Knowles Surname

6,430th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 87,790 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
Bahamas

Knowles Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'at the knoll.' from residence thereon; Middle English knol, a hill, a summit. The final 's' in Knowles, Knollys, etc., may be patronymic, as in Brooks, Styles, Holmes, &c, corresponding to Jones, Williams, &c, in surnames of the baptismal class.

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Knowles Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States38,3251:9,4581,150
England24,5411:2,270282
Bahamas7,4881:524
Australia5,7991:4,655675
Canada4,0291:9,1451,366
New Zealand1,6471:2,749398
South Africa1,1171:48,5036,173
Scotland9951:5,381901
Wales6731:4,598502
Ireland5091:9,2511,255
Saudi Arabia3581:86,18912,374
Northern Ireland3231:5,7121,055
Antigua and Barbuda2581:38460
Jamaica2461:11,6661,203
France1811:366,97654,730
Spain1731:270,24316,860
Thailand1201:588,653100,315
Germany921:875,05962,702
Netherlands641:263,86233,208
Isle of Man631:1,362231
Brazil551:3,892,261106,836
Seychelles471:1,966419
Sweden471:209,50514,512
Dominican Republic461:226,8038,136
Turks and Caicos Islands431:798112
Luxembourg311:18,7274,129
Jersey301:3,307613
Italy261:2,352,18093,058
Singapore261:211,83510,313
United States Virgin Islands221:5,017770
Malta181:23,9041,289
Philippines181:5,624,346177,167
Botswana171:128,64318,229
China161:85,457,5984,750
India161:47,941,586492,263
Panama161:244,5166,353
Qatar161:147,37516,023
Hong Kong141:523,9633,360
Malaysia141:2,106,73083,604
Norway141:367,30634,015
Belgium131:884,35769,774
Costa Rica131:367,6983,592
Denmark131:434,20928,556
Switzerland131:631,76343,230
Ecuador121:1,325,48716,904
Belize111:32,3162,112
Indonesia111:12,022,654410,938
Fiji91:99,3771,883
Argentina81:5,342,927168,491
Cayman Islands81:7,987922
Honduras81:1,102,0554,829
Pakistan81:22,330,48677,733
Trinidad and Tobago81:170,4978,814
Greece71:1,582,82788,377
Japan61:21,307,38248,838
Zimbabwe61:2,573,040106,478
Bermuda51:13,0561,849
Austria41:2,128,85991,203
Cambodia41:3,871,7869,580
Curaçao41:39,312638
Ghana41:6,755,17315,406
Iraq41:8,755,41423,373
Kenya41:11,544,97562,419
Kuwait41:950,17418,811
Namibia41:602,35012,421
Portugal41:2,604,56016,079
Saint Lucia41:44,6952,207
Colombia31:15,924,69128,711
Cyprus31:294,9598,690
Mexico31:41,375,40271,397
Nigeria31:59,047,586507,603
Slovakia31:1,778,817104,392
Afghanistan21:16,076,59243,178
Chile21:8,808,23765,417
Finland21:2,748,35172,663
Georgia21:1,872,77235,618
Ivory Coast21:11,535,61661,806
South Korea21:25,620,1284,175
United Arab Emirates21:4,581,13693,443
Algeria11:38,631,551130,422
Armenia11:2,930,18022,770
Azerbaijan11:9,649,12247,873
Bangladesh11:159,356,77326,077
Barbados11:287,4482,772
Bosnia and Herzegovina11:3,536,40219,532
Chad11:13,592,19913,092
Cook Islands11:18,1791,485
Czechia11:10,633,469206,023
Dominica11:75,891912
Grenada11:108,5351,793
Guam11:160,1214,893
Guatemala11:16,082,66812,169
Haiti11:10,683,90724,607
Hungary11:9,816,27773,288
Iran11:76,782,524277,718
Kazakhstan11:17,682,496204,010
Maldives11:404,1727,269
Mali11:16,969,0354,067
Moldova11:3,561,36878,271
Papua New Guinea11:8,153,717181,784
Peru11:31,784,12364,452
Poland11:38,008,749231,653
Saint Kitts and Nevis11:55,1991,294
Suriname11:552,6169,664
Taiwan11:23,444,74693,622
Tunisia11:610,62630,336
Turkey11:77,821,422191,047
Venezuela11:30,204,07785,459
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland4181:10,5981,515
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England15,2441:1,599201
Scotland6381:5,867860
Wales1381:11,365683
Isle of Man101:5,427530
Guernsey31:10,8851,562
Jersey21:25,9413,069
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States6,6191:7,587969

Knowles (282) may also be a first name.

Knowles Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'at the knoll.' from residence thereon; Middle English knol, a hill, a summit. The final 's' in Knowles, Knollys, etc., may be patronymic, as in Brooks, Styles, Holmes, &c, corresponding to Jones, Williams, &c, in surnames of the baptismal class.

Roger de la Cnolle, Devon, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

John Cnolle, Dorset, ibid.

Robert de la Cnolle, Sussex, ibid.

John atte Knolle. Calendarium Inquisitionum Post Mortem.

Cecilia de Knolle, 1379: Poll Tax of Yorkshire.

Johannes Knoll, 1379: ibid.

Thomas de Knoll, 1379: ibid.

Robert de Knollys, 1397: Preston Guild Rolls.

1583. Baptised — Elizabeth, d. William Knowlles: St. James, Clerkenwell.

1598-9. Married — Robert Knowels and Mary Wryght: St. Dionis Backchurch.

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

A form of Knox current in Aberdeen. Knowls 1808.

The Surnames of Scotland (1946) by George Fraser Black (1866-1948)

Genit., and pl., of Knowl(e, Knoll, q.v.

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

“Dweller on Hill Top” (Knoll). See also Knapp.

South African Surnames (1965) by Eric Rosenthal

(English, Scottish) Dweller near a small, round hill.

Dictionary of American Family Names (1956) by Elsdon Coles Smith

The top of a hill. Knowl, in Cornish-British, is a promontory, hill, or eminence, a projection of hilly ground.

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

(English), Knoll or Hill. OldkNow, Old hill.

Surnames (1857) by Bernard Homer Dixon

Knowles: if not the short of Oliver, may be from Noailles.

Family Names And Their Story (1913) by Sabine Baring-Gould

Knowles Last Name Facts

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

The last name Knowles (Arabic: نويلز) is found most frequently in The United States. It may also occur as:. For other possible spellings of this surname click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Knowles? popularity and diffusion

The last name is the 6,430th most prevalent surname world-wide, held by approximately 1 in 83,011 people. The surname Knowles occurs mostly in The Americas, where 55 percent of Knowles live; 46 percent live in North America and 46 percent live in Anglo-North America. Knowles is also the 527,582nd most frequently used first name worldwide. It is borne by 282 people.

It is most frequent in The United States, where it is held by 38,325 people, or 1 in 9,458. In The United States Knowles is most frequent in: Florida, where 12 percent reside, California, where 8 percent reside and Texas, where 8 percent reside. Barring The United States this surname exists in 107 countries. It also occurs in England, where 28 percent reside and The Bahamas, where 9 percent reside.

Knowles Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The frequency of Knowles has changed through the years. In The United States the share of the population with the last name rose 579 percent between 1880 and 2014; in England it rose 161 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Scotland it rose 156 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Wales it rose 488 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Ireland it rose 122 percent between 1901 and 2014.

Knowles Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those bearing the Knowles surname is primarily Catholic (58%) in Ireland.

In The United States those holding the Knowles surname are 11% more likely to be registered with the Republican Party than the national average, with 57.77% registered with the political party.

The amount Knowles earn in different countries varies greatly. In Norway they earn 21.99% more than the national average, earning 422,182 kr per year; in South Africa they earn 56.59% more than the national average, earning R 372,120 per year; in United States they earn 0.56% more than the national average, earning $43,391 USD per year and in Canada they earn 5.29% more than the national average, earning $52,313 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Knowless9315/
Knowlles935/
Knowlees931/
Knowlese930/
Knowls9263/
Knowels86149/
Knovles864/
Knowlls862/
Knewles861/
Knowlis861/
Cnowles860/
Knowlesová821/
Knowells806/
Knouwels802/
Knowlech801/
Knawls773/
Knowlz771/
Knouwells753/
Knewels717/
Knobels710/
Knables710/
Knovlich532/

Knowles Name Transliterations

TransliterationICU LatinPercentage of Incidence
Knowles in the Arabic language
نويلزnwylz-
نوليسnwlys-

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Knowles Reference & Research

Knowles FamilyTree DNA Group - A group collating DNA test results for those who bear the surname, includes results of DNA tests and discussions.

Knowles FamilyTree DNA Project - A description of a group researching the paternal lines of men who bear the surname with the help of DNA analysis.

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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 Knowles
  • 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