Family name origins & meanings
- German : from Middle High German knūz ‘proud’, ‘arrogant’, ‘daring’, hence a nickname for a haughty person.
- German : in Württemberg knaus (and in Switzerland knūs) also meant ‘gnarl’, hence a nickname for a short, fat, gnarled person.
- German : topographic name for someone living on a hillock, from knaus ‘hillock’ in the Swabian and Alemannic dialects of German.