Knowles (surname)

Knowles (/noʊlz/^[1]) is an English surname of mixed Anglo-Saxon and Viking origins. This is a locality name meaning 'at the knoll,' a hill or summit, derived from Old English word cnolle^[2] and Old Norse word “knollr”^[3] meaning “hilltop” and thus describes a person who lived at such a place. Literally “The people of the hill.”

It can also be an Anglicized version of the Irish name Ó Tnúthghail. It literally means people of the tribe.

Etymology

From Old English cnoll (“summit”), from Proto-Germanic *knudan-, *knudla-, *knulla- (“lump”), possibly related to cnotta.

Related to Old Norse knollr (found only in names of places), Dutch knol (“tuber”), Swedish knöl (“tuber”), Danish knold (“hillock, clod, tuber”) and German Knolle (“bulb”).^[4]

from a general group of Germanic words that includes English knob, knock, knuckle, knoll, knurl.

• Albert Knowles, British trade union leader
• Albert Knowles (footballer) (1871–1950), English footballer
• Alison Knowles (1933–2025), American artist
• Alison Knowles (rower) (born 1982), British rower
• Angus Knowles-Cutler (born 1962), British politician
• Anne Kelly Knowles (born 1957), American geographer
• Arlene Modeste Knowles, American advocate for diversity in physics

• Bernard Knowles (1900–1975), English film director
• Beyoncé Knowles-Carter (born 1981), American R&B singer and actress
• Barry Knowles (born 1965), Liverpool Football Club supporter

• Cameron Knowles (born 1982), New Zealand footballer
• Carl Knowles (1910–1981), American basketball player
• Admiral of the White Sir Charles Knowles, 1st Baronet (1704–1777) (see Knowles Baronets)
• Admiral of the Red Sir Charles Knowles, 2nd Baronet (1754–1831)
• Chris Knowles (footballer), English footballer
• Christopher Knowles (poet) (born 1959), American poet
• Christopher Knowles (comics), American comic book artist and writer
• Clayton Knowles, American correspondent
• Conrad Knowles (1810–1844), Australian actor
• Craig Knowles (born 1959), Australian politician
• Cyril Knowles (1944–1991), English football player
• Cyril Knowles (rugby league) (1915–1957), English rugby player, father of the above
• Cyril J. Knowles (1905–1961), British cinematographer

• Darold Knowles (born 1941), baseball player
• David Knowles (1896–1974), English Benedictine monk
• Davy Knowles (born 1987), British blues guitarist and singer
• Dick Knowles (1917–2008), British politician
• Durward Knowles (1917–2018), Bahamian sailor

• Edward Knowles (Royal Navy officer) (1744 – c. 1761), British naval officer
• Edward P. Knowles (1805–1881), American politician from Rhode Island
• Eric Knowles (born 1953), British antiques expert

• Frederick John Knowles (1895–1979), Scottish observer ace
• Freeman T. Knowles (1846–1910), American politician

• George Knowles (1882–1947), Australian public servant and lawyer
• George Beauchamp Knowles (1790–1862), English botanist
• Graeme Paul Knowles (born 1951), Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral, London
• Guy Knowles (1879–1959) engineer, art collector and benefactor of museum collections

• Harriet Knowles (fl. 1845), Australian actress
• Harry Knowles (born 1971), online film critic
• Herbert Knowles (poet) (1798–1817), English poet
• Herbert Bain Knowles (1894–1975), United States Navy officer
• Hiram Knowles (1834–1911), American judge from Montana
• Horace G. Knowles (1863–1937), American attorney
• Horace J Knowles (1884–1954), author and illustrator
• Hugh S. Knowles (1904–1988), American acoustical engineer, inventor, and manufacturer

• Jacob Knowles, American lobsterman and social media content creator
• James Knowles (lexicographer) (1759–1840), Irish schoolteacher and lexicographer, father of James Sheridan Knowles
• James Knowles, convicted of murdering Michael Donald in 1981
• James Hinton Knowles (1856–1943), British Missionary to Kashmir
• James Thomas Knowles (1831–1908) (1831–1908), British architect and literary editor
• James Sheridan Knowles (1784–1862), Irish dramatist and actor
• James Thomas Knowles (1806–1884), British architect
• James Knowles (aviator) (1896–1971), American World War I pilot
• Jeremy R. Knowles (1935–2008), American chemist
• Jeremy Knowles (swimmer) (born 1981), Bahamian swimmer
• Jesse Knowles (1919–2006), American businessman and politician
• Jo-Anne Knowles (born 1971), English actress
• John Evans Knowles (1914–2011), Canadian politician
• John Knowles (1926–2001), American author
• Julian Knowles (born 1965), Australian composer

• Karen Knowles (born 1964), Australian singer and entertainer
• Kevin Knowles (born 2003), American football player

• Sir Lees Knowles, 1st Baronet (1857–1928), British barrister, historian, philanthropist and Conservative politician
• Sir Leonard Joseph Knowles (1915–1999), first Chief Justice of The Bahamas
• Linda Knowles (born 1946), former British high jumper

• Mabel Knowles (1875–1949), British romance and children's writer
• Malcolm Knowles (1913–1997), American theorist in adult education
• Malik Knowles (born 2000), American football player
• Mark Knowles (born 1971), professional Bahamian tennis player
• Mark Knowles (born 1984), Australian field hockey player
• Martin Knowles, English dubstep musician known as Emalkay
• Mathew Knowles (born 1951), father of Beyoncé and Solange Knowles
• Matilda Cullen Knowles (1864–1933), lichenologist
• Matt Knowles (born 1974), American professional wrestler
• Michael Knowles:
  • Michael Knowles (actor), English actor and scriptwriter, best known for his role as 'Captain Jonathan Ashwood', in the 1970s sitcom 'It Ain't Half Hot Mum'
  • Michael Knowles (political commentator) (born 1990), conservative political commentator on The Daily Wire
  • Michael Knowles (politician) (born 1942), British Conservative Member of Parliament for Nottingham East

• Nick Knowles (born 1962), British television presenter

• Oliver Knowles, instrumentalist for the music group Snow Ghosts

• Patric Knowles (1911–1995), English actor
• Paul John Knowles (1946–1974), American serial killer
• Peter Knowles (born 1945), former English footballer

• Ralph Knowles (1945–2016), American attorney
• Richard Brinsley Knowles (1820–1882), British journalist
• Richard George Knowles (1858–1919), Canadian-American comedian and singer, popular in British music halls
• Robert E. Knowles (1925–1988), American politician
• Ryan Knowles (born 1978), American actor and comedian

• Sheena Knowles, Australian children's author
• Solange Knowles (born 1986), pop/soul singer, actress, model (Beyoncé Knowles' younger sister)
• Sonny Knowles (1932–2018), Irish singer
• Stanley Knowles (1908–1997), Canadian politician
• Stan Knowles (1931–2017), Australian politician
• Sydney Knowles, British frogman in World War II
• Sue Knowles (born 1951), retired Australian politician

• Tina Knowles, American businesswoman, fashion designer, and mother of Beyoncé and Solange
• Tony Knowles (chemist), former president of the British Columbia Institute of Technology
• Tony Knowles (politician) (born 1943), American Democratic politician
• Tony Knowles (snooker player) (born 1955), English professional snooker player

• Warren P. Knowles (1903–1993), American lawyer and politician
• William Charles Goddard Knowles (1908–1969), British businessman in Hong Kong
• William David Knowles (1908–2000), Canadian politician
• William Erskine Knowles (1872–1951), Canadian politician
• William Standish Knowles (1917–2012), American chemist

• Knowles Baronets, two Baronetcies created in the Baronetage of Great Britain and the United Kingdom
• Knollys (surname)
• Knollys family
• Knowle (disambiguation), includes list of people with surname Knowle
• Knoll (surname)
• Noll, surname
• Noel (surname)
• Nowell (surname)