Knapp surname meaning
German occupational/status name from Knapp(e), “young man,” “servant,” “apprentice,” or “miner”; also English hilltop topographic or knape “boy/servant.”
Confidence: Disputed. More than one origin is plausible, or sources disagree. We show the conflict rather than pick a cute answer.
The short story
Knapp is several surnames in one spelling. In German it is an occupational or status name from Knapp(e), a form of Knabe, “young unmarried man,” which by the fifteenth century also meant “servant,” “apprentice,” and “miner.” English Knapp may be a nickname from Middle English knape, “boy” or “servant,” or topographic from knap(pe), “hilltop” or “hillock,” including places named Knapp. Eastern Ashkenazic Knapp can reflect German knapp, “tight.” Nickname fits the German status lead common in U.S. lines, but the hilltop and other senses keep confidence disputed.
Also seen as: Knapp, Knap, Knappe, Knabe, Napp
- Geneanet / DAFN entry for Knapp (German Knapp(e) servant/apprentice/miner; English knape; English knap hilltop; Jewish knapp)
- German/English surname synthesis for Knapp
- Names2020_LastNames_RaceHispanic_Top1000.xlsx (2020 Census)