Knoll
A topographic name of Scottish origin meaning "small rounded hill".
Name Census estimates that about 12 living Americans carry the first name Knoll. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Knoll today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Knoll births was 2015 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Knoll. 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 Knoll. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
12
~ 1 in 28,562,862 Americans
Peak year
2015
6 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2019 SSA rank
#11,536
Tracked since 2015
Popularity
Knoll: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Knoll 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 Knoll 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 | 12 | 0 | 12 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Knoll
The name Knoll is believed to have its origins in the Old English language, dating back to the Anglo-Saxon period in Britain. It is derived from the word "cnoll," which means a small hill or a rounded hilltop. This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near or on a hilltop.
During the Middle Ages, the name Knoll appeared in various records and documents across parts of England and Germany. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name was in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of land and property in England commissioned by William the Conqueror.
Historically, the name Knoll has been associated with individuals from various walks of life, including landowners, artisans, and scholars. In the 15th century, a German mathematician and astronomer named Johann Knoll made significant contributions to the field of celestial mechanics.
Another notable figure was Robert Knoll, an English clockmaker who lived in the 17th century and was renowned for his intricate and innovative clock designs. His work was highly prized by the aristocracy and contributed to the advancement of timekeeping technology.
In the 19th century, a German-born American artist named Martin Knoll gained recognition for his landscape paintings, which often depicted the rolling hills and pastoral scenes of the American countryside. His works are now housed in several prestigious museums and art galleries.
During the early 20th century, a German architect and designer named Hans Knoll founded the renowned furniture company Knoll Associates, which became influential in the modernist design movement. His wife, Florence Knoll, was also a pioneering designer and contributed significantly to the company's success.
Another prominent individual with the name Knoll was the Austrian writer and philosopher Richard Knoll, who lived from 1889 to 1974 and wrote extensively on topics such as existentialism and phenomenology. His works explored the complexities of human existence and the nature of consciousness.
People
Knoll + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Knoll 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
Knoll: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Knoll?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 12 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Knoll 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 28,562,862 US residents.
Is Knoll a common name?
We classify Knoll as "Very Rare". It ranks above 32.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 12 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Knoll most popular?
The single biggest year for Knoll was 2015, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Knoll is about 9 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 Knoll in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Knoll a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Knoll 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 Knoll still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Knoll 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 Knoll 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 have the name Knoll?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.