2000
#12,045
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,378
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.88
Rare Last name
Knobloch
A German occupational surname referring to a garlic grower or seller, derived from the German word "Knoblauch" meaning garlic.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,336 Americans carry the last name Knobloch. That puts it at #14,153 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.68 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 146,727 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Knobloch 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
2.3K
1 in 146,727
Census rank
#14,153
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,037 bearers of the surname Knobloch in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.68 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14153rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Knobloch, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Knobloch
The surname Knobloch has its origins in the German language, with the earliest known records dating back to the medieval period in central Europe. The name is believed to be derived from the Middle High German words "knobeloch" or "knobeloch," which translate to "knobby meadow" or "bumpy field." This suggests that the name may have originated as a topographic designation for someone who lived near or owned land with such a distinctive landscape feature.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Biberacher Urkundenbuch, a collection of historical documents from the city of Biberach in southern Germany, dating back to the 13th century. In this record, a certain "Cunradus dictus Knobloch" is mentioned, indicating that the name was already in use as a surname during that time.
As the name spread throughout the German-speaking regions, various spellings emerged, including Knobloch, Knobloch, Knoblack, and Knoblauch. These variations likely stemmed from regional dialects and the evolving nature of written records.
In the 16th century, a notable bearer of the name was Hans Knobloch, a German painter and engraver active in Nuremberg between 1560 and 1600. His works, which often depicted religious and allegorical scenes, can be found in various museums and collections across Europe.
Another significant figure with the Knobloch surname was Johann Christian Knobloch, a German philosopher and mathematician born in 1698 in Weißenfels, Saxony. He made contributions to the fields of logic and metaphysics and served as a professor at the University of Wittenberg.
In the realm of literature, Friedrich Wilhelm Knobloch, born in 1801 in Stettin (now Szczecin, Poland), was a renowned German playwright and novelist. His works, which often explored social and political themes, were popular in the 19th century.
Moving into the 20th century, Hugo Knobloch, born in 1899 in Berlin, was a German actor and film director. He appeared in numerous films during the silent era and transitioned successfully into talkies, working in both Germany and the United States.
Finally, it is worth mentioning Johann Gottlieb Knobloch, a German botanist and physician born in 1738 in Saxony. He made significant contributions to the study of plant taxonomy and authored several important works on the subject.
While the name Knobloch may have originated as a descriptive term for a specific geographic feature, it has since become a widespread surname found throughout German-speaking regions and beyond, carried by individuals from various walks of life, including artists, scholars, and professionals.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Knobloch
Among Census respondents with the surname Knobloch, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Knobloch 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 Knobloch surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.2% · 1,898
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 65
- Two or more races2.7% · 55
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 6
- Black or African American0.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Knobloch
Knobloch 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
#13,357
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,282
-96 bearers (-4.0%)
Per 100,000 0.77
Rank movement Down 1,312 places
2020
#14,153
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,037
-245 bearers (-10.7%)
Per 100,000 0.68
Rank movement Down 796 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,045 | 2,378 | 0.88 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,357 | 2,282 | 0.77 | -96 bearers (-4.0%) | Down 1,312 places |
| 2020 | #14,153 | 2,037 | 0.68 | -245 bearers (-10.7%) | Down 796 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 Knobloch 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 | #13,357 | #14,153 | -6.0% |
| Count | 2,282 | 2,037 | -10.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.77 | 0.68 | -11.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Knobloch bearers went from 2,282 to 2,037 (-10.7% change). The surname moved down 796 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,357 to #14,153.
FAQ
Knobloch surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Knobloch?
Name Census estimates that about 2,336 living Americans carry the surname Knobloch. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 146,727 residents.
How common is Knobloch?
Knobloch ranks #14,153 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.68 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,037 people with the surname Knobloch. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,336), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.68 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.68 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Knobloch.
Has Knobloch become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Knobloch went from 2,282 recorded bearers to 2,037. That is a decrease of 245 (-10.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,357 to #14,153.
What does the Census say about the background of Knobloch?
Among Census respondents with the surname Knobloch, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Knobloch in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.2% (1,898 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Knobloch appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.2%), Hispanic (3.2%), Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Knobloch (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 Knobloch mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a garlic grower or seller, derived from the German word "Knoblauch" meaning garlic. 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 Knobloch (0.68 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 people have the surname Knobloch?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.