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

Knetter, 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 Knetter surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Knetter in America

Knetter is the 67519th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Knetter surname appeared 292 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 Knetter.

We can also compare 2010 data for Knetter 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 Knetter

The surname KNETTER is of German origin, originating in the regions of Bavaria and Franconia in the late medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the Middle High German word 'knëtter', meaning 'a kneader' or someone who kneads dough, suggesting the name may have originally referred to a baker or miller.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name KNETTER can be found in the Bavarian town of Nürnberg, where a Hans Knetter was listed in the city's tax records in the year 1437. Another early reference is from the nearby town of Erlangen, where a certain Peter Knetter was mentioned in a local church registry in 1492.

During the 16th century, the KNETTER surname began to spread beyond its Bavarian and Franconian origins. In 1521, a Martin Knetter was documented as a resident of the city of Ulm in the neighboring region of Swabia. A few decades later, in 1568, a Johannes Knetter was recorded as living in the town of Heidelberg in the Palatinate region.

One notable bearer of the KNETTER name was Hans Knetter, a 16th-century master baker and guild member in the city of Nuremberg. He is mentioned in several guild records from the 1550s and 1560s, and is thought to have been a respected figure in the local baking community.

Another prominent individual with the surname KNETTER was Johann Knetter, a 17th-century Lutheran pastor and theologian from the town of Ansbach in Franconia. He was born in 1612 and served as a minister in several parishes before his death in 1681.

In the 18th century, the KNETTER name can be found in various regions of German-speaking Europe. For example, a Johann Georg Knetter was born in the town of Neustadt an der Weinstraße in the Palatinate in 1724, while a Christoph Knetter was recorded as a resident of the city of Vienna in Austria in 1778.

As the 19th century dawned, the KNETTER surname had spread further afield, with bearers of the name appearing in places like the Netherlands and Switzerland. One notable figure from this period was the Swiss artist and painter Johann Jakob Knetter, who was born in Basel in 1819 and is known for his landscape paintings of the Swiss Alps.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Knetter

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

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

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

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