Knight
Masculine · “servant”
Knight once meant a boy or a servant — the Old English cniht — and only rose to mean a mounted warrior after the Conquest.
How old is the name Knight?
Knight first appears in US birth records in 1923 — 102 years ago. The typical Knight is a kid of about 7 — this name's wave is very recent. About 900 people named Knight are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Knight most popular?
Knight peaked in 2022, reaching #2039 nationally. Today it ranks #2421, 382 places below that high. See the whole 2022 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From cniht to Knight
The story of Knight
German Knecht still means a farmhand, and English cniht meant the same until the Norman period, when the word rose to name the mounted retainer and then a rank of honor — one of the most dramatic promotions any English word has had. The k was pronounced until the seventeenth century. Knight appears in American records in current use.
Meaning
servant; mounted warrior
From the Old English cniht, 'boy' or 'servant', cognate with the German Knecht, which still means a servant. English alone promoted the word to mean a mounted warrior, under Norman influence. The silent k records a sound once pronounced. The etymology is documented.
How the name formed
- cniht
- knight
- Knight
Related forms: Knecht · Knecht
Pronouncing Knight
NYT
One syllable. The k and gh are both silent; it is a homophone of 'night'.
Nicknames for Knight
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1923
- Most boys named
- 202274 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2039reached in 2022
- Change vs 2024
- +14.3%56 in 2025, from 49
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Knight in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Knecht in German — related form
- Knecht in Dutch — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Knights among us
people named Knight are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 30,501 born in 2025 was named Knight
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Dat test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Knight's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Dat climbed just as high around 1981, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Dat's path sketches the road Knight is walking now.
Knight sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Knight is headed
Knight should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Knight beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Knight in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- That the word meant a servant and rose to a rank of honor is a first-rate history.
- That German Knecht still means a farmhand is a genuinely good contrast.
- One syllable, clean, and never mispronounced.
- It is a homophone of 'night'.
- It is a title and carries a claim.
- The spelling is opaque and will need dictating.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Knight to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Knight? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Knight
Masculine · #2421 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Knights are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 900 people named Knight are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Knight in 2025?
- Knight ranks #2421 among US boy names in 2025, with 56 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Knight?
- About 1 in every 30,501 US boys born in 2025 was named Knight — 56 in all.
- Will my child share the name Knight with classmates?
- Knight will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Knight
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Idrees#2421 · Rahmir#2421 · Jin#2421 · Fitzgerald#2421 · Woodson#2421 · Pranav#2421 · Domenico#2421 · Darnell#2421
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Knight? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Knight and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle