Knox

What Knox means

Means “round hill”

Borrowed from Scottish Gaelic cnoc (“round hill”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Knox” (revision 93425972), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Knox?

US: Rising: up from #258 in 2015. England & Wales: Rising: up from #1673 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 2022, when 1,902 boys got the name (#199 that year). First in the US records in 1881.

How common

• About 1 in 930 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 6,973 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 1,637 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in WY (5.5 per 1,000 boys), NE (4.54 per 1,000 boys), ND (4.17 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Knox is #196 in the US and #822 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.3% of US babies named Knox were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Knoxx70 US
• Nox34 US
• Nyx27 US
• Nix11 US
• Noxx9 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Knox

Boys

• Emmett#121Diminutive of Emma, meaning “entire”^*
• Levi#12Editor’s note Up from #42 in 2015 to #12 in 2025 in the US. About 1 in 180 US boys in the 2025 records
• Henry#5Editor’s note Up from #29 in 2015 to #5 in 2025 in the US. About 1 in 140 US boys in the 2025 records
• Oliver#3Editor’s note Up from #19 in 2015 to #3 in 2025 in the US. About 1 in 110 US boys in the 2025 records
• Silas#71Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #71 vs #585 in 2025
• Archer#98Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #289 in 2015, #98 in 2025

For a sister

• Gemma#170“jewel”^*
• Isla#28Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #142 in 2015, #28 in 2025. Short and simple: 4 letters
• Emery#74Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #74 vs #1,197 in 2025
• Vivienne#172Variant of Vivian, possibly meaning “alive”^*
• Sawyer#290“one who saws”^*
• Charlotte#2Form of Charles, meaning “free man”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under where there are enough, topped up with common names whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Knox’s. Place names are only included if they are in the top 300. Rank is US 2025.