# Knowles (surname)

Knowles (/noʊlz/) 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.
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## 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
* Arlene Modeste Knowles, American advocate for diversity in physics

## 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 football 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

* George Knowles (1882–1947), Australian public servant and lawyer
* George Beauchamp Knowles (1790–1862), English botanist
* Graeme Paul Knowles (born 1951), Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral, London
* Guy Knowles (1879–1959) engineer, art collector and benefactor of museum collections

## H

* Harriet Knowles (fl. 1845), the first actress in Australia
* Harry Knowles (born 1971), online film critic
* Herbert Knowles (poet) (1798–1817), English poet
* Herbert Bain Knowles (1894–1975), United States Navy officer
* 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

* Jacob Knowles, American lobsterman and social media content creator
* 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

* Tina Knowles, American businesswoman, fashion designer, and mother of Beyoncé
* 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