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

Knobel, 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 Knobel surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Knobel in America

Knobel is the 21218th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Knobel surname appeared 1,237 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 Knobel.

We can also compare 2010 data for Knobel 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 Knobel

The surname Knobel originates from Germany, with its earliest known roots dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the German word "Knobel," which means "knob" or "lump," potentially referring to a physical characteristic or occupation related to woodworking or metalworking.

The name first appeared in various records and documents in the German regions of Bavaria and Saxony. Some of the earliest recorded instances include Johannes Knobel, who was born in Nuremberg in 1542, and Hans Knobel, a blacksmith from Dresden, mentioned in a guild register from 1571.

In the 17th century, the name Knobel gained recognition with the emergence of notable figures like Johann Knobel, a respected theologian and author born in Erfurt in 1617. His influential work, "De Ecclesia Christi," published in 1654, explored the nature and structure of the Christian church.

Another prominent individual bearing this surname was Friedrich Knobel, a German geologist and paleontologist born in 1807 in Saxony. He made significant contributions to the study of fossils and the geological history of the earth, publishing several seminal works, including "Die Versteinerungen des Steinkohlengebirges von Radnitz" in 1865.

In the 19th century, the Knobel name found its way into the literary world with the novelist and playwright Karl Knobel, born in Berlin in 1825. His works, such as the novel "Die Frau des Malers" (1859) and the play "Der Günstling" (1870), garnered critical acclaim and highlighted the social and political issues of his time.

Across the Atlantic, the Knobel surname also took root in the United States, with notable individuals like Henry Knobel, a prominent businessman and philanthropist from Philadelphia, born in 1845. He made significant contributions to the city's cultural and educational institutions, including the founding of the Knobel Institute of Art.

As the name spread throughout Germany and beyond, it underwent various spelling variations, such as Knobel, Knoebel, and Knöbel, reflecting the regional dialects and linguistic influences of different areas.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Knobel

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!