How rare is the name Knox?

12,713 people in the United States have the first name Knox, about 1 in 23,758. It ranks #2,112 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

KNOX

#2,112

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
12,713
About
1 in 23,758
This common or more
78.6%
Who bears it

Of the 12,713 people named Knox, 85.1% reported their origin as White, 5.7% as Hispanic or Latino and 5.3% as two or more races. 98.9% are male. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Knox peaked in 2022, when 1,931 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
18812025
Peak year
2022
Births that year
1,931
In 2025*
1,849 ▼4%
Recorded as
almost entirely male

At least 24,382 babies have been given the name since 1881. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Knox by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 2020s, when it ranked #389. The largest share of babies named Knox, 85.1%, were born in 2013 or later.

1880s#2,45715
1890s#3,9395
1900s#3,59420
1910s#3,874111
1920s#3,815173
1930s#4,84895
1940s#4,773111
1950s#6,09392
1960s#9,76141
1970s#16,97620
1980s#17,97530
1990s#11,089127
2000s#4,064753
2010s#55712,170
2020s#38910,619
Before 19010.1%
Greatest Generation 1901–271.1%
Silent Generation 1928–450.8%
Baby boom 1946–640.6%
Generation X 1965–800.1%
Millennials 1981–960.4%
Generation Z 1997–1211.7%
2013 and later85.1%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Knox is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Knox has been most common in Utah (3.8×), South Dakota (2.6×), and Nebraska (2.5×), and least common in Connecticut (0.19×).

22,719 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Also a last name

As a last name, Knox ranks #782 of 156,621, with 43,026 people. See Knox as a last name

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