Knowles (surname)

Knowles is an English surname of Old English origin. This is a locality name meaning 'at the knoll,' a hill or summit, derived from Old English word cnolle or Middle English knol, meaning hilltop and thus describes a person who lived at such a place. It can also be an Anglicized version of the Irish name Ó Tnúthghail. It literally means people of the tribe.

A

 * Albert Knowles, British trade union leader
 * Albert Knowles (footballer) (1871–1950), English footballer
 * Alison Knowles (born 1933), American artist
 * Anne Kelly Knowles (born 1957), American geographer
 * Angus Knowles-Cutler (born 1962), British politician

B

 * Bernard Knowles (1900–1975), English film director
 * Beyoncé Knowles-Carter (born 1981), American R&B singer and actress
 * Barry Knowles (born 1965), Liverpool Football Club supporter and "Spirit of Shankly" (Liverpool FC Supporters Union) member from Dudley, West Midlands

C

 * Cameron Knowles (born 1982), New Zealand footballer
 * Carl Knowles (1910–1981), American basketball player
 * Admiral of the White Sir Charles Knowles, 1st Baronet (1704–1777) (see Knowles Baronets)
 * Admiral of the Red Sir Charles Knowles, 2nd Baronet (1754–1831)
 * Chris Knowles (footballer), English footballer
 * Christopher Knowles (poet) (born 1959), American poet
 * Christopher Knowles (comics), American comic book artist and writer
 * Clayton Knowles, New York Times correspondent
 * Conrad Knowles (1810–1844), Australian actor
 * Craig Knowles (born 1959), Australian politician
 * Cyril Knowles (1944–1991), an English association football player
 * Cyril Knowles (rugby league) (1915–1957), an English rugby league footballer player, father of the association football player
 * Cyril J. Knowles (1905–1961), a British cinematographer

D

 * Darold Knowles (born 1941), former Major League Baseball pitcher
 * David Knowles (1896–1974), English Benedictine monk
 * Davy Knowles (born 1987), British blues guitarist and singer
 * Dick Knowles (1917–2008), British politician
 * Durward Knowles (1917–2018), Olympic sailor from the Bahamas

E

 * Edward Knowles (Royal Navy officer) (1744 – c. 1761), British naval officer
 * Edward P. Knowles (1805–1881), Mayor of Providence, Rhode Island
 * Eric Knowles (born 1953), British antiques expert

F

 * Freeman T. Knowles (1846–1910), American Populist Party politician

G

 * Graeme Paul Knowles (born 1951), Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral, London
 * George Knowles (1882–1947), Australian public servant and lawyer
 * George Beauchamp Knowles (1790–1862), English botanist

H

 * Harriet Knowles (fl. 1845), the first actress in Australia
 * Harry Knowles (born 1971), online film critic
 * Herbert Knowles (1798–1817), English poet
 * Hiram Knowles (1834–1911), judge of the United States District Court for the District of Montana
 * Horace G. Knowles (1863–1937), American attorney
 * Horace J Knowles (1884–1954), author and illustrator
 * Hugh S. Knowles (1904–1988), American acoustical engineer, inventor, and manufacturer

J

 * James Knowles (lexicographer) (1759–1840), Irish schoolteacher and lexicographer, father of James Sheridan Knowles
 * James Knowles, convicted of murdering Michael Donald in 1981
 * James Hinton Knowles (1856–1943), British Missionary to Kashmir
 * James Thomas Knowles (1831–1908) (1831–1908), British architect and literary editor
 * James Sheridan Knowles (1784–1862), Irish dramatist and actor
 * James Thomas Knowles (1806–1884), British architect and father of Sir James Knowles
 * Jeremy R. Knowles (1935–2008), chemistry professor at Harvard University
 * Jeremy Knowles (swimmer) (born 1981), Bahamian swimmer
 * Jesse Knowles (1919–2006), American businessman and politician
 * Jo-Anne Knowles (born 1971), English actress
 * John Evans Knowles (1914–2011), Canadian politician
 * John Knowles (1926–2001), American author
 * Julian Knowles (born 1965), Australian composer

K

 * Karen Knowles (born 1964), Australian singer and entertainer

L

 * Sir Lees Knowles, 1st Baronet (1857–1928), British barrister, historian, philanthropist and Conservative politician
 * Sir Leonard Joseph Knowles (1915–1999), first Chief Justice of The Bahamas
 * Linda Knowles (born 1946), former British high jumper

M

 * Mabel Knowles (1875-1949), British romance and children's writer
 * Malcolm Knowles (1913–1997), 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 (1864–1933), 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

N

 * Nick Knowles (born 1962), British television presenter

O

 * Oliver Knowles, instrumentalist for the music group Snow Ghosts

P

 * Patric Knowles (1911–1995), English actor
 * Paul John Knowles (1946–1974), American serial killer
 * Peter Knowles (born 1945), former English footballer

R

 * Ralph Knowles (1945–2016), American attorney
 * Richard Brinsley Knowles (1820–1882), British journalist
 * Richard George Knowles (1858–1919), Canadian-American comedian and singer, popular in British music halls
 * Robert E. Knowles (1925–1988), American politician
 * Ryan Knowles (born 1978), American actor and comedian

S

 * Sheena Knowles, Australian children's author
 * Solange Knowles (born 1986), pop/soul singer, actress, model (Beyoncé Knowles's younger sister)
 * Sonny Knowles (1932–2018), Irish singer
 * Stanley Knowles (1908–1997), Canadian politician
 * Stan Knowles (1931–2017), Australian politician
 * Sydney Knowles, British frogman in World War II
 * Sue Knowles (born 1951), retired Australian politician

T

 * Tony Knowles (chemist), former president of the British Columbia Institute of Technology
 * Tony Knowles (politician) (born 1943), American Democratic politician
 * Tony Knowles (snooker player) (born 1955), English professional snooker player

W

 * Warren P. Knowles (1903–1993), American lawyer and politician
 * William Charles Goddard Knowles (1908–1969), British businessman in Hong Kong
 * William David Knowles (1908–2000), Canadian politician
 * William Erskine Knowles (1872–1951), Canadian politician
 * William Standish Knowles (1917–2012), American chemist