The Knotts surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 7,232 people carried this name — #4,872 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 40,800 people counted. That is up 3% from 7,044 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Knotts surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘at the knot’ — the first of the origins he gives.

An early record he cites: Richard Knotte, London, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

His entry covers Knott and Knotts.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 461 · public domain.

In print

Knotts in American newspapers,
1903–1911.

Newspaper page from The Enterprise carrying the name Knotts
The Enterprise 1911-09-14
Newspaper page from The Salt Lake Herald carrying the name Knotts
The Salt Lake Herald 1908-04-03
Newspaper page from The Daily Journal carrying the name Knotts
The Daily Journal 1903-08-29

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 115,281 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Knotts in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1960s.

140 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Knotts. The most, 36, date from the 1920s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 2.7 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 75
Queensland 20
New South Wales 19
Northern Territory 9
South Australia 7
Western Australia 7
Tasmania 2
ACT (Canberra) 1

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

Who carried it

People named Knotts,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Armanis F. Knotts
    Armanis F. Knotts 1856–1937 · lawyer
  • Howard Knotts
    Howard Knotts 1895–1942 · flying ace
  • Don Knotts
    Don Knotts 1924–2006 · screenwriter
  • Armanis Francis Knotts 1856–1937 · writer
  • Thomas Knotts 1861–1921 · businessperson
  • Joe Knotts 1884–1950 · baseball player

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 Knotts,
in the records of 3 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 States364 records

364 records of the Knotts name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 248
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 89
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 8
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 7
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 5
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 5
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 2
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Nyles L. Knotts

    Born 1916 in Minnesota. Enlisted 1941 at Austin; carpenter from Mower County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1977, buried at Fort Snelling National Cemetery, Minnesota.

    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 Catharina Knotts

    Arrived at New York in 1876 aboard the Rhein from Bremen and Southampton, aged 24; farmer. From Germany.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Harold F. Knotts

    U.S. Navy veteran. Born 1933, died 2000; buried at Jones Cemetery, Muncie, Indiana.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 364 records for Knotts in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). 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); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Australia1 record

1 record of the Knotts name in Australia Tasmanian Names Index
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record John Knotts

    Married 1865 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 36.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

New Zealand1 record

1 record of the Knotts name in New Zealand Christchurch City cemetery records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Daphne May Knotts

    Died 1968; buried at Waimairi Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Christchurch City 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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Knotts.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Knotts 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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