An English surname of Knight goes back to the Old English word of ‘cniht’ which means boy and serving lad. In Middle English the word was ‘knyghte’. During the Middle Ages was one who served a nobleman or king and the title ‘knight’ was given that person.

Spelling variations of Knight include Knights, Knightley and Knightly. The Irish form is McKnight.

In England the Knight surname started in the Suffolk region. In Scotland the Knight families are in higher numbers in the central and eastern portions, especially in Banffshire and Angus counties. In England the Knight families are in the southeastern regions including Sussex, Kent, Hampshire, Essex and Surrey.

Within the United States the greater numbers of Knight families are in Massachusetts, New York, Virginia, North Carolina, Michigan, Illinois, Tennessee, Texas, California, Washington, Georgia and Ohio.


Famous: Phil Knight (co-founder of Nike Co.), Gladys Knight (singer), Ellis C. Knight (19th century English author), Esmond Knight (actor), Terry Knight (singer, songwriter and music producer), Ray Knight (professional baseball player), Ted Knight (TV and film actor), Zat Knight (football player in England) and Charles Yale Knight (inventor of the Knight Engine - internal combustion engine).