NameCensus.

UK surname

Macknight

A Scottish surname derived from the Gaelic 'Mac Naught', meaning 'son of the servant'.

In the 1881 census there were 109 people recorded with the Macknight surname, ranking it #18,793 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 146, ranked #24,173, down from #18,793 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Lanchester (Collierley, Kyo, Billingside, Medomsley, Ebchchester, Benfieldside, Heelyfield, Conside, Langholm and London parishes. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Aylesbury Vale, Torridge and County Durham.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Macknight is 166 in 1997. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 33.9%.

1881 census count

109

Ranked #18,793

Modern count

146

2016, ranked #24,173

Peak year

1997

166 bearers

Map years

6

1881 to 2016

Key insights

  • Macknight had 109 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #18,793 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 146 in 2016, ranked #24,173.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 109 in 1881.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Established but Challenged.

Macknight surname distribution map

The map shows where the Macknight surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Macknight surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Macknight over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 73 #20,581
1861 historical 75 #24,238
1881 historical 109 #18,793
1891 historical 108 #22,828
1901 historical 104 #22,310
1911 historical 97 #23,076
1997 modern 166 #19,797
1998 modern 146 #22,031
1999 modern 129 #23,907
2000 modern 131 #23,672
2001 modern 129 #23,557
2002 modern 131 #23,793
2003 modern 119 #25,026
2004 modern 126 #24,335
2005 modern 123 #24,663
2006 modern 132 #23,834
2007 modern 128 #24,632
2008 modern 133 #24,350
2009 modern 145 #23,473
2010 modern 148 #23,697
2011 modern 148 #23,520
2012 modern 147 #23,567
2013 modern 144 #24,323
2014 modern 143 #24,621
2015 modern 140 #24,836
2016 modern 146 #24,173

Geography

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Where Macknights are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Lanchester (Collierley, Kyo, Billingside, Medomsley, Ebchchester, Benfieldside, Heelyfield, Conside, Langholm, London parishes, Durham St Oswald and Edinburgh. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Aylesbury Vale, Torridge, County Durham and Fauldhouse. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 Lanchester (Collierley, Kyo, Billingside, Medomsley, Ebchchester, Benfieldside, Heelyfield, Conside Durham
2 Langholm Dumfries
3 London parishes London 3
4 Durham St Oswald Durham
5 Edinburgh Edinburgh

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Aylesbury Vale 019 Aylesbury Vale
2 Torridge 007 Torridge
3 Aylesbury Vale 024 Aylesbury Vale
4 County Durham 013 County Durham
5 Fauldhouse West Lothian

Forenames

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First names often paired with Macknight

These lists show first names that appear often with the Macknight surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Macknight

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Macknight, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce

Group

Established but Challenged

Nationally, the Macknight surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Established but Challenged, within Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce. This does not mean every Macknight household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Many households in these neighbourhoods comprise separated or divorced single parents with dependent children. Residents are typically born in the UK, and these neighbourhoods have relatively few members of ethnic minorities. The prevalence of children, their parents and those at or above normal retirement age, suggests neighbourhood structures may be long-established. Levels of unpaid care are high, and long-term disability is more common than in the Supergroup as a whole. Use of the social rented sector is common, often in terraced houses. Levels of overcrowding are above the Supergroup average. Unemployment is high, while those in work are employed in elementary occupations such as caring, leisure and customer services. Many residents have low level qualifications. Neighbourhood concentrations of this Group are found in the South Wales Valleys, Belfast, Londonderry and the Central Lowlands of Scotland.

Wider pattern

Living in terraced or semi-detached houses, residents of these neighbourhoods typically lack high levels of education and work in elementary or routine service occupations. Unemployment is above average. Residents are predominantly born in the UK, and residents are also predominantly from ethnic minorities. Social (but not private sector) rented sector housing is common. This Supergroup is found throughout the UK’s conurbations and industrial regions but is also an integral part of smaller towns.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Inner London Working Professionals

Within London, Macknight is most associated with areas classed as Inner London Working Professionals, part of Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These primarily Inner London neighbourhoods are more densely populated than the Supergroup average. Residents have a younger over-all age profile than the Supergroup as a whole, and are less likely to be owner occupiers. Full time employment is more common than elsewhere in the Supergroup and multiple car ownership is uncommon. Chinese and non-EU-born European migrants are less in evidence than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

Wider London pattern

These neighbourhoods house people of all ages, predominantly of White British or European extraction. Resident turnover is low. Religious affiliation is less common than average and tends to be Christian if expressed. Homeownership, typically of terraced houses, is common but use of the social rented sector is not. Employment is typically in professional, managerial and associate professional or technical occupations. There are few full-time students. Level 4 qualifications are common. More households lack dependent children than have them which, considered alongside low levels of crowding and over-all age structure, indicates that many households may be post child-rearing and in late middle age. Incidence of disability is low, as is residence in communal establishments.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Macknight is most concentrated in decile 1 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the less healthy end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

1
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Macknight falls in decile 4 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname near the middle of the scale.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

4
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Macknight is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Macknight, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Macknight

The surname MACKNIGHT is of Scottish origin, deriving from the Gaelic words "mac" meaning "son" and "naught" or "necht", which is a personal name. It is believed to have emerged in the 12th or 13th century in the regions of Galloway and Ayrshire.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which were a series of homage rolls listing the names of Scots who pledged allegiance to King Edward I of England. The name is listed as "Maknaght", indicating a slight variation in spelling from the modern form.

In the 16th century, the MACKNIGHT family held lands in the parish of Kirkinner, Wigtownshire. A notable member from this time was John MACKNIGHT, who was recorded as the vicar of Kirkinner in 1548.

During the 17th century, the name is found in various historical records, including the Registers of the Privy Council of Scotland. One entry from 1678 mentions a William MACKNIGHT who was involved in a dispute over land ownership.

A prominent figure bearing the surname was Sir James MACKNIGHT, a Scottish lawyer and judge who lived from 1681 to 1744. He served as Lord Provost of Edinburgh and was appointed Lord Justice Clerk, one of the highest judicial positions in Scotland at the time.

Another notable individual was James MACKNIGHT, a biblical scholar and theologian who was born in 1721 and died in 1800. He was a minister in the Church of Scotland and authored several works on the New Testament.

In the 19th century, a distinguished MACKNIGHT was Thomas MACKNIGHT, a Scottish-American astronomer and mathematician. Born in 1829, he made significant contributions to celestial mechanics and served as the director of the Allegheny Observatory in Pennsylvania.

Throughout its history, the MACKNIGHT surname has maintained a strong presence in Scotland, particularly in the southwestern regions. While variations in spelling have existed, the core elements of the name reflect its origins as a patronymic derived from a personal name used in the medieval era.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Macknight families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Macknight surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Durham leads with 31 Macknights recorded in 1881 and an index of 15.05x.

County Total Index
Durham 31 15.05x
Middlesex 10 1.44x
Lancashire 8 0.97x
Staffordshire 5 2.14x
Devon 4 2.78x
Sussex 4 3.43x
Northumberland 2 1.94x
Surrey 2 0.59x
Fife 1 2.44x
Gloucestershire 1 0.74x
Midlothian 1 1.08x
Renfrewshire 1 1.86x
Somerset 1 0.90x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Elvet in Durham leads with 8 Macknights recorded in 1881 and an index of 536.91x.

Place Total Index
Elvet 8 536.91x
Framwellgate 7 573.77x
Salford 7 28.97x
Witton Gilbert 7 864.20x
Brandon Byshottles 6 232.56x
Shoreditch London 6 19.99x
Berry Pomeroy 4 1666.67x
Wolstanton 4 56.34x
Eastbourne 3 55.87x
Hammersmith London 3 17.59x
Newbottle 3 267.86x
Godstone 2 333.33x
Barrow In Furness 1 8.95x
Bristol Christchurch 1 500.00x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 1 2.68x
Holystone 1 3333.33x
Islington London 1 1.49x
Kirkcaldy 1 49.26x
Newcastle On Tyne All Sts 1 16.26x
Southwick 1 161.29x
Tipton 1 13.97x
West Greenock 1 10.38x
Weston Super Mare 1 35.59x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Macknight surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Elizabeth 5
Mary 5
Anne 3
Annie 3
Jane 3
Sarah 3
Isabella 2
Agness 1
Amy 1
Ann 1
Clara 1
Dora 1
E.S. 1
Emily 1
Emlia 1
Frances 1
Harriett 1
Isabel 1
M. 1
Margaret 1

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Macknight surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
John 8
Joseph 3
Edward 2
Mark 2
Robert 2
Thomas 2
William 2
Arthur 1
Charles 1
Christopher 1
Edmund 1
George 1
Henry 1
Isiah 1
James 1
Richard 1
Swinburn 1

Top occupations

Occupational titles are kept as recorded and later transcribed, so related jobs, spelling variants and mistakes stay separate. Scholar was the census term for a child in education. That means the other rows often tell you more about adult work in Macknight households.

FAQ

Macknight surname: questions and answers

How common was the Macknight surname in 1881?

In 1881, 109 people were recorded with the Macknight surname. That placed it at #18,793 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Macknight surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 146 in 2016. That gives Macknight a modern rank of #24,173.

What does the Macknight surname mean?

A Scottish surname derived from the Gaelic 'Mac Naught', meaning 'son of the servant'.

What does the Macknight map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Macknight bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.