Knight Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Knight Family History

Knight Family History

The ancient origin of the name Knight was found in the irishsurnames.com archives.

Surnames developed a wide number of variants over the centuries. Many different spelling variations of the same name can be traced back to a single original root. Also, when a bearer of a name emigrated from Ireland it was not uncommon that their original name would be incorrectly transcribed in the record books upon arrival at their new location. Some names have dozens of spelling variations. Some Surnames were also altered over the years based on how they sounded phonetically, by their sound, and depending on the prevailing political conditions it may have been advantageous to change a name from one language to another. This was especially so in Ireland where most Gaelic names were 'anglicized' at some stage.

Variants of the name Knight include Knightly, Knightson, Knevitt, Knyvett, Knights and Knightes. This is an occupational name meaning 'man at arms'. This name is of Anglo-Saxon descent spreading to Ireland, Scotland and Wales in early times and is found in many mediaeval manuscripts throughout these countries. Examples of such are a Johannes Knyght who was recorded in the 'Poll Tax' of the West Riding of Yorkshire, England, in the year 1379. A John Knycht was Canon of Brechin, Scotland, in the year 1435. In Ireland this name usually has the prefix 'Mac' and is found throughout the four provinces. In the feudal system introduced by the Normans the word was applied at first to a tenant bound to serve his Lord as a mounted soldier. Hence it came to denote a man of substance, since maintaining horses and armour was an expensive business. The variant Knightson is simply an extended version of the name take from the son of the Knight. The Gaelic forms of the name are Mac an Ridire and Mac Neachtain. The Knight family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, coat of arms, including Knight descendants.