Knowledge
Masculine · Old English roots · “knowledge”
Knowledge is given to both — 2,375 boys and 124 girls since 1880. See other names given to both
Knowledge is the plain English word, taken up whole as a name — no translation needed, no gloss required. English speakers have been naming children after qualities for centuries: Faith, Mercy, Prudence, Justice. Knowledge belongs to that habit, but its use as a given name is recent rather than inherited, still concentrated in the Southeast, and rare enough that most people meet it once.
How old is the name Knowledge?
Knowledge first appears in US birth records in 1989 — 36 years ago. The typical Knowledge is a kid of about 6 — this name's wave is very recent. About 2,400 people named Knowledge are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Knowledge most popular?
Knowledge peaked in 2020, reaching #1017 nationally. Today it ranks #1297, 280 places below that high. See the whole 2020 chart.
Knowledge appears on this list:
Where it comes from
From cnāwan (Old English, 'to know') to Knowledge
The story of Knowledge
This is a word name rather than an inherited one: English has drawn given names from abstract qualities since at least the Puritan era, which gave the language Faith, Temperance, Prudence and Mercy. Knowledge joined that pattern much later, arriving alongside a modern American set of concept names — King, Legend, Justice, Genesis — that took hold in the late twentieth century. It also has a specific home in the Nation of Gods and Earths, the Five Percenters, whose Supreme Mathematics names the first principle Knowledge, followed by Wisdom and Understanding; names drawn from those principles circulate within that tradition. In US records the name's use has been strongest in Florida, North Carolina and Georgia.
Meaning
knowledge — what is known, learning, awareness
The English noun descends from Old English cnāwan, 'to know'. The second half of the word is an old suffix whose own origin is debated, but the sense of the word itself has never been in question.
How the name formed
- cnāwanOld English, 'to know'
- knowlecheMiddle English
- knowledge
- Knowledge
Pronouncing Knowledge
NOL-ij
Exactly like the everyday word, with the K silent. Nobody has to be taught how to say it — though the silent K does mean it must be spelled from the word, not from the sound.
Nicknames for Knowledge
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
- 1989
- Most boys named
- 2020204 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1017reached in 2020
- Change vs 2024
- −19.4%150 in 2025, from 186
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.
Knowledge in other languages
Strongest US states over the last decade: Florida, North Carolina, Georgia.
Knowledges among us
people named Knowledge are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 11,387 born in 2025 was named Knowledge
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 Mohamad test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Knowledge's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Mohamad climbed just as high around 1997, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Mohamad's path sketches the road Knowledge is walking now.
Knowledge 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 Knowledge is headed
Knowledge 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.
Knowledge beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Knowledge in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Everyone already knows the spelling, because everyone already knows the word — no variant spellings compete with it.
- The meaning is fully transparent and settled, which is rare: no dictionary lookup, no contested reading.
- Sits inside a recognizable family of American concept names, so it reads as intentional rather than unplaceable.
- Rare enough that a child is unlikely to share it with anyone in their school.
- It is a common noun in ordinary speech, especially in classrooms — 'test your knowledge' turns up often — so expect the occasional teacher joke and the occasional pause when the name is read from a list.
- No short form has established itself, so a child who wants a smaller everyday name will likely land on an initial or invent one.
- The name's use is very recent and regionally concentrated in the Southeast, so it may read as of-this-moment rather than handed down, and outside those states it will often need repeating.
- Carrying an abstract virtue means adults will comment on it throughout childhood — usually kindly, but often.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Knowledge
Masculine · Old English roots · #1297 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Knowledges are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,400 people named Knowledge are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Knowledge in 2025?
- Knowledge ranks #1297 among US boy names in 2025, with 150 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Knowledge?
- About 1 in every 11,387 US boys born in 2025 was named Knowledge — 150 in all.
- Will my child share the name Knowledge with classmates?
- Knowledge will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Knowledge
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Cartier#1297 · Cormac#1297 · Kaizer#1297 · Kallen#1297 · Kolsen#1297 · Faris#1297 · Harris#1297 · Asiah#1290
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Knowledge? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Knowledge and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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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
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