Knighten
A masculine name derived from "knight" and connoting bravery or chivalry.
Name Census estimates that about 6 living Americans carry the first name Knighten. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Knighten today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Knighten births was 2018 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Knighten. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Knighten. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
6
~ 1 in 57,125,723 Americans
Peak year
2018
6 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2018 SSA rank
#11,542
Tracked since 2018
Popularity
Knighten: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Knighten 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 Knighten during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Knighten
The given name Knighten has its origins in the Old English language, tracing back to the Anglo-Saxon period of the 5th to 11th centuries. It is derived from the words "cniht" and "tun," which together translate to "knight's town" or "settlement of knights." This suggests the name may have initially been used as a place name or surname before evolving into a personal name.
In the early medieval period, the name Knighten was likely associated with the knightly class or those who lived in areas known for their knights or military presence. It could have been given as a name to signify one's connection to this social status or location.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Knighten can be traced back to the 12th and 13th centuries, where it appears in various Medieval English and Norman records. One notable bearer of the name was Sir Knighten de Montfort, a Norman knight who fought alongside William the Conqueror in the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
Another historical figure with the name Knighten was Knighten de Bohun, a 13th-century English nobleman and military commander who participated in the Barons' Revolt against King John in 1215. He was a prominent figure during the reign of King Henry III and played a significant role in the establishment of the Provisions of Oxford.
In the 14th century, a Knighten de Beauchamp was recorded as a member of the English gentry and a supporter of King Edward III during the Hundred Years' War against France. He fought in several battles, including the Battle of Crécy in 1346.
During the 15th century, a man named Knighten Woodville gained recognition as a prominent courtier and diplomat in the service of King Edward IV. He was also related to Elizabeth Woodville, the Queen Consort of England.
In the 16th century, Sir Knighten Carew was a prominent English military leader and statesman who served under King Henry VIII. He played a crucial role in the suppression of the Cornish Rebellion of 1497 and later became a member of the Privy Council.
While the name Knighten may have fallen out of widespread use in more recent times, its historical significance and connection to the knightly class and military traditions of England and Normandy make it a unique and distinctive given name with a rich cultural heritage.
People
Knighten + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Knighten 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
Knighten: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Knighten?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Knighten 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 57,125,723 US residents.
Is Knighten a common name?
We classify Knighten as "Very Rare". It ranks above 22.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Knighten most popular?
The single biggest year for Knighten was 2018, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Knighten is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Knighten in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Knighten a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Knighten 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.
Is Knighten still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Knighten in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Knighten can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Knighten?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.