An Scottish surname, McKnight comes from the Gaelic term ‘mac an ridire’ which means the son of the horseman. The spelling variations for McKnight include MacNaught, MacNight, MacKnaught, MacKnight and MacKnyght. In England the greater numbers of McKnight families is in Lancashire, Cumberland, Yorkshire and the city of London. In Scotland the McKnight families originated in Kirkcudbrightshire. They spread into Ayrshire, Lanarkshire, Wigtownshire and Renfrewshire counties. Within the United States the McKnight families originated in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, South Carolina and spread into California, Michigan, Missouri, Texas and Oklahoma. Famous: James McKnight (professional football player), Brian McKnight (singer and songwriter), Linda McKnight (musician), Jim McKnight (professional baseball player), Sidney McKnight (professional boxer), William L. McKnight (founded the McKnight Foundation for philanthropic causes), Reginald McKnight (novelist and short story writer) and Chad McKnight (professional basketball player).