Knight
A name derived from the medieval warrior class serving under a monarch.
Name Census estimates that about 861 living Americans carry the first name Knight. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Knight today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Knight births was 2022 (74 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Knight. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
861
~ 1 in 398,089 Americans
Peak year
2022
74 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,684
Tracked since 1923
Popularity
Knight: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Knight from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 477 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Knight remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Knight by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Knight during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Knights live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Knight, while Hawaii, Arizona, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 33 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Knight
The name Knight originated as an occupational surname in England and referred to someone who served as a mounted soldier or knight. The word Knight derives from the Old English "cniht," which meant "boy" or "servant." Over time, the meaning evolved to refer to a young man who had not yet attained the rank of knight but was being trained for it. Eventually, it became a title for a member of the noble military rank.
The earliest recorded use of the name Knight dates back to the 12th century. One of the earliest documented individuals with the name was Sir William Knight, a knight who fought in the Third Crusade (1189-1192) under King Richard I of England. Another notable bearer of the name was Sir John Knight, a Member of Parliament in the 14th century during the reign of Edward III.
In the 15th century, Sir John Knight (c. 1400-1487) served as a military commander and diplomat under King Henry VI. During the Wars of the Roses, he fought for the House of Lancaster and was later appointed as the Lieutenant of the Tower of London.
In the 16th century, Sir John Knight (1499-1564) was an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament and held various offices under King Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I. He was also a prominent landowner in Gloucestershire.
Moving forward to the 17th century, Thomas Knight (1619-1668) was an English Baptist minister and author who wrote several influential works on religious topics.
Another notable figure was Samuel Knight (1675-1746), an English mathematician and philosopher who made significant contributions to the field of algebra and the study of logarithms.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who bore the name Knight, which initially referred to an occupation but later became a prestigious title and eventually evolved into a given name.
People
Knight + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Knight as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Knight: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Knight?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 861 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Knight going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 398,089 US residents.
Is Knight a common name?
We classify Knight as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 878 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Knight most popular?
The single biggest year for Knight was 2022, when 74 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Knight is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Knight a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Knight in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.