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

Knezovich, 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 Knezovich surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Knezovich in America

Knezovich is the 86005th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Knezovich surname appeared 217 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 Knezovich.

We can also compare 2010 data for Knezovich 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 Knezovich

The surname Knezovich is of Slavic origin, specifically from the Balkan region of southeastern Europe. It likely originated in the medieval period, around the 12th to 15th centuries. The name is derived from the Slavic word "knez," which means "prince" or "ruler," suggesting that the earliest bearers of this surname may have been related to nobility or held positions of authority.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Knezovich can be found in the archives of the Republic of Ragusa (modern-day Dubrovnik, Croatia), where a merchant named Petar Knezovich is mentioned in a document dated 1487. This indicates that the name was already established in the Dalmatian region during the late 15th century.

In the 16th century, the name appears in records from the Kingdom of Hungary, which at the time included parts of present-day Croatia, Serbia, and Romania. A notable figure from this period is Luka Knezovich, a military commander who served under the Hungarian king in the wars against the Ottoman Empire in the 1520s.

As the Knezovich family spread throughout the Balkan region, variations in spelling emerged, such as Knezevic, Knežević, and Knezhevich. These variations reflect the differences in pronunciation and orthography among the various Slavic languages and dialects.

By the 17th century, the name had also made its way into the historical records of neighboring regions, such as the Republic of Venice and the Habsburg Monarchy. In 1648, a merchant named Ivan Knezovich is recorded as having traded goods between Dalmatia and the Venetian port of Trieste.

In the 19th century, a notable figure bearing the Knezovich surname was Jovan Knezovich, a Serbian writer and poet who lived from 1809 to 1833. His works were influential in the Serbian literary renaissance and the promotion of the Serbian language and culture during the period of Ottoman rule.

Another significant figure was Maksim Knezovich, a Croatian-born painter who lived from 1858 to 1939. He is known for his portraits and landscape paintings, which captured the beauty of the Croatian countryside and its people.

As the Knezovich family spread across various regions, some members settled in other parts of Europe and even in the Americas, particularly in the late 19th and early 20th centuries during periods of mass migration. However, the name's roots can be traced back to the Balkan region, where it emerged as a reflection of the region's rich cultural and historical heritage.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Knezovich

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

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

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

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