Surname Knechten - Meaning and Origin
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Knechten: What does the surname Knechten mean?
The last name Knechten is an occupational surname. It is an Old German nomenclature meaning "servant" or "laborer". This name is commonly found in the German-speaking regions of Europe, including Germany, Austria, The Netherlands, Switzerland, and some areas of the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. It is also possible for the word to have evolved from the Dutch 'knecht', meaning 'apprentice'.
The name often appears as a suffix for other surnames, such as Kaesknecht or Einbeckknecht, where Knechten is added to a specific region or occupation. This suffix could indicate that the bearer of the name had once been a servant or laborer to the "Kaes" family, or to the guild in the city of Einbeck.
Knechten is also used as a title on its own. This has been used to describe persons of low standing in the community, such as farmers or craftsmen, who have been enlisted to serve a higher ranked individual or family. Such persons were expected to perform any necessary tasks assigned to them.
Most persons with the surname Knechten have likely descended from an ancestor who was once hired to be a servant or laborer, and from which subsequent generations have adopted the name. Today, Knechten is still seen as an indication of low social status, although this may not necessarily reflect the distinctions of the past.
Order DNA origin analysisKnechten: Where does the name Knechten come from?
The last name Knechten is most commonly found in Germany and Austria today. This is due to the area's historical roots in feudalism, where 'Knechten' was used to refer to a certain social class of people. In feudalism, the official term for a Knecht was 'Leibeigener', literally translating to ‘belonging to a body’. It would have denoted a person who was under the ownership of a feudal lord, working as a labourer in exchange for food, lodgings and other benefits.
In the German language, the word 'Knecht' has evolved to mean 'servant' or 'attendant'. As such, the name 'Knechten' is still in use around Europe today, and is most prominent in German-speaking countries like Germany and Austria. It is less common in neighbouring countries such as France and the Netherlands, but still found in small amounts. In more recent centuries, the name Knechten has also spread to other parts of the world due to migration, with the United States and Canada specifically seeing a rise in people bearing the name.
It is difficult to track the exact origins of the name Knechten, but generally it is believed to have come from early Germanic names which incorporate the name 'Knecht'. Common alternative spellings today include Knechtin, Knechte and Knechtten. It is also likely to have undergone some spelling changes in the centuries since it was first adopted, as was common with proper names in that era.
Variations of the surname Knechten
Knechten is a German or Jewish surname with variants including Knecht, Is Knecht, Knechte, Knechtel, Knechtl, Knechtle, and Kniecht.
Knechten is a patronymic name meaning “son of the knight”, derived from the Middle High German word “kneht”. The word knecht translates to servant, and in this case, one who serves a knight. The surname dates back to the 15th century, when the Knights of the Order of Teutonic Knights were a powerful force in the Mediterranean.
Knechtel, Knechtl, and Knechtle are all related to Knechten and have similar meanings. Knechtel is derived from Middle High German and means “little knight,” while Knechtl and Knechtle both derive from Middle High German and are patronymic surnames which mean “son of the knight.”
Other forms of the surname “Knechten” is Is Knecht, which is a Jewish (Yiddish) variant of Knechten. Is Knecht is a Hebrew name meaning “man of the lord” and is generally written as Isknecht. The name was used in the Jewish diaspora, and many Jewish families adopted the name as their own.
Knechten is also seen as an anglicized version of the Irish surname “Ó Nuasáin”. Ó Nuasáin is an Irish name derived from the Gaelic word “nuas” or “nua”, which means “new”. The name was traditionally given to those who had recently settled in the area.
Knechten is a unique and ancient surname with many variants, spellings, and surnames of the same origin. Its history and origins are related to Knights, serving servants, and new settlers, which is what all of its variations trace back to.
Famous people with the name Knechten
- Max Knechten (born 1969), German football goalkeeper
- Thomas Knechten (born 1979), German Paralympic evangelist and athlete
- Graf Rudolf Knechten (born 1979), German Olympic fencing champion
- Cornelia Knechten (born 1981), German television presenter
- Katharina Knechten (born 1984), German heptathlon athlete
- Marc-Oliver Knechten (born 1984), German mixed martial artist
- Jelena Knechten (born 1991), German badminton player
- Tialda Knechten (born 1991), Dutch taekwondo athlete
- Elly Knechtens (born 1992), Dutch road racing cyclist
- Jan Knechten (born 1977), German professional golfer
- Jan-Hendrik Knechten (born 1987), German weightlifter