BabyNameScore

Name profile

Knox

masculine

93First-name usabilityHighly workable
Evidence coverageLimited

This reflects the first name on its own. The full-name report scores the complete combination separately.

Check it with a full name ↓

Knox is a Scottish surname and place name derived from Scottish Gaelic cnoc ('hillock, round-topped hill'), or the closely related Old English cnocc; it entered given-name use as a modern transfer of this historical Scottish surname.

Why it works

  • English speakers will almost certainly pronounce it correctly on the first try
  • spelling is short and predictable — rarely needs repeating

Popularity

Familiar — #196 in the latest U.S. ranking.

Meaning and origin

Knox means A small, round-topped hill — from the Scottish Gaelic cnoc ('hillock') or the closely related Old English cnocc ('round-topped hill').

Knox belongs to the broader family of Scottish topographic surnames (describing a person residing near a hillock) later transferred into given-name use, a pattern shared with other hill/place-descriptive Scottish surnames.

Documented origin: Knox is a Scottish surname and place name derived from Scottish Gaelic cnoc ('hillock, round-topped hill'), or the closely related Old English cnocc; it entered given-name use as a modern transfer of this historical Scottish surname.

VerifiedDirectly documented by an independent source, with no competing account on file.

How it travels

English and Turkish are shown by default; German is included when it adds a meaningfully different reading.

EnglishNOKSresearched pronunciation
TurkishNo strong structural signal of Turkish/English divergence for this spelling.deterministic phonetic analysis
GermanNo strong structural signal of German/English divergence for this spelling.deterministic phonetic analysis

Spelling stability: high — based on letter-pattern analysis, not a documented linguistic fact.

Also documented

English (US/UK): /nɒks/

Popularity without panic

Familiar — #196 in the latest U.S. ranking.

Familiar enough to feel established, distinctive enough to stand out.

Full-name check

This rhythm preview stays in your browser only — it's never sent anywhere unless you choose to generate a report below.

No account required. Your report gets a private, unlisted link — it's never added to Knox's public name page, and surnames are never shown publicly.

Real-world considerations

  • Familiar — #196 in the latest U.S. ranking.
  • Spelling note: Nox.
Explore alternatives
Knoxley

Documented as a related name or variant form.

Knoxlee

Documented as a related name or variant form.

Knoxleigh

Documented as a related name or variant form.