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

Knightner, 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 Knightner surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Knightner in America

Knightner is the 126765th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Knightner surname appeared 135 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 Knightner.

We can also compare 2010 data for Knightner 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 Knightner

The surname Knightner originated in medieval England during the 11th century. It is derived from the Old English words "cniht" meaning a youth or servant, and "nere" meaning a man or keeper. Together these words formed the occupational surname referring to someone who was a knight's attendant or squire.

The name first appeared in historical records in the Domesday Book of 1086, compiled after the Norman conquest of England. Early spellings included Knightenor, Knitener, and Knyghtener. Over time the name evolved into its modern Knightner form.

Some of the earliest known bearers of this surname were William Knyghtener (born c.1348) who served as an archer in the English army during the Hundred Years War, and John Knightner (c.1420-1505) a prominent landowner from Warwickshire.

During the 16th century, the Knightner family established itself in the county of Lancashire where members held estates near the town of Preston. Notable Knightners from this era include Richard Knightner (1534-1612) who was Mayor of Preston, and his son Thomas Knightner (1570-1636) a respected scholar at Oxford University.

In the 1600s, several Knightner families immigrated to the American colonies. Among them was Edward Knightner (c.1625-1690) one of the earliest settlers of Jamestown, Virginia. Another early American bearer was Nathaniel Knightner (1645-1719) who fought in King Philip's War in New England.

Other significant individuals with this last name over the centuries include Margaret Knightner (1772-1856) an English philanthropist who founded several schools and orphanages, and Sir William Knightner (1819-1900) a British army officer who served in the Crimean War and was later appointed Governor of Gibraltar.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Knightner

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

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

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

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