Knox: Baby Name of the DayCount Knox among the names launched by the Jolie-Pitt kids.

Our Baby Name of the Day comes from Brad and Angelina’s youngest son.

HILLTOP

In Old English cnocc meant hilltop.

It filtered into Scottish as the place name Knock. The x-spelling emerged as a surname form.

Sixteenth century Scottish Protestant reformer John Knox is one of the best known bearers of the name, but he’s far from the only one.

In fact, it’s a family name for actor Brad Pitt. His grandfather was Hal Knox Hillhouse – but we’ll get back to that in a minute.

FORT KNOX

Then there’s Henry Knox, a military officer in the Revolutionary War, and later First Secretary of War.

A fort is named in his honor. You’ve almost certainly heard of it. It’s home to the United States Bullion Depository – gold, heaps of it, all stored in a state-of-the-art vault. Thieves do their best to crack the safe in countless movies, television shows, and cartoons. (And at least sometimes in real life, too.)

The association adds something to the name. There’s a certain Americana vibe, but it also implies something of immense value.

PREPPY POWERHOUSE

Sometime long after the military commander, but shortly before the Jolie-Pitts, came Dead Poet’s Society. The 1989 movie was a big hit, starring Robin Williams as a teacher at an elite New England boarding school.

The young actors who played the students remain in the spotlight today. There’s Ethan Hawke and Robert Sean Leonard. Fans of The Good Wife may also recognize Josh Charles. He played Knox Overstreet, a budding poet who falls madly in love and (maybe) gets the girl.

There’s a tiny uptick in boys receiving the name post-movie, but it’s still almost unknown straight through the 1990s.

MADDOX, PAX, AND …

Then along came Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. But the time Angelina delivered their youngest children, boy/girl twins, they were already established as fearless namers. First, Angelina adopted Maddox solo. (Brad later adopted him, too.) Then the couple added daughters Zahara and Shiloh and son Pax. In 2008, Angelina gave birth to twins. Daughter Vivienne Marcheline’s middle name comes from Angelina’s mom. And Knox Leon’s first name comes from Brad’s uncle.

But their youngest son also completes the pattern, a third boy with a given name ending in x.

BY THE NUMBERS

In 2007, just 61 boys received the name. Then came the Jolie-Pitt twins, and suddenly, everything changed. By 2009, that number exploded to 341, enough for it to debut in the US Top 1000.

It’s risen every single year since then, reaching #219 by 2018. That makes it a thoroughly mainstream choice, the kind of name many parents would consider without ever thinking of the Jolie-Pitt kids.

NOX

Here’s one more twist to the Americana treasure trove, preppy celebrity pick.

Drop the K, and Nox is the Roman goddess of the night, cousin to Nyx. It’s sometimes used in fiction, especially science fiction, but it remains quite rare.

But the name might bring to mind the idea of night; after all, nox is the root of words like nocturnal and features in terms like equinox.

NEXT TOP 100 NAME?

All of this makes Knox feel like a great compromise choice. It’s modern – really quite new as a given name – but it claims roots stretching back centuries. It blends rugged and preppy vibes nicely. It’s a little bit Americana, but not dramatically so. File this name somewhere between Mason and Max. If you’re after a name that’s not too out there, but doesn’t sound like anything you heard growing up, Knox might be the choice for you.

My guess: this name will continue to catch on, and might just make the US Top 100 in the next few years.

Would you consider this name for a son? Do you think it’s going to continue to rise – and maybe even crack the US Top 100?

First published on July 2, 2012, this post was revised substantially and republished on December 11, 2019.

Knox: Baby Name of the Day

About Abby Sandel

Whether you're naming a baby, or just all about names, you've come to the right place! Appellation Mountain is a haven for lovers of obscure gems and enduring classics alike.

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11 Comments

  1. We named our son Knox Michael. He is our 10th kid, so I wanted a name with an x in it. Add in the nod toward my Dad’s family who originate in the Knoxville area, it was perfect.
    And yes, it will rise to the top 100. We have a Wyatt born in 2000 and a Maverick born in 2014. Neither were top 100 names when we chose them. I expect Knox will do the same.

  2. I can see the attraction and it’s very fashionable sounding, but to me it sounds evil, like a cartoonish super-villain. “Oh no, Doctor Knox has the code to the Omega Machine!”

  3. Well, I don’t like Knox, makes me think of unflavored gelatin!
    And the Brangelina boys sound like a sentence to me: Maddox Pax and Knox; say it fast 5x and you’ll see what I mean.(maddox packs an ox) I realise the name has significance for them but wow,what an unfortunate match!
    So, while I adore Pax, love it’s meaning and find him simply charming, Knox doesn’t light me up any. Blech.

  4. My cousin and her husband were considering Knox for their eldest child (who ended up as Jude), and I was in total agreement with them on that one. I love Dead Poet’s and I loved the Knox character, so I like this name. Unfortunately, this is now too much of a Brangelina name, which has ruined it for me.

  5. Nox reminds me of Harry Potter.. its the spell to turn your light off on your wand. I kinda like it as a boys name.

  6. I like the sound, especially since it sounds like the Latin “nox”, night. But the kn combination bothers me. I do rather like Nox, though, as well as Nyx, but for a girl (Nyx/Nox is the Greek/Roman goddess of the night)

  7. Knox is also one of the main characters in Dr. Seuss’s “Fox in Socks”, published in 1965! Fox in socks, Knox in box, fox on knox in socks in box… He was a man ahead of his time.

    1. REALLY! Wow, somehow I missed that … and yes, Seuss was a great namer.