Knut

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 11 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Knut is also recorded as 4 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• a separate given name7.1K records spelled Knut2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Norway, United States, Spain, Sweden

  Also written Knút

• a separate given name1.0K records spelled Knut2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Norway, Sweden, United States, Finland

  Also written Knút

• Russian surname659 records spelled Knut6 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Russia, Ukraine, Norway, United States

  Languages: Russian, Ukrainian

  Also written Кнут, Knuth

• Croatian given name233 records spelled Knut8 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Norway, Croatia, Bulgaria, Spain

  Languages: Croatian, Bulgarian, Serbian

  Also written Кнут

42 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Knut is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, Old Norse; a knot; name of several Danish kings

  as a name·Baby names, 25,350 baby names nicknames for your family, friends pets, including the top 100 names, 2,000 most popular…

• In Norwegian Nynorsk, a male given name from Old Norse, meaning “knot”

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In German, ) Knud: aus dem Nordischen (norweg., schwed. Knut, dän. Knud) über­ nommener männl. Vom. unklarer Herkunft.

  as a name·DUDEN Lexikon der Vornamen

• In French, Old Norse Knútr, meaning 'knot'.

  as a name·Le grand guide des prénoms (Enfant - Education)

• In French, Forme danoise de Canut; origine scandinave.

  as a name·Le grand guide des prénoms (Enfant - Education)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

NO SSB — Navn (1880–present) — 81 years between 1945–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Canute Lavardb. 1096DKnot in their usual nameDuke of Schleswig and Danish prince
• Knut Erikssonb. 1150SEKing of Sweden from 1167 until 1196
• Canute II of Swedenb. 1200SEnot in their usual nameKing of Sweden
• Fredrik Idestamb. 1838FInot in their usual nameFinnish mining engineer, founder of Nokia (1838–1916)
• Knut Wicksellb. 1851SESwedish economist (1851–1926)
• Knut Ångströmb. 1857SESwedish physicist (1857-1910)
• Knut Hamsunb. 1859NONorwegian novelist (1859–1952)
• Knut Lundmarkb. 1889SESwedish astronomer (1889–1958)
• Knud Enemark Jensenb. 1936DKnot in their usual nameDanish racing cyclist (1936-1960)
• Knut Urbanb. 1941DEGerman physicist

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 259 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Knut?

We estimate roughly 37 thousand people bear Knut (counting its spellings and scripts) across 9 countries in our records.

In which country does Knut have the most bearers?

Knut is most frequently recorded in Germany, where it is most often spelled knut.

Where is Knut most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Knut is densest in Norway — about 1 in 253 people — even though Germany holds more of our records for it.

How common is Knut compared with other names?

In Germany, Knut is the 576th most common given name of 154,506 given names recorded there.

Is Knut a male or female name?

Knut is a male name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Knut mean?

Recorded meaning: Scandinavian name associated here with « white ».