Knox (surname)

Knox

Pronunciation	/ˈnɒks/ ⓘ
Language(s)	English
Origin
Language(s)	Scottish Gaelic, English
Derivation	"cnoc" (hillock, hump) or "cnocc" (rounded hill)
Meaning	"person residing near a hillock or rounded hill"

Knox is a Scottish surname that originates from the Scottish Gaelic "cnoc", meaning a hillock or a hump ^[1] or the Old English "cnocc", meaning a round-topped hill. ^[2]

Notable Knoxes include the Presbyterian reformer John Knox and the American Revolutionary War hero Henry Knox; the United States Army facility Fort Knox named after the latter. Other people with this surname include:

People

• Sir Adrian Knox (1863–1932), Australian judge and the second Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia
• Alexander Knox (1907–1995), Canadian actor
• Alfred Knox (1870–1964), British army officer and politician
• Amanda Knox (born 1987), American woman convicted and acquitted of murdering Meredith Kercher
• Archibald Knox (designer) (1864–1933), designer from Isle of Man
• Archie Knox (born 1947), Scottish football manager
• Arthur Edward Knox (1808–1886), British naturalist and author
• Barbara Knox (born 1933), British actress, known for playing Rita Sullivan in the television soap opera Coronation Street
• Bernard Knox (1914–2010), Classicist and first director of the Center for Hellenic Studies
• Bill Knox (1928–1999), Scottish author
• Bronwen Knox (born 1986), Australian water polo player
• Buddy Knox (1933–1999), American rockabilly singer-songwriter
• Buddy Knox (guitarist), Australian country musician
• Cecil Leonard Knox (1889–1943), English recipient of the Victoria Cross
• Charles Knox (disambiguation), several people
• Chris Knox (born 1952), New Zealand rock 'n' roll musician
• Chuck Knox (1932–2018), American football coach
• Daniel Knox, 6th Earl of Ranfurly (1914–1988), British Second Lieutenant during World War II
• David Knox (disambiguation), several people
• Dawson Knox (born 1996), American football player
• Dilly Knox (1884–1943), British codebreaker and scholar of Greek at King's College, Cambridge
• Dudley Wright Knox (1877–1960), Commodore in the United States Navy during the Spanish–American War and World War I
• Edward Knox (Australian politician) (1819–1901), Australian judge and politician
• H. Edward Knox (born 1937), American politician
• Edward M. Knox (1842–1916), Union Army soldier in the American Civil War and Medal of Honor recipient
• E. V. Knox (1881–1971) was a poet, satirist, and editor of Punch from 1932 to 1949
• Elizabeth Knox (born 1959), New Zealand writer
• Ellis O. Knox (1898–1975), first African-American to be awarded a PhD on the West Coast of the United States
• Elyse Knox (1917–2012), American actress
• Francis Knox-Gore (1803–1873), Anglo-Irish baronet
• Francis Knox (1754–1821), Member of Parliament for Philipstown, Ireland
• Frank Knox (1874–1944), U.S. Secretary of the Navy under Franklin D. Roosevelt during most of World War II
• George Knox (disambiguation), several people including

• George Knox (MP, died 1827) (1765–1827), Irish Tory politician.
• Sir George Edward Knox (1845–1922), British judge in India
• Sir George Hodges Knox (1885–1960), Australian politician
• George Hodges Knox (1885–1960), Australian politician
• George L. Knox (1841–1927), escaped slave, activist, publisher and author
• George L. Knox II (1916–1964), U.S. Army Air Force Officer and Tuskegee Airman
• George William Knox (1853–1912), American Presbyterian theologian and writer
• George Williams Knox (1838–1894), British soldier

• Harley E. Knox (1899–1956), American politician who served as mayor of San Diego
• Henry Knox (1750–1806), first U.S. Secretary of War
• Israel Knox (1904–1986), American philosophy professor
• James Knox (disambiguation), several people
• James Knox-Gore (1775–1818), Anglo-Irish politician
• Janette Hill Knox (1845–1920), American reformer, suffragist, teacher, author
• Jim Knox (1919–1991), New Zealand trade unionist and politician
• John Knox (disambiguation), several people
• Johnny Knox (born 1986), American football player
• Jon Knox, American session musician drummer, producer and composer
• Katharine McCook Knox (1889–1983), American art historian
• Keith Knox (born 1964), Scottish football player and manager
• Keith Knox (born 1967), Scottish boxer
• Kevin Knox (American football) (born 1971), former American football wide receiver
• Kevin Knox II (born 1999), American basketball player for the New York Knicks
• Malcolm Knox, (1900–1980), British philosopher and Principal of St Andrews University
• Malcolm Knox (born 1966), Australian journalist and author
• Mike Knox, ring name of Michael Hettinga, American professional wrestler
• Mona Knox (1929–2008), American model and film actress
• Myra Knox (1853–1915), Canadian-born American physician
• Neville Knox (1884–1935), English cricketer
• Northrup R. Knox (1928–1998) American sportsman, banker, original principal owner of the Buffalo Sabres
• Philander C. Knox (1853–1921), U.S. Attorney General, Secretary of State and Senator
• Rob Knox (1989–2008), British actor who appears in the film Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
• Robert Knox (disambiguation), several people
• Sir Robin Knox-Johnston (born 1939), British sailor
• Ronald Knox (1888–1957), English theologian and crime writer
• Rose Knox (née Markward) (1857–1950), American businesswoman
• Russell Knox (born 1985), Scottish professional golfer
• Sam Knox (1910–1981), American football player
• Seymour H. Knox I (1861–1915), American merchant and businessman
• Seymour H. Knox II (1898–1990), American philanthropist and art exponent
• Seymour H. Knox III (1926–1996), American sportsman, banker, original principal owner of the Buffalo Sabres
• Shelby Knox, public speaker and feminist in the documentary The Education of Shelby Knox
• Simmie Knox (born 1935), African-American painter
• Steven Knox (born 1974), cricketer who played for Scotland
• Terence Knox (born 1946), American film, stage, and television actor
• Thomas Knox (disambiguation), several people
• Tom Knox, American businessman and politician
• Tom Knox (author), pseudonym of British writer and journalist Sean Thomas
• Tommy Knox (1905–1954), English football goalkeeper
• Trey Knox (born 2001), American football player
• Uchter Knox, 5th Earl of Ranfurly, Governor of New Zealand
• Vicesimus Knox (1752–1821), English essayist and minister
• Victor A. Knox (1899–1976), U.S. Representative for Michigan
• W. R. Knox (1861–1933), organist in Adelaide, South Australia
• William Knox (disambiguation), several people

Fictional characters

• Dlanor A. Knox, a character from the Umineko When They Cry series of dōjin visual novels
• Eric Knox, founder of Knox Enterprises, played by Sam Rockwell, a key character in the film Charlie's Angels (2000)
• Florence Mccarthy ("Flurry") Knox, the protagonist's landlord and a key figure in the Somerville and Ross books
• Ronald Knox, from the Japanese manga series Black Butler

See also

• Knox (disambiguation)
• Knox (given name)
• Baron Welles, Viscount Northland, and Earl of Ranfurly (Knox family), Irish peerages created in 1781, 1791 and 1831

References

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.