Explore the Family Name Knife

The meaning of Knife

1. Americanized form of German Kneif, a variant of Kneip. 2. English (London): nickname from Middle English knif ‘knife, dagger’ (Old English cnīf), perhaps used for a cutler. Compare Cutler, Naismith. This surname is rare in Britain.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Knife in the United States?

According to the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname "Knife" was ranked 75,219 in popularity in 2000 and slipped to rank 78,567 by 2010, indicating a decrease of 4.45 percent. In terms of actual count, the number of individuals with the surname increased slightly from 239 in 2000 to 243 in 2010, a growth of 1.67 percent. However, when considering the proportion per 100,000 people, the frequency of this surname dipped by 11.11 percent over the decade.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#75,219	#78,567	-4.45%
Count	239	243	1.67%
Proportion per 100k	0.09	0.08	-11.11%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Knife

In terms of ethnic identity, the data from the Decennial U.S. Census reveals significant shifts between 2000 and 2010. While there were no reported individuals with the Knife surname identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander or belonging to two or more races, the percentage of those identifying as White decreased by 12.64 percent from 78.66 percent to 68.72 percent. The surname saw its first Black identifiers, constituting 3.70 percent of all Knifes in 2010. Those identifying as Hispanic fell from 2.51 percent in 2000 to none a decade later. Meanwhile, American Indian and Alaskan Native representation among individuals with the Knife surname rose dramatically by 46.36 percent to comprise 25.10 percent of all Knifes in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
White	78.66%	68.72%	-12.64%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	17.15%	25.1%	46.36%
Black	0%	3.7%	0%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Two or More Races	0%	0%	0%
Hispanic	2.51%	0%	0%