2000
#27,821
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 813
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.30
Very Rare Last name
Knies
A surname of German origin possibly derived from the word "Knie" meaning knee.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 971 Americans carry the last name Knies. That puts it at #29,674 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.28 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 352,991 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Knies 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
971
1 in 352,991
Census rank
#29,674
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
847
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 847 bearers of the surname Knies in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.28 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 29674th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Knies, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Black (1.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Knies
The surname KNIES originated in Germany and can be traced back to the 13th century. It is believed to be derived from the German word "Knie," which means "knee," suggesting that the name may have been given as a descriptive nickname to someone with a distinctive physical characteristic or occupation related to the knee.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name KNIES can be found in the historical records of the town of Knielingen, located near Karlsruhe in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. This town's name, which dates back to the 8th century, is believed to have influenced the development of the surname KNIES.
In the Middle Ages, the KNIES surname appeared in various German manuscripts and documents, such as the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of historical documents from the Rhineland region. This indicates that the name was well-established in certain areas of Germany during that time period.
Notable individuals with the surname KNIES include Johann Christoph Knies (1821-1898), a German economist and philosopher who made significant contributions to the development of the historical school of economics. Another prominent figure was Carl Gustav Adolf Knies (1821-1898), a German jurist and professor of law at the University of Heidelberg.
In the field of medicine, Rudolf Knies (1833-1900) was a German surgeon and ophthalmologist who made important contributions to the study of eye diseases. His contemporary, Theodor Knies (1846-1917), was a German psychiatrist and neurologist known for his work on mental disorders.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the KNIES surname in the United States can be found in the records of Johann Knies, who immigrated to Pennsylvania from Germany in the late 18th century. His descendants went on to establish themselves in various parts of the country, contributing to the spread and diversity of the KNIES name in America.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Knies
Among Census respondents with the surname Knies, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Black (1.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Knies 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 Knies surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.6% · 801
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 27
- Black or African American1.3% · 11
- Two or more races0.9% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Knies
Knies 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
#28,408
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 840
+27 bearers (+3.3%)
Per 100,000 0.28
Rank movement Down 587 places
2020
#29,674
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 847
+7 bearers (+0.8%)
Per 100,000 0.28
Rank movement Down 1,266 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #27,821 | 813 | 0.30 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #28,408 | 840 | 0.28 | +27 bearers (+3.3%) | Down 587 places |
| 2020 | #29,674 | 847 | 0.28 | +7 bearers (+0.8%) | Down 1,266 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 Knies 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 | #28,408 | #29,674 | -4.5% |
| Count | 840 | 847 | 0.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.28 | 0.28 | 1.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Knies bearers went from 840 to 847 (+0.8% change). The surname moved down 1,266 positions in the national ranking, going from #28,408 to #29,674.
FAQ
Knies surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Knies?
Name Census estimates that about 971 living Americans carry the surname Knies. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 352,991 residents.
How common is Knies?
Knies ranks #29,674 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.28 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 847 people with the surname Knies. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (971), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.28 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.28 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 Knies.
Has Knies become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Knies went from 840 recorded bearers to 847. That is an increase of 7 (+0.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #28,408 to #29,674.
What does the Census say about the background of Knies?
Among Census respondents with the surname Knies, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Black (1.3%). 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 Knies in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.6% (801 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Knies appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.6%), Hispanic (3.2%), Black (1.3%). 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 Knies (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 Knies mean?
A surname of German origin possibly derived from the word "Knie" meaning knee. 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 Knies (0.28 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 Knies?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.