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

Knocke, 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 Knocke surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Knocke in America

Knocke is the 77788th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Knocke surname appeared 246 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 Knocke.

We can also compare 2010 data for Knocke 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 Knocke

The surname KNOCKE originated in the Netherlands and Belgium in the early medieval period. It is derived from the Dutch word "knock," meaning a small hill or knoll. This suggests that the name was initially given as a descriptive surname to someone who lived near or on a small hill.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname date back to the 13th century in various Dutch and Flemish records. One notable example is Jan van den Knocke, a merchant from Ghent mentioned in a charter from 1287. The name also appears in the form "Cnoc" in a 14th-century manuscript from Bruges.

During the Middle Ages, the KNOCKE surname was particularly prevalent in the counties of Flanders and Brabant, which were part of the Duchy of Burgundy at the time. The name can be found in various historical records from this region, such as tax rolls and legal documents.

In the 16th century, a branch of the KNOCKE family settled in the city of Antwerp, where they became prominent merchants and traders. One notable member of this family was Pieter Knocke (1525-1598), a wealthy merchant and alderman who played a significant role in the city's affairs during the Dutch Revolt.

Another notable bearer of the KNOCKE surname was Jan Knocke (1651-1721), a Dutch artist known for his still-life paintings. He was born in Leiden and spent most of his career working in Amsterdam, where he became a member of the prestigious Guild of St. Luke.

In the 18th century, the KNOCKE surname also gained a foothold in parts of northern Germany, particularly in the regions bordering the Netherlands. This can be attributed to the migration of Dutch and Flemish settlers during this period.

One prominent figure from this era was Johann Knocke (1726-1789), a German theologian and philosopher who served as a professor at the University of Göttingen. He made significant contributions to the study of natural theology and wrote several influential works on the subject.

As the name spread across Europe, various spelling variations emerged, such as Knockert, Knockaert, and Knokke. These variations often reflected regional dialects and language differences, but they all traced their origins back to the original Dutch surname KNOCKE.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Knocke

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Knocke, 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!