# Knapp (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/knapp/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | English |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 41,771 |
| US rank (2010) | 825 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 7,391 people |
| Change since 2000 | +1.2% (41,267 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | Napp |

## Etymology

* As a German surname, from the noun Knabe (“boy, young unmarried man”). This is also found as the variant Knap. * As an English surname related to the above, from the noun knave, similar to Nave. * Also as an English surname, from Middle English knappe (“hillock”), from Old English cnæpp (“summit”), probably from the same source as Icelandic hnappur (“button”). * As a Jewish surname, from the German adjective knapp (“scarce, tight”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Knapp in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 95% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 0.6% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.3% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.6% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.4% |
| Two or more races | 1.4% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Knapp in the United States, the United Kingdom and Austria.

## People named Knapp

- Alexis Knapp, American actress
- Beau Knapp, American actor and film producer
- Sandra Knapp, American botanist
- Evalyn Knapp, actress (1906–1981)
- Jennifer Knapp, American Christian musician
- George Knapp, American television journalist, radio talk host
- Robert Knapp, American actor (1924-2001)
- Helga Knapp, Austrian Paralympic alpine skier

## Similar surnames

Knepp, Knopp, Knipp, Knop, Knupp, Kemp, Kempf, Kamp, Knopf, Knipe, Kump, Knaub.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.