Knox (given name)

Last updated
Knox
GenderPrimarily masculine
Origin
Word/name English, Scottish
Meaninground hill

Knox is a primarily masculine given name, a transferred use of a Scottish surname and place name from the Scots Gaelic "cnoc" or Old English cnocc, referring to a small hill with a round top. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Usage

The name increased in usage after Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie used it for their son in 2008. [4] The name has been among the one thousand most popular names for boys in the United States since 2009 and among the top 250 names for American boys since 2015. It ranked in 200th position for boys in 2022. It has also been in occasional use for girls in that country. According to United States Social Security Administration statistics, 28 newborn American girls and 1,891 newborn American boys were named Knox in 2022. Variants of the name that add the modern suffix ley such as Knoxley are also in use for both boys and girls in the United States. [5] Knoxlee, Knoxleigh, and Knoxli, adding the fashionable modern American lee or leigh or li suffix and sound pattern, are also in use in the United States for girls. [6] Knoxlynn, with the addition of the popular suffix -lynn, is also in use for girls. Variant spellings, adding a fashionable extra x, such as Knoxx are in use. [7] Also in use for American boys are elaborations such as Knoxson and Knoxton and Knoxtyn. [8] It also has associations in the United States with Fort Knox. [9]

Notable people

See also

Notes

  1. Sims, Clifford Stanley (1862). The Origin and Signification of Scottish Surnames. With a Vocabulary of Christian Names. Albany, New York: J. Munsell. p. 65. OCLC   1060940902 via Internet Archive.
  2. Hanks, Patrick (May 8, 2003). Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press. ISBN   9780199771691 via Google Books.
  3. Campbell, Mike. "Meaning, origin and history of the name Knox". Behind the Name.
  4. Verde, Amaya; Posada, Simon (27 April 2018). "The Celebrity Baby Name Effect: how famous people choose children's names in the USA". univision.com. Univision. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  5. https://www.behindthename.com/name/knoxley/submitted
  6. Rauwerda, Anne (10 November 2021). "Haileigh and Beighleigh and Paisleigh, oh my!". michigandaily.com. Michigan Daily. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  7. Wattenberg, Laura (1 November 2022). "Boys are Getting Huge, Explosive and Out of Control". namerology.com. Namerology (blog). Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  8. "Popularity of a Name (United States Social Security Administration)". www.ssa.gov. United States Social Security Administration. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  9. Sandel, Abby (11 December 2019). "Knox: Baby Name of the Day". appellation.net. Appellation Mountain(blog). Retrieved 3 June 2022.

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