# Knox (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/knox/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | Scottish Gaelic |
| Meaning | “round hill” |
| Pronunciation | /nɑks/, 1 syllable |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 24,382 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 24,142 / 240 (1% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 286, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Borrowed from Scottish Gaelic cnoc (“round hill”).

## What it means

Knox is grouped under mountain.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 7 | 14,116 |
| 2013 | 9 | 11,513 |
| 2014 | 11 | 9,879 |
| 2015 | 14 | 8,233 |
| 2016 | 16 | 7,442 |
| 2017 | 18 | 6,690 |
| 2018 | 21 | 5,913 |
| 2019 | 19 | 6,304 |
| 2020 | 18 | 6,506 |
| 2021 | 23 | 5,487 |
| 2022 | 29 | 4,731 |
| 2023 | 22 | 5,656 |
| 2024 | 20 | 6,056 |
| 2025 | 13 | 8,121 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 630 | 434 |
| 2012 | 822 | 368 |
| 2013 | 928 | 344 |
| 2014 | 1,244 | 286 |
| 2015 | 1,403 | 258 |
| 2016 | 1,539 | 245 |
| 2017 | 1,640 | 233 |
| 2018 | 1,707 | 219 |
| 2019 | 1,563 | 241 |
| 2020 | 1,530 | 238 |
| 2021 | 1,737 | 220 |
| 2022 | 1,902 | 199 |
| 2023 | 1,783 | 208 |
| 2024 | 1,706 | 209 |
| 2025 | 1,836 | 196 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 4 | 3,830 |
| 2012 | 4 | 3,987 |
| 2013 | 10 | 2,055 |
| 2014 | 9 | 2,248 |
| 2015 | 14 | 1,673 |
| 2016 | 10 | 2,175 |
| 2017 | 17 | 1,470 |
| 2018 | 20 | 1,284 |
| 2019 | 9 | 2,266 |
| 2020 | 24 | 1,111 |
| 2021 | 21 | 1,250 |
| 2022 | 31 | 967 |
| 2023 | 30 | 987 |
| 2024 | 37 | 857 |
| 2025 | 39 | 822 |

## People named Knox

- Knox Chandler, American musician
- John Knox Laughton, British naval historian (1830-1915)
- Alexander Knox Helm, British diplomat (1893–1964)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.