2000
#2,009
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,560
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.14
Uncommon Last name
Knutson
A patronymic surname of Scandinavian origin meaning "son of Knut," derived from the Old Norse name Knútr.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 18,498 Americans carry the last name Knutson. That puts it at #2,201 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.40 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 18,529 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Knutson 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
18K
1 in 18,529
Census rank
#2,201
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
16K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 16,131 bearers of the surname Knutson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.40 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2201st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Knutson, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Hispanic (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Knutson
The surname Knutson is of Scandinavian origin, specifically from Norway and Sweden. It is a patronymic name, meaning it was derived from the given name of the father or an ancestor. Knutson is believed to have originated in the late medieval period, sometime around the 13th or 14th century.
In its earliest form, the name was likely spelled as Knutsson or Knutsen, reflecting the Old Norse and Swedish spelling conventions. It is derived from the Old Norse personal name Knutr, which means "knot" or "knot of wood." This name was commonly used in Scandinavia during the Viking Age and the Middle Ages.
The Knutson surname is believed to have first emerged in coastal regions of Norway and Sweden, where many families were involved in maritime activities and fishing. The name may have referred to someone who was skilled in knot-tying or worked with ropes and rigging.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Knutson can be found in the Swedish census records from the late 16th century. In these records, several individuals with the surname Knutson are mentioned, indicating that the name had already been established by that time.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals bearing the Knutson surname. One of the earliest was Knut Knutson (1390-1449), a Swedish nobleman and Lord of Valö. Another prominent figure was Knut Knutsson (1508-1568), a Swedish nobleman and military commander who served as a regent during the minority of King Eric XIV.
Other notable individuals with the Knutson surname include Hans Knutson (1767-1846), a Norwegian merchant and ship owner; Nils Knutson (1880-1955), a Norwegian-American farmer and politician; and Lily Knutson (1886-1979), a Swedish-American artist and illustrator.
The Knutson surname has since spread beyond Scandinavia, with many individuals of Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish descent carrying the name in various parts of the world, particularly in North America and other regions with significant Scandinavian immigration.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Knutson
Among Census respondents with the surname Knutson, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Hispanic (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Knutson 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 Knutson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.3% · 15,050
- Two or more races2.7% · 435
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 393
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 104
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 93
- Black or African American0.3% · 56
Timeline
Historical Census data for Knutson
Knutson 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
#2,145
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,910
+350 bearers (+2.1%)
Per 100,000 5.73
Rank movement Down 136 places
2020
#2,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,131
-779 bearers (-4.6%)
Per 100,000 5.40
Rank movement Down 56 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,009 | 16,560 | 6.14 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,145 | 16,910 | 5.73 | +350 bearers (+2.1%) | Down 136 places |
| 2020 | #2,201 | 16,131 | 5.40 | -779 bearers (-4.6%) | Down 56 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 Knutson 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 | #2,145 | #2,201 | -2.6% |
| Count | 16,910 | 16,131 | -4.6% |
| Per 100K | 5.73 | 5.40 | -5.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Knutson bearers went from 16,910 to 16,131 (-4.6% change). The surname moved down 56 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,145 to #2,201.
FAQ
Knutson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Knutson?
Name Census estimates that about 18,498 living Americans carry the surname Knutson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 18,529 residents.
How common is Knutson?
Knutson ranks #2,201 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.40 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 16,131 people with the surname Knutson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (18,498), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.4 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.40 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 Knutson.
Has Knutson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Knutson went from 16,910 recorded bearers to 16,131. That is a decrease of 779 (-4.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,145 to #2,201.
What does the Census say about the background of Knutson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Knutson, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Knutson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.3% (15,050 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Knutson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.3%), Two or More Races (2.7%), Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Knutson (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 Knutson mean?
A patronymic surname of Scandinavian origin meaning "son of Knut," derived from the Old Norse name Knútr. 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 Knutson (5.40 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 Knutson?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.