2000
#140,756
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Knostman
A German surname thought to derive from "Knust", meaning stump or block of wood.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 139 Americans carry the last name Knostman. That puts it at #141,309 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,465,859 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Knostman 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
139
1 in 2,465,859
Census rank
#141,309
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
121
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 121 bearers of the surname Knostman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 141309th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Knostman, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Knostman
The surname Knostman has its origins in Germany, tracing back to the 16th century. It is believed to have been derived from the Old German word "knoste," which referred to a knob or a knot, possibly indicating a person's occupation or a distinguishing physical feature.
The earliest known record of the name Knostman can be found in the town of Nuremberg, where a family by that name was documented in the local parish records in the late 1500s. Over time, the name spread to other regions of Germany, and various spelling variations emerged, such as Knostmann, Knoestman, and Knöstmann.
In the 17th century, the name Knostman appeared in several historical documents, including the records of the Thirty Years' War, where a soldier named Hans Knostman was mentioned as having fought in the Battle of Nördlingen in 1634. Another notable figure was Johann Knostman, a renowned clockmaker from the town of Augsburg, who lived from 1675 to 1739 and became known for his intricate timepieces.
As the Knostman family spread across Germany and neighboring countries, some members settled in regions with distinct dialects, leading to further variations in the spelling and pronunciation of the name. For instance, in the Rhineland area, the name was sometimes written as Knußmann or Knustmann.
One of the earliest documented instances of the name outside of Germany can be found in the Netherlands, where a merchant named Pieter Knostman is recorded as having traded with the Dutch East India Company in the late 17th century. Another notable figure was Carl Knostman, a German-born artist who lived from 1807 to 1877 and became known for his landscape paintings depicting scenes from the Black Forest region.
Toward the end of the 19th century, several individuals with the surname Knostman emigrated from Germany to the United States and other parts of the world. One such individual was Wilhelm Knostman, born in 1842, who settled in Pennsylvania and worked as a blacksmith. Another was Emma Knostman, a writer and educator born in 1860 in Hannover, who later moved to England and published several works on literature and language education.
Over the centuries, the Knostman surname has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, from artisans and tradesmen to military personnel, artists, and scholars. While the name may have originated from a humble word describing a knot or a knob, it has since become woven into the rich tapestry of history and culture across multiple nations and generations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Knostman
Among Census respondents with the surname Knostman, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Knostman 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 Knostman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.7% · 117
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1
- Two or more races0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Knostman
Knostman 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
#142,108
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
+8 bearers (+7.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,352 places
2020
#141,309
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
+4 bearers (+3.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 799 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #140,756 | 109 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #142,108 | 117 | 0.04 | +8 bearers (+7.3%) | Down 1,352 places |
| 2020 | #141,309 | 121 | 0.04 | +4 bearers (+3.4%) | Up 799 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 Knostman 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 | #142,108 | #141,309 | 0.6% |
| Count | 117 | 121 | 3.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 1.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Knostman bearers went from 117 to 121 (+3.4% change). The surname moved up 799 positions in the national ranking, going from #142,108 to #141,309.
FAQ
Knostman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Knostman?
Name Census estimates that about 139 living Americans carry the surname Knostman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,465,859 residents.
How common is Knostman?
Knostman ranks #141,309 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 121 people with the surname Knostman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (139), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Knostman.
Has Knostman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Knostman went from 117 recorded bearers to 121. That is an increase of 4 (+3.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #142,108 to #141,309.
What does the Census say about the background of Knostman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Knostman, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.8%). 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 Knostman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.7% (117 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Knostman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.7%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%), American Indian/Alaska Native (0.8%). 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 Knostman (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 Knostman mean?
A German surname thought to derive from "Knust", meaning stump or block of wood. 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 Knostman (0.04 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 common is the surname Knostman?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Knostman at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.