Map of Germany showing where the Knopp arms are recorded
The Knopp arms were recorded in Bavaria, c. 1765.
Bavaria was a country of old landed families and walled market towns. Estates passed down the same line for centuries, and both the landowners and the leading townsmen kept arms, which is why so many Bavarian names sit in the registers.
This is where the arms were entered in the register. Families often moved to other parts of the country, so the same name can turn up in more than one region.
The body that granted and recorded arms in Germany in this period.
Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor
Sovereign of the period
Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor
1745–1765
Reigning in Germany when the Knopp arms are first recorded.
How Arms Worked in Germany
In the Holy Roman Empire, coats of arms were often granted to individuals by the Emperor or his representatives. These arms were then passed down through the generations to all legitimate descendants of the original holder. Younger branches of a family usually kept the same shield design without needing to change it, as the arms belonged to the entire lineage.
Granting authority
The Holy Roman Emperor held the sole power to grant new coats of arms throughout his vast imperial territories.
How they got arms
Families typically obtained their coats of arms through a formal imperial grant or by proving their noble status to the authorities.
Where arms were recorded
These grants were officially recorded in the Imperial Chancery registers, which began keeping formal records of such honors during the Middle Ages.
The family's standing
Recorded among the armigerous families of Bavaria.
Origin & History of the Knopp Family in Germany
The family name Knopp is rooted in the linguistic traditions of southern Germany, where it likely originated as a descriptive nickname. In Middle High German, the term *knopp* referred to a knob, a bud, or a rounded protrusion, and it was often used to describe someone with a stout build or a prominent physical feature. By the time records place the family in the Bavarian region in 1765, the name had become a stable hereditary surname passed down through generations of rural inhabitants. Families bearing this name were typically integrated into the local agricultural or craft-based economy, living in the small villages and parish communities that defined the Bavarian landscape during the eighteenth century. As these ancestors navigated the social shifts of the Holy Roman Empire, the name Knopp served as a vital identifier that linked them to their specific local lineage and their long-standing ties to the southern German countryside.
Knopp Meaning & Related Branches
Root word
Knoppe
Middle Low German term for a bud, knob, or small hill.
This name
KnoppAn occupational name for a button maker or a topographic name for someone living near a hill.
also spelled
Knop
Related arms
Kraussame arms
Documented Sources
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Bahlow, Hans, Deutsches Namenlexikon: Familien- und Vornamen nach Ursprung und Sinn erklärt, 1967
Kohlheim, Rosa and Volker Kohlheim, Duden: Familiennamen: Herkunft und Bedeutung von 20.000 Nachnamen, 2005
Bayerisches Hauptstaatsarchiv, Kurbayern Hofkammer: Steuer- und Katasterwesen, 1765
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fleur de lisPurity, light, and the sixth son
fleur de lisPurity, light, and the sixth son
