2000
#137,816
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Knefelkamp
A surname derived from a topographic name referring to a person living near a clump or thicket of bushes.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 123 Americans carry the last name Knefelkamp. That puts it at #151,639 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,786,621 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Knefelkamp 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
123
1 in 2,786,621
Census rank
#151,639
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
107
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 107 bearers of the surname Knefelkamp in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 151639th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Knefelkamp, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Black (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Knefelkamp
The surname Knefelkamp has its origins in Germany, dating back to the late medieval period. It is believed to have originated in the northern regions of the country, particularly in the areas around Hamburg and Lower Saxony. The name is thought to be derived from the Old German words "knevel" or "knevel-kamp," which roughly translate to "a small hill" or "a hillock." This suggests that the name may have initially been a descriptive term for a person who lived on or near a small hill.
Historical records indicate that variations of the name, such as Knefelcamp and Knevelkamp, appeared in various documents from the 14th and 15th centuries. One of the earliest known references is found in the Lüneburg Town Records from the year 1376, where a certain Henning Knefelkamp is mentioned. Another notable mention is in the Codex Diplomaticus Lubecensis, a collection of documents from the city of Lübeck, where a Johannes Knefelcamp is recorded in 1438.
The name Knefelkamp has been associated with several prominent individuals throughout history. One such figure is Johann Knefelkamp (1530-1596), a German Lutheran theologian and author from Lübeck. He was a staunch supporter of the Lutheran Reformation and wrote several theological treatises. Another notable bearer of the name was Wilhelm Knefelkamp (1642-1719), a German composer and organist from Celle, who served as the court organist for the Dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg.
In the 18th century, the name Knefelkamp gained recognition through the work of Christoph Knefelkamp (1705-1778), a German jurist and legal scholar from Mecklenburg. He served as a professor of law at the University of Rostock and published influential works on German civil law. Another prominent figure was Johann Knefelkamp (1772-1848), a German architect from Hamburg, who was responsible for designing several notable buildings in the city, including the St. Petri Church and the Oberalten Gate.
One of the most recent historical figures with the surname Knefelkamp was Friedrich Knefelkamp (1872-1940), a German artist and painter from Berlin. He was known for his landscape paintings and was a member of the Berlin Secession, an influential association of artists in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Knefelkamp
Among Census respondents with the surname Knefelkamp, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Black (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Knefelkamp 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 Knefelkamp surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.5% · 100
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 4
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Knefelkamp
Knefelkamp 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
#145,220
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
+2 bearers (+1.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 7,404 places
2020
#151,639
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
-7 bearers (-6.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 6,419 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #137,816 | 112 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #145,220 | 114 | 0.04 | +2 bearers (+1.8%) | Down 7,404 places |
| 2020 | #151,639 | 107 | 0.04 | -7 bearers (-6.1%) | Down 6,419 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 Knefelkamp 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 | #145,220 | #151,639 | -4.4% |
| Count | 114 | 107 | -6.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -10.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Knefelkamp bearers went from 114 to 107 (-6.1% change). The surname moved down 6,419 positions in the national ranking, going from #145,220 to #151,639.
FAQ
Knefelkamp surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Knefelkamp?
Name Census estimates that about 123 living Americans carry the surname Knefelkamp. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,786,621 residents.
How common is Knefelkamp?
Knefelkamp ranks #151,639 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 107 people with the surname Knefelkamp. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (123), 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 Knefelkamp.
Has Knefelkamp become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Knefelkamp went from 114 recorded bearers to 107. That is a decrease of 7 (-6.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #145,220 to #151,639.
What does the Census say about the background of Knefelkamp?
Among Census respondents with the surname Knefelkamp, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Black (0.9%). 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 Knefelkamp in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.5% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Knefelkamp appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.5%), Hispanic (3.7%), Black (0.9%). 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 Knefelkamp (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 Knefelkamp mean?
A surname derived from a topographic name referring to a person living near a clump or thicket of bushes. 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 Knefelkamp (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 many people share the surname Knefelkamp?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.