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Knight Family History

Knight Name 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


Similar surnames: Knights, Bright, Light, Wright, Knecht, Mcknight, Knighton, Slight

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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 1911 there were 1,400 Knight families living in Ontario. This was about 59% of all the recorded Knight's in Canada. Ontario had the highest population of Knight families in 1911.
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.

What did your Knight ancestors do for a living?

In 1921, Farmer and Teacher were the top reported jobs for men and women in the Canada named Knight. 31% of Knight men worked as a Farmer and 10% of Knight women worked as a Teacher. Some less common occupations for Americans named Knight were Carpenter and Stenographer. .

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 1921

  • Farmer
    31%
  • Labourer
    12%
  • Laborer
    7%
  • Carpenter
    5%

Top Female Occupations In 1921

  • Teacher
    10%
  • Student
    9%
  • Income
    8%
  • Stenographer
    8%
Black & white image of two construction labourers

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 Canadian 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 Canada, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

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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.

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What is the average Knight lifespan?

Between 1940 and 2004, in the United States, Knight life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1941, and highest in 1998. The average life expectancy for Knight in 1940 was 45, and 73 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Knight

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