2000
#7,541
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,068
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.51
Rare Last name
Knopp
A German occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of buttons, from the Middle High German "knoppe".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,523 Americans carry the last name Knopp. That puts it at #8,054 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.32 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 75,780 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Knopp 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Knopp with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.5K
1 in 75,780
Census rank
#8,054
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,944 bearers of the surname Knopp in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.32 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8054th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Knopp, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Knopp
The surname Knopp has its origins in Germany, where it first emerged in the Middle Ages. The name is thought to derive from the Middle High German word "knopp," which referred to a knob or a button, potentially indicating a profession or occupation related to button-making or similar crafts.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Knopp can be found in the German city of Nuremberg, where a certain Johannes Knopp was mentioned in a tax register dating back to the 14th century. The name also appeared in various court records and municipal documents from the same time period in other parts of southern Germany.
In the 16th century, the surname Knopp started to spread beyond its original heartland in southern Germany. Records from this era show Knopp families residing in towns and villages across the German states, including areas such as Saxony, Brandenburg, and Pomerania.
One notable individual with the surname Knopp was Johann Knopp, a renowned German clockmaker who lived in Nuremberg during the late 16th century. His intricate and beautifully crafted clocks were highly sought after by the nobility and wealthy merchants of the time.
Another historical figure bearing the Knopp name was Christoph Knopp, a German Lutheran theologian and educator who lived in the 17th century. He served as a professor at the University of Wittenberg and was known for his scholarly works on theology and philosophy.
In the 18th century, the Knopp surname gained prominence in the region of Silesia, which was then part of the Kingdom of Prussia. One notable Silesian Knopp was Johann Gottlieb Knopp, a renowned composer and organist who lived from 1711 to 1778. His compositions for organ and church choir were highly regarded and widely performed during his lifetime.
As the German diaspora spread across the globe in the 19th and 20th centuries, the Knopp surname was carried to various parts of the world by emigrant families. Today, descendants of these German Knopp families can be found in countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and beyond.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Knopp
Among Census respondents with the surname Knopp, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Knopp 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 Knopp surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.2% · 3,677
- Two or more races3.0% · 117
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 104
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 23
- Black or African American0.4% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Knopp
Knopp 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
#8,080
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,103
+35 bearers (+0.9%)
Per 100,000 1.39
Rank movement Down 539 places
2020
#8,054
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,944
-159 bearers (-3.9%)
Per 100,000 1.32
Rank movement Up 26 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,541 | 4,068 | 1.51 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,080 | 4,103 | 1.39 | +35 bearers (+0.9%) | Down 539 places |
| 2020 | #8,054 | 3,944 | 1.32 | -159 bearers (-3.9%) | Up 26 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 Knopp 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 | #8,080 | #8,054 | 0.3% |
| Count | 4,103 | 3,944 | -3.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.39 | 1.32 | -5.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Knopp bearers went from 4,103 to 3,944 (-3.9% change). The surname moved up 26 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,080 to #8,054.
FAQ
Knopp surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Knopp?
Name Census estimates that about 4,523 living Americans carry the surname Knopp. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 75,780 residents.
How common is Knopp?
Knopp ranks #8,054 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.32 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 3,944 people with the surname Knopp. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,523), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.32 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.32 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 Knopp.
Has Knopp become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Knopp went from 4,103 recorded bearers to 3,944. That is a decrease of 159 (-3.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #8,080 to #8,054.
What does the Census say about the background of Knopp?
Among Census respondents with the surname Knopp, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Knopp in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.2% (3,677 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Knopp appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.2%), Two or More Races (3.0%), Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Knopp (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 Knopp mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of buttons, from the Middle High German "knoppe". 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 Knopp (1.32 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 Americans have the surname Knopp?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.