Knox

Knox: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning
“round hill”
Origin
Scottish Gaelic
Say it
NOKS · 1 syllable
Used for
Boys

Knox comes from a Scottish surname derived from Gaelic cnoc, meaning 'round hill' or 'hillock'. As a first name, it reflects the modern use of surnames as given names.

How popular is Knox?

2024517 per million US babies
1880192019602000
Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Babies named Knox in 20241,721

2024 rank#209 boys

Peak year2022

Total US babies since 188022,521

Knox is rising: use over the last five years is 2.3× what it was a decade earlier.

Names like Knox

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

  • Loganlittle hollow · Scottish Gaelic
  • Cameroncrooked nose · Scottish Gaelic
  • IanGod is gracious · Scottish Gaelic
  • Carsonson of Carr · Scottish Gaelic
  • Callumdove · Scottish Gaelic
  • MaxwellMack's stream · Scottish Gaelic
  • Dallasmeadow dwelling · Scottish Gaelic
  • Kennethborn of fire · Scottish Gaelic

Knox questions

What does the name Knox mean?

Knox means "round hill". It comes from Scottish Gaelic. Knox comes from a Scottish surname derived from Gaelic cnoc, meaning 'round hill' or 'hillock'. As a first name, it reflects the modern use of surnames as given names.

Is Knox a boy or girl name?

Knox is mainly a boy's name in US records (99% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Knox?

1,721 US babies were named Knox in 2024. Its peak year was 2022.

How do you pronounce Knox?

Knox is usually pronounced NOKS.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.