2000
#4,532
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,196
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.67
Rare Last name
Knudson
Patronymic surname derived from the Scandinavian personal name Knut, meaning "knot," likely referring to a large or strong man.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,080 Americans carry the last name Knudson. That puts it at #4,861 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.36 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 42,420 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Knudson 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
8.1K
1 in 42,420
Census rank
#4,861
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,046 bearers of the surname Knudson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.36 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4861st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Knudson, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Knudson
The surname Knudson has its origins in Scandinavia, particularly in Denmark and Norway. It is a patronymic surname, derived from the Old Norse personal name Knútr, which means "knot" or "nugget." The name Knudson essentially means "son of Knud."
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Knudson can be traced back to the medieval period in Denmark and Norway. It is believed that the name first emerged in the 12th or 13th century, although specific records from that time are scarce. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was a Norwegian landowner named Knud Knudsson, who lived in the late 13th century.
In the 14th century, the name appeared in various Norwegian and Danish records, including land deeds and tax rolls. One notable figure was Knud Knudsson, a Norwegian farmer and landowner who lived in the late 1300s.
By the 15th century, the Knudson surname had spread to other parts of Scandinavia, including Sweden and Iceland. In Iceland, a prominent figure was Jón Knudsson, a chieftain and lawspeaker who lived from 1459 to 1523.
As the Knudson family expanded and migrated, variations of the spelling emerged, such as Knudsen, Knutson, and Knutsson. One notable bearer of the name was Hans Knutsson, a Swedish statesman and regent who lived from 1513 to 1567.
In the 17th century, the Knudson surname began to appear in North America as Scandinavian immigrants settled in various parts of the United States and Canada. One of the earliest recorded Knudsons in America was Hans Knudson, a Norwegian immigrant who settled in New York in the 1650s.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the surname Knudson. One example is Sigrid Knudson, a Norwegian painter and illustrator who lived from 1882 to 1954. Another is Yvor Knudson, an American poet and critic who lived from 1906 to 1962.
In more recent times, the name has been carried by individuals such as Harry Knudson, a Canadian professional golfer who was born in 1925 and won several prestigious tournaments during his career. There is also Alvin Knudson, an American geneticist and cancer researcher who made significant contributions to the field of cancer genetics and was born in 1923.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Knudson
Among Census respondents with the surname Knudson, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Knudson 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 Knudson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.3% · 6,503
- Two or more races3.1% · 221
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 201
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 66
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 35
- Black or African American0.3% · 20
Timeline
Historical Census data for Knudson
Knudson 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
#4,841
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,278
+82 bearers (+1.1%)
Per 100,000 2.47
Rank movement Down 309 places
2020
#4,861
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,046
-232 bearers (-3.2%)
Per 100,000 2.36
Rank movement Down 20 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,532 | 7,196 | 2.67 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,841 | 7,278 | 2.47 | +82 bearers (+1.1%) | Down 309 places |
| 2020 | #4,861 | 7,046 | 2.36 | -232 bearers (-3.2%) | Down 20 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 Knudson 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 | #4,841 | #4,861 | -0.4% |
| Count | 7,278 | 7,046 | -3.2% |
| Per 100K | 2.47 | 2.36 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Knudson bearers went from 7,278 to 7,046 (-3.2% change). The surname moved down 20 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,841 to #4,861.
FAQ
Knudson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Knudson?
Name Census estimates that about 8,080 living Americans carry the surname Knudson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 42,420 residents.
How common is Knudson?
Knudson ranks #4,861 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.36 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,046 people with the surname Knudson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,080), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.36 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.36 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Knudson.
Has Knudson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Knudson went from 7,278 recorded bearers to 7,046. That is a decrease of 232 (-3.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,841 to #4,861.
What does the Census say about the background of Knudson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Knudson, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Knudson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.3% (6,503 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Knudson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.3%), Two or More Races (3.1%), Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Knudson (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 Knudson mean?
Patronymic surname derived from the Scandinavian personal name Knut, meaning "knot," likely referring to a large or strong man. 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 Knudson (2.36 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 Knudson?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.