Knight (surname)
family name
Knight is an English surname.
Geographical distribution
The name is found in many countries. In 2014, it was ranked 88th in England and 206th in the United States.
Notable people
A
Alan Knight (disambiguation), multiple people
Alanna Knight (1923–2020), British writer
Albert Knight (cricketer) (1872–1946), English professional cricketer
Albert Knight (diver) (1900–1964), British diver
Albert Knight (politician) (1817 – after 1881), merchant and political figure in Quebec
Albion Knight, Jr., American politician and Anglican bishop
Amanda Knight, makeup artist
Amy Knight (born 1946), American historian
Andrew Knight (journalist) (born 1939), English journalist, editor, and director of News Corporation
Andrew Knight (politician) (1813–1904), politician in colonial Victoria, Australia
Andrew Knight (writer) (born 1953), Australian TV writer and producer
Anne Knight (1786–1862), British-born author, social reformer and pioneer of feminism
Anne Knight (children's writer) (1792–1860), British children's writer and educationalist
Anne Knight, pseudonym of American author Rhondi A. Vilott Salsitz
Annie Knight, Australian sex worker
Arthur Knight (disambiguation), multiple people
Ava Knight, American boxer
Awsten Knight, American singer and musician, member of Waterparks
B
Barry Knight (cricketer), English cricketer
Barry Knight (footballer) (born 1945), Australian rules footballer
Barry Knight (politician) (1954–2026), American politician
Barry Knight (referee) (born 1960), English football referee
Benjamin Knight (disambiguation), several people, includes Ben Knight
Beverley Knight, English R&B artist
Billy Knight (born 1952), American basketball player and executive
Billy Knight (basketball, born 1979) (1979–2018), American basketball player
Billy Knight (criminal) (1943–1978), Canadian criminal and convicted rapist
Billy Knight (tennis) (1935–2026), British tennis player
Bob Knight (1940–2023), American basketball player and coach
Bobbie Knight, American businessperson, academic administrator, college president
Boogie Knight (born 1999), American football player
Brevin Knight, American basketball player
Brandon Knight (disambiguation), several people
C
Charles Knight (engraver), English engraver
Charles Knight (publisher) (1791–1873), English publisher and author
Charles F. Knight, American chairman of Emerson Electric
Charles Landon Knight (1867–1933), American lawyer and newspaper publisher
Charles Parsons Knight (1829–1897), English painter
Charles R. Knight, American dinosaur artist
Charles Yale Knight, American engineer and inventor of the Knight engine
Christopher Knight (disambiguation), several people
Cornelia Knight (1757–1837), English author
Curtis Knight, American musical artist and band leader
D
David Knight (disambiguation), several people
Dennis Knight (born 1968), American professional wrestler best known as Mideon
Deuce Knight (born 2006), American football player
Dick Knight (businessman), British advertising executive
Dick Knight (golfer) (1929–1991), American golfer
Dick Knight (tennis) (born 1948), American tennis player
Donald Knight (disambiguation), several people, including Don Knight
Douglas Knight (1921–2005), American businessman, educator and author
Duerson Knight (1893–1983), American pilot
Dusten Knight (born 1990), American baseball player
E
Edward Knight (disambiguation), several people
Elise Kellond-Knight (born 1990), Australian association football player
Elizabeth Knight (disambiguation), several people
Elliot Knight, English actor in Sinbad, 2012
Eric Knight (1897–1943), English author and the creator of the fictional collie Lassie
Esmond Knight (1906–1987), British character actor
Etheridge Knight (1931–1991), African-American poet
F
Florence Knight, British chef and columnist
Frank Knight (disambiguation), several people
G
G. Wilson Knight (1897–1985), English literary critic and academic
Gary Knight (photographer), British photographer and architect
Gary Knight (cricketer) (born 1950), Australian cricketer
Gary Knight (rugby union) (born 1951), New Zealand rugby union player and amateur wrestler
George R. Knight (born 1941), American Seventh-day Adventist historian
Gerald H. Knight, 1908–1979, organist of Canterbury Cathedral 1937–1953, composer, editor
Gillian Knight, English opera singer
Gladys Knight, American R&B/soul singer and actress
Glenn Knight (1944–2025), Singaporean lawyer
Goodwin Knight, US politician and 31st California governor
Greg Knight, British politician and MP
H
Hilary Knight (born 1989), American ice hockey player
Hilary Knight (illustrator) (born 1926), American writer and artist
Holly Knight, American songwriter, vocalist and musician
Howard Knight (politician), American politician from Ohio
Howard A. Knight Jr., American country music promoter and record producer
Hyacinth Knight, Jamaican politician
J
Jabez C. Knight (1815–1900), 8th mayor of Providence, Rhode Island
Jack Knight (disambiguation), several people
Jak Knight (1993–2022), American actor, comedian and writer
James Knight (disambiguation), several people
Jason Knight (disambiguation), several people
Jean Knight, African-American soul/R&B/funk singer
Jerry Knight, American R&B musician
Jessie Knight (athlete) (born 1994), English athlete specialising in the 400 m hurdles
Jessie Knight (tattoo artist) (1904–1992), first prominent woman tattoo artist in the UK
Jill Knight, British MP
Jim Knight, British politician
John Knight (disambiguation), several people
Jonathan Knight (disambiguation), several people
Jordan Knight, American pop singer
Joseph Knight (disambiguation), several people
Jules Knight, English actor and singer
Julian Knight (murderer) (born 1968), perpetrator of the Hoddle Street massacre in Australia
Julian Knight (politician), British Conservative Party politician, MP for Solihull
Julius Knight (1863–1941), English stage actor in Australia
K
Katherine Knight, Australian murderer who skinned her partner and cooked his body parts
Keith Knight (cartoonist), American cartoonist and musician
Keith Knight (footballer), English footballer
Kelly Knight Craft (born 1962), US ambassador to the United Nations and US ambassador to Canada
L
Laura Knight, British artist
Leon Knight, English professional Football player
Leonard Knight (1931–2014), American builder and architect, creator of Salvation Mountain
Les U. Knight, founder of the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement
Laird A. Knight, Founder of 24-hour Mountain Bike Racing, Member Mountain Bike Hall of Fame
Lon Knight (1853–1932), American baseball player and manager
M
Madge Knight (1895–1974), English artist
Maggie Knight (c. 1857–1917), New Zealand actress in Australia
Marcus Knight, American NFL football player
Margaret E. Knight (1838–1914), American inventor of the paper-bag-making machine
Margaret K. Knight (1903–1983), British psychologist and humanist
Margaret Rose Knight (1918–2006), First Lady of North Carolina
Marguerite Knight (1920–2004), British Special Operations Executive spy during World War II
Mark Knight (disambiguation), several people
Mary Ann Knight (c. 1835–1915), English vegetarianism activist and writer
Matthew Knight, Canadian actor
Mel Knight (born 1944), Canadian politician
Merald "Bubba" Knight, American R&B/soul singer
Michael Knight, the protagonist from Knight Rider
N
Newton Knight, pro-Union rebel against the Confederacy in the U.S. Civil War
Nick Knight (disambiguation), several people
O
Ora Willis Knight (1874–1913), American chemist and naturalist
P
Pedro Knight, Cuban musician and the husband of Celia Cruz
Peter Knight (disambiguation), several people
Phil Knight (born 1938), American businessman, co-founder and ex-CEO of Nike
Phil Knight (disambiguation), several people
Philip Knight (cricketer), English cricketer
Phillip Knight (footballer), Australian footballer
Q
Quinton Knight, American football player
Qwuantrezz Knight, American football player
R
R. J. B. Knight, British naval historian
Ray Knight, American major league baseball player
Reginald Knight (died 1969), Rhodesian politician and judge.
“Knight (surname)” enters the record as family name. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Knight, surname and family can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Knight (surname)” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Knight, surname and family provides the most credible route into that argument.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 30, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1777139. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2014, 1923, 2020 and 1872.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Knight (surname)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Knight (surname) primary sources, Knight (surname) archive and Knight research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Knight (surname)”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Knight (surname)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.