Knowles () 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 and Old Norse word âÂÂknollrâ meaning âÂÂhilltopâ and thus describes a person who lived at such a place. Literally âÂÂThe people of the hill.âÂÂ
It can also be an Anglicized version of the Irish name àTnúthghail. It literally means people of the tribe.
Etymology
From Old English cnoll (âÂÂsummitâÂÂ), from Proto-Germanic *knudan-, *knudla-, *knulla- (âÂÂlumpâÂÂ), possibly related to cnotta.
Related to Old Norse knollr (found only in names of places), Dutch knol (âÂÂtuberâÂÂ), Swedish knöl (âÂÂtuberâÂÂ), Danish knold (âÂÂhillock, clod, tuberâÂÂ) and German Knolle (âÂÂbulbâÂÂ).
from a general group of Germanic words that includes English knob, knock, knuckle, knoll, knurl.
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- Cameron Knowles (born 1982), New Zealand footballer
- Carl Knowles (1910âÂÂ1981), American basketball player
- Admiral of the White Sir Charles Knowles, 1st Baronet (1704âÂÂ1777) (see Knowles Baronets)
- Admiral of the Red Sir Charles Knowles, 2nd Baronet (1754âÂÂ1831)
- 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 (1810âÂÂ1844), Australian actor
- Craig Knowles (born 1959), Australian politician
- Cyril Knowles (1944âÂÂ1991), English football player
- Cyril Knowles (rugby league) (1915âÂÂ1957), English rugby player, father of the above
- Cyril J. Knowles (1905âÂÂ1961), British cinematographer
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- Harriet Knowles (fl. 1845), Australian actress
- Harry Knowles (born 1971), online film critic
- Herbert Knowles (poet) (1798âÂÂ1817), English poet
- Herbert Bain Knowles (1894âÂÂ1975), United States Navy officer
- Hiram Knowles (1834âÂÂ1911), American judge from Montana
- Horace G. Knowles (1863âÂÂ1937), American attorney
- Horace J Knowles (1884âÂÂ1954), author and illustrator
- Hugh S. Knowles (1904âÂÂ1988), American acoustical engineer, inventor, and manufacturer
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- Jacob Knowles, American lobsterman and social media content creator
- James Knowles (lexicographer) (1759âÂÂ1840), Irish schoolteacher and lexicographer, father of James Sheridan Knowles
- James Knowles, convicted of murdering Michael Donald in 1981
- James Hinton Knowles (1856âÂÂ1943), British Missionary to Kashmir
- James Thomas Knowles (1831âÂÂ1908) (1831âÂÂ1908), British architect and literary editor
- James Sheridan Knowles (1784âÂÂ1862), Irish dramatist and actor
- James Thomas Knowles (1806âÂÂ1884), British architect
- James Knowles (aviator) (1896âÂÂ1971), American World War I pilot
- Jeremy R. Knowles (1935âÂÂ2008), American chemist
- Jeremy Knowles (swimmer) (born 1981), Bahamian swimmer
- Jesse Knowles (1919âÂÂ2006), American businessman and politician
- Jo-Anne Knowles (born 1971), English actress
- John Evans Knowles (1914âÂÂ2011), Canadian politician
- John Knowles (1926âÂÂ2001), American author
- Julian Knowles (born 1965), Australian composer
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- Mabel Knowles (1875âÂÂ1949), British romance and children's writer
- Malcolm Knowles (1913âÂÂ1997), 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 (1864âÂÂ1933), 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
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- Oliver Knowles, instrumentalist for the music group Snow Ghosts
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See also
References