Knowles Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Knowles Family History

Knowles Family History

The Knowles ancient family history 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 Knowles include Knollys, Nowles and Knolles. This is a locality name meaning 'at the knoll', a hill or summit, from a residence thereon. This name is of English descent and is found in many ancient manuscripts in that country. Examples of such are a John Knolle of County Dorset who was recorded in the 'Hundred Rolls', England, in the year 1273 and a Robert de la Knolle, of County Sussex, who was also recorded in the same year in this ancient document. Names were recorded in these ancient documents to make it easier for their overlords to collect taxes and to keep records of the population at any given time. When the overlords acquired lands by either force or gifts from their rulers, they created charters of ownership for themselves and their vassals. In Ireland this name and its variants were introduced into Ulster Province by settlers who arrived from England and Scotland. Knowles can also be a variant form of the name Newell, derived from the Gaelic O'Tnuthghail Sept of County Kildare.The Knowles 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 Knowles descendants.