Knightly Surname

283,476th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 1,359 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
Norfolk Island

Knightly Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'of Knightley,' a township in the parish of Gnosall, Staffordshire The variant Knightly is imitative.

Robert de Knyghstelee, Staffordshire, 1 Edward II I: Placita de Quo Warranto, temp.

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Knightly Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States7871:460,55839,303
Ireland1851:25,4542,400
Australia1651:163,61016,947
England1191:468,21930,572
New Zealand411:110,44714,290
Canada341:1,083,69479,951
Wales121:257,87814,969
Norfolk Island31:765177
China21:683,660,78330,601
India21:383,532,6911,645,216
Scotland21:2,676,90851,579
Sweden21:4,923,378241,212
Pakistan11:178,643,885213,220
Switzerland11:8,212,915156,297
South Africa11:54,177,704343,732
Netherlands11:16,887,176156,465
Northern Ireland11:1,845,03620,648
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland981:45,2033,964
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England1271:191,93215,501
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States1001:502,18735,305

Knightly (25) may also be a first name.

Knightly Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'of Knightley,' a township in the parish of Gnosall, Staffordshire The variant Knightly is imitative.

Robert de Knyghstelee, Staffordshire, 1 Edward II I: Placita de Quo Warranto, temp. Edward I-III.

Robert de Knyghistele, Staffordshire, ibid.

1574. Edward Knightlie, Northamptonshire: Register of the University of Oxford.

1597-8. Seymour Knightley, Northamptonshire: ibid.

1698. Thomas Knightley (Northamptonshire), and Sarah Mitford: Marriage Lic. (London).

1808. Married — James Knightley and Elizabeth Bennett: St. George, Hanover Square.

A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (1896) by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

(English) belonging to Knightley = the Servants’ or Retainers’ Lea [Old English cnihta, genit. pl. of cniht, servant, retainer + leáh (Middle English ley] The Staffordshire Knightley, 14th cent. Knyghteleye, was Chenistlei in Domesday, where chen- is the Norman-French re­presentative of Old English cn-, and the palatal s (sh) represents the Old English guttural h.

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

The first known ancestor is Rainald, mesne Lord of Knightley, co. Stafford, under Earl Boger, temp. William the Conqueror. Domesd. Fawsley Hall, co. Northampton, the seat of the present baronet, was acquired by purchase, temp. Henry V. Baker's Northamptonshire. Shirley's Noble and Gentle Men.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

From Knight, and ley, a place or field.

An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names (1857) by William Arthur

Knightly Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Knightly Come From? nationality or country of origin

The surname Knightly occurs more in The United States more than any other country/territory. It can appear as a variant:. For other potential spellings of Knightly click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Knightly? popularity and diffusion

It is the 283,476th most frequently held last name on a global scale. It is borne by around 1 in 5,362,433 people. This surname occurs predominantly in The Americas, where 58 percent of Knightly are found; 58 percent are found in North America and 58 percent are found in Anglo-North America. It is also the 2,136,160th most frequently occurring first name at a global level. It is borne by 25 people.

The last name Knightly is most commonly occurring in The United States, where it is borne by 787 people, or 1 in 460,558. In The United States it is primarily found in: Massachusetts, where 17 percent are found, Illinois, where 13 percent are found and Maine, where 9 percent are found. Aside from The United States this surname exists in 16 countries. It is also found in Ireland, where 14 percent are found and Australia, where 12 percent are found.

Knightly Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The frequency of Knightly has changed over time. In The United States the share of the population with the surname rose 787 percent between 1880 and 2014; in Ireland it rose 189 percent between 1901 and 2014 and in England it declined 6 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Knightly Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those carrying the Knightly last name is predominantly Catholic (99%) in Ireland.

In The United States Knightly are 9.14% more likely to be registered Democrats than the national average, with 62.37% being registered with the party.

The amount Knightly earn in different countries varies somewhat. In United States they earn 7.52% more than the national average, earning $46,395 USD per year and in Canada they earn 2.04% more than the national average, earning $50,698 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Knightly
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis