# Knight (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/knight/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

An English surname originating as an occupation for someone who was a mounted soldier.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | English |
| Type | occupational, named after the work an ancestor did |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 136,713 |
| US rank (2010) | 209 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 2,258 people |
| Change since 2000 | +3.7% (131,860 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /naɪt/, 1 syllable |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From Middle English knyghte, from Old English cniht (“youth; servant”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Knight in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 72% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 22% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.5% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.5% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.9% |
| Two or more races | 2.2% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Knight in the United States, the United Kingdom, the Kingdom of Great Britain, Australia and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

## People named Knight

- Wayne Knight, American actor
- Shirley Knight, American actress (1936-2020)
- Sterling Knight, American actor, singer, songwriter, director, comedian and musician
- Phil Knight, American billionaire and co-founder of Nike
- Gladys Knight, American singer (born 1944)
- T. R. Knight, American actor
- Frank Knight, American economist (1885-1972)
- Suge Knight, American record producer and music executive
- Damon Knight, American science fiction writer, editor and critic (1922–2002)
- Bianca Knight, American sprinter
- Aramis Knight, American actor
- Bob Knight, American basketball coach (1940–2023)

and 60 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Knecht, Knighton, Knighten, Knights, Kincaid, Kingston, Kincade, Kinkade, Kinkead, Kinoshita, Kunst.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.