The Knighton surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,139 people carried this name — #6,591 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 57,500 people counted. That is up 8% from 4,771 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Knighton surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘of Knighton’.

An early record he cites: Thomas de Knyghton, 1379 — Poll Tax, West Riding of Yorkshire.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 460 · public domain.

In print

Knighton in American newspapers,
1924.

Newspaper page from The Montgomery Advertiser carrying the name Knighton
The Montgomery Advertiser 1924-06-01
Newspaper page from The Montgomery Advertiser carrying the name Knighton
The Montgomery Advertiser 1924-06-18
Newspaper page from The Montgomery Advertiser carrying the name Knighton
The Montgomery Advertiser 1924-06-03

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 9,576 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Knighton in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1970s.

1,983 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Knighton. The most, 540, date from the 1900s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in New South Wales, at 2.0 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 1,305
Victoria 294
South Australia 227
Queensland 89
Western Australia 33
Tasmania 31
ACT (Canberra) 2

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Knighton.

Who carried it

People named Knighton,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Sir William Knighton, 1st Baronet
    Sir William Knighton, 1st Baronet 1776–1836 · physician
  • Sir William Knighton, 1st Baronet
    Sir William Knighton, 1st Baronet 1776–1836 · physician
  • Sir William Wellesley Knighton, 2nd Baronet
    Sir William Wellesley Knighton, 2nd Baronet 1811–1885
  • Anne Knighton d. 1620
  • Henry Knighton 1400–1396 · historian
  • Thomas Knighton, of Bayford 1470–1544

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Knighton,
in the records of 5 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States290 records

290 records of the Knighton name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 168
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 59
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 19
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 16
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 14
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 7
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 3
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 2
  • Ramsey County (Minnesota) Memorial Hall, war dead 1
  • Sacramento County historic burials 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Fred H. Knighton

    Born 1909 in North Carolina. Enlisted 1946 at Daytona Beach, Florida; doorman from Calhoun County, Alabama. U.S. Army veteran; died 1999, buried at Woodlawn Memorium, Gotha, Florida.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Selina Knighton

    Arrived at New York in 1861 aboard the Underwriter from Liverpool, aged 19; servant. From England; bound for Utah.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Paul Gordon Knighton

    Born 1946; from Seattle, Washington. U.S. Army, infantryman; died of wounds 1967 in Long An, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 290 records for Knighton in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Ramsey County, Minnesota (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Australia126 records

126 records of the Knighton name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 81
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 22
  • Tasmanian Names Index 14
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 5
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 4
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Mark Knighton

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the William Metcalfe, sailing from Portsmouth in 1834. Native of Monyash, Derbyshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1855. Married 1855 in Campbell Town, Tasmania.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Ann Knighton

    Arrived in Victoria in 1853 aboard the Kent, aged 35; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Charles P. Knighton

    Commission agent of Albert Park, Victoria; died 1947.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 126 records for Knighton in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

United Kingdom11 records

11 records of the Knighton name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 8
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 3
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Hannah Knighton

    Buried in 1826 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 75.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record H. P. Knighton

    Cheshire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record John Knighton

    Buried in 1809 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 55.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Showing 3 of 11 records for Knighton in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

New Zealand8 records

8 records of the Knighton name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 7
  • Marlborough District cemetery records 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Ivy Muriel Knighton

    Died 1971, aged 68; buried at Bromley Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record John Wilfred Knighton

    Died 1957, aged 45; buried at Omaka Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Eliza Knighton

    Died 1932, aged 87; buried at Addington Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 8 records for Knighton in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Canada1 record

1 record of the Knighton name in Canada Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Jas Knighton

    Came to Ontario in 1872 aboard the Hibernian, landing at Quebec, bound for London, Ontario.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.

Counts: Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Knighton.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Knighton is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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