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Knight Family History

Knight Surname Meaning

English: status or occupational name from Middle English knight ‘retainer attendant’ (Old English cniht ‘boy youth lad’). The specialized feudal sense ‘a high-ranking tenant bound to serve his lord as a mounted soldier’ is not known to have ever given rise to the surname, although it is not out of the question that it may occasionally have been used as a nickname, perhaps for someone who played the part of an armed knight in a local pageant.

Irish: sometimes adopted for Gaelic Mac an Ridire ‘son of the knight’. See also McKnight.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


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Where is the Knight family from?

You can see how Knight families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Knight family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Knight families were found in United Kingdom in 1891. In 1840 there were 240 Knight families living in Maine. This was about 13% of all the recorded Knight's in USA. Maine had the highest population of Knight families in 1840.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Knight surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
  • 1840
  • 1880
  • 1920
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What did your Knight ancestors do for a living?

In 1940, Laborer and Maid were the top reported jobs for men and women in the USA named Knight. 17% of Knight men worked as a Laborer and 6% of Knight women worked as a Maid. Some less common occupations for Americans named Knight were Truck Driver and Teacher.

View Census Data for Knight | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1940

  • Laborer
    17%
  • Farmer
    16%
  • Salesman
    5%
  • Truck Driver
    3%

Top Female Occupations In 1940

  • Maid
    6%
  • Housewife
    6%
  • Housekeeper
    6%
  • Teacher
    6%

What Knight family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 1 million census records available for the last name Knight. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Knight census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search US census records for Knight

Passenger Lists

There are 124,000 immigration records available for the last name Knight. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the USA, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Knight immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 163,000 military records available for the last name Knight. For the veterans among your Knight ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Knight military records

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