Knoebel last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Knoebel

A locational surname denoting a person from a place named Knoebel.

Knoebel, 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 Knoebel surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Knoebel in America

Knoebel is the 30701st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Knoebel surname appeared 759 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 Knoebel.

We can also compare 2010 data for Knoebel 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 30701 29873 2.73%
Count 759 742 2.27%
Proportion per 100k 0.26 0.28 -7.41%

The history of the last name Knoebel

The surname Knoebel originated in Germany, with records dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Middle High German word "knobel," which referred to a knob or a bulb. This suggests that the name might have been initially used as a nickname for someone with a prominent nose or knobby features.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Knoebel can be found in the church records of the town of Reutlingen in Württemberg, Germany. In 1583, a certain Hans Knoebel was mentioned as a resident of the town. The name also appeared in other German regions, such as Saxony and Bavaria, during the 17th and 18th centuries.

The Knoebel surname has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One such figure was Johann Knoebel, a German mathematician and astronomer who lived from 1505 to 1570. He is known for his work on trigonometry and his contributions to the reform of the Julian calendar.

Another prominent Knoebel was Johann Friedrich Knoebel, a German composer and organist who lived from 1759 to 1836. He composed numerous works for the organ and was highly regarded in his time for his skill as a performer and teacher.

In the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of the Knoebel surname was in Pennsylvania. Johann Georg Knoebel, born in 1706 in Germany, immigrated to Pennsylvania in the mid-18th century and settled in the area that is now known as Berks County.

A notable American Knoebel was Edward Knoebel, a 19th-century politician and entrepreneur from Pennsylvania. He served as the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from 1891 to 1895 and was involved in various business ventures, including coal mining and banking.

Another American Knoebel of note was John Henry Knoebel, a businessman and inventor who lived from 1852 to 1929. He is credited with developing several innovations in the field of food preservation, including a method for canning vegetables and fruits.

While the Knoebel surname has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to various parts of the world, carried by individuals who emigrated from their homeland. Despite its varied geographical distribution, the name continues to reflect its origins and the rich cultural heritage of the German people.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Knoebel

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

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 Knoebel was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 97.23% 738
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.79% 6
Hispanic Origin 1.05% 8

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 Knoebel has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 97.23% 98.38% -1.18%
Black (S)% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% 0.94% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 0.79% (S)% (S)%
Hispanic 1.05% (S)% (S)%

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

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

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"Knoebel last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on April 25, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/knoebel-surname-popularity/.

"Knoebel last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/knoebel-surname-popularity/. Accessed 25 April, 2025

Knoebel last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/knoebel-surname-popularity/.

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