2000
#2,369
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,008
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.19
Uncommon Last name
Knott
Derived from the Old English word "cnotta," referring to someone who lived near a hillock or knoll.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 15,749 Americans carry the last name Knott. That puts it at #2,570 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.59 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 21,764 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Knott 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 Knott with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
16K
1 in 21,764
Census rank
#2,570
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
14K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 13,734 bearers of the surname Knott in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.59 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2570th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Knott, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.8%. The next largest groups are Black (12.1%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Knott
The surname Knott has its origins in England and is derived from the Old English word 'cnotta', meaning a knot or a knotted cord. It was likely used initially as a descriptive nickname for someone who worked with ropes or knotted cords, perhaps a sailor or a ropemaker.
The earliest recorded instance of the Knott surname dates back to the 12th century in the Pipe Rolls of Berkshire, where a Roger Cnot is mentioned in 1195. Another early record is found in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, which lists a Robert Knot in Oxfordshire.
During the medieval period, the surname Knott was particularly prevalent in the counties of Derbyshire, Staffordshire, and Cheshire. Some notable early bearers of the name include John Knot, who was a member of the Parliament of England in 1399, and William Knott, a landowner in Yorkshire mentioned in the Court Rolls of 1447.
The name Knott is also connected to several place names in England, such as Knott Hill in Staffordshire and Knott Lane in Derbyshire. These place names likely derived their names from individuals with the surname Knott who lived in or owned land in those areas.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Knott surname in the United States is that of John Knott, who arrived in Virginia in 1635. Another notable early American bearer of the name was Thomas Knott, a Quaker who settled in Pennsylvania in the late 17th century.
Throughout history, several individuals with the Knott surname have achieved notable status. These include James Proctor Knott (1830-1908), a U.S. Congressman and Governor of Kentucky, and Edward J. Knott (1799-1875), a prominent American Catholic priest and educator who founded Mount St. Mary's University in Maryland.
Other notable figures with the Knott surname include James Raffield Knott (1853-1923), an English cricketer who played for Derbyshire, and Frederic Knott (1916-2002), an American playwright best known for his play "Dial M for Murder."
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Knott
Among Census respondents with the surname Knott, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.8%. The next largest groups are Black (12.1%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Knott 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 Knott surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.8% · 10,959
- Black or African American12.1% · 1,665
- Two or more races3.6% · 488
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 457
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 91
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 74
Timeline
Historical Census data for Knott
Knott 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
#2,466
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,622
+614 bearers (+4.4%)
Per 100,000 4.96
Rank movement Down 97 places
2020
#2,570
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,734
-888 bearers (-6.1%)
Per 100,000 4.59
Rank movement Down 104 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,369 | 14,008 | 5.19 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,466 | 14,622 | 4.96 | +614 bearers (+4.4%) | Down 97 places |
| 2020 | #2,570 | 13,734 | 4.59 | -888 bearers (-6.1%) | Down 104 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 Knott 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 | #2,466 | #2,570 | -4.2% |
| Count | 14,622 | 13,734 | -6.1% |
| Per 100K | 4.96 | 4.59 | -7.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Knott bearers went from 14,622 to 13,734 (-6.1% change). The surname moved down 104 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,466 to #2,570.
FAQ
Knott surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Knott?
Name Census estimates that about 15,749 living Americans carry the surname Knott. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 21,764 residents.
How common is Knott?
Knott ranks #2,570 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.59 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 13,734 people with the surname Knott. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (15,749), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.59 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.59 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Knott.
Has Knott become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Knott went from 14,622 recorded bearers to 13,734. That is a decrease of 888 (-6.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,466 to #2,570.
What does the Census say about the background of Knott?
Among Census respondents with the surname Knott, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.8%. The next largest groups are Black (12.1%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Knott in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.8% (10,959 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Knott appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.8%), Black (12.1%), Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Knott (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 Knott mean?
Derived from the Old English word "cnotta," referring to someone who lived near a hillock or knoll. 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 Knott (4.59 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 people have the surname Knott?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.