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

Knoff, 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 Knoff surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Knoff in America

Knoff is the 43651st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Knoff surname appeared 494 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 Knoff.

We can also compare 2010 data for Knoff 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 Knoff

The surname Knoff has its origins in Germany and can be traced back to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the old German word "knopf," which means "button" or "knob." This suggests that the name may have originally been an occupational name for a button maker or someone who worked with buttons.

The earliest known records of the name Knoff can be found in the town of Bamberg, Bavaria, in the late 1500s. It is possible that the name was also present in other parts of Germany during this time period, but the records from Bamberg provide the earliest documented evidence.

In the 17th century, the name Knoff appeared in various church records and tax rolls in the region of Franconia, which was part of the Holy Roman Empire. One notable individual from this era was Hans Knoff, a merchant born in Nuremberg in 1632. He was known for his successful trade in textiles and buttons, which may have been related to the origins of his surname.

As the centuries progressed, the name Knoff spread to other parts of Europe and eventually to other continents through immigration. In the 19th century, Johann Knoff, born in 1812 in Saxony, emigrated to the United States and settled in Pennsylvania. He worked as a farmer and had several children, helping to establish the Knoff lineage in America.

Another prominent figure with the surname Knoff was Friedrich Knoff, a German philosopher and academic born in 1859 in Heidelberg. He taught at various universities and wrote extensively on topics such as metaphysics and ethics.

Other notable individuals with the surname Knoff include:

1. Elise Knoff (1838-1921), a German writer and feminist activist from Berlin.
2. Wilhelm Knoff (1876-1942), a German architect known for designing several landmark buildings in Berlin in the early 20th century.
3. Heinrich Knoff (1892-1976), a German-American engineer who contributed to the development of early computers and digital technology.
4. Ingrid Knoff (1921-2008), a Swedish painter and sculptor recognized for her abstract expressionist works.
5. Ulrich Knoff (born 1947), a German businessman and philanthropist who founded a successful software company in the 1980s.

While the surname Knoff is not among the most common in the world, it has a rich history that can be traced back several centuries to its origins in Germany. The name has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, including merchants, academics, artists, and entrepreneurs, showcasing its diverse heritage.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Knoff

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

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

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

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