, Knechtl, and Knechtle, among others. However, the core meaning and origin of the name have remained consistent, tracing back to its humble beginnings as a designation for those who worked as servants or bondsmen in medieval Germany.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Knechtel

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

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 Knechtel 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 Knechtel 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 Knechtel was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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