Knaggs 1108475 156702234 2007-09-09T14:12:55Z Montchav 2988969 /* Some People Named Knaggs */ [[Ed Knaggs]] '''Knaggs''' is a fairly rare English surname. ==Variations== The principal spelling variations are *With or without the initial K - this initial K is silent in English, but is voiced in Scandinavian countries *One or two Gs - this quickly settled to two *None or one E after the final G - this E was more common in earlier documents, and reflects the original pronunciation *With or without the final S - see below ==Origin== The ''Dictionary of Surnames'' gives Knaggs as a North English [[topographic]] name for someone who lived by a knagg (a stunted dead branch, or a jagged crag). However, it seems to have originated in [[Scandinavia]] where, today in both [[Sweden]] and [[Norway]] there are people named Knag, Knagg or Knagge. The name is not present in the [[Domesday Book]], and the earliest documented occurrence is that of Henry Knag, a Yorkshire [[Knights Templar|Templar]]. ==Distribution== Today, in the British Isles, the surname Knaggs is most common in Yorkshire, in a broad swathe from [[Bridlington]], through [[Whitby]], to [[Guisborough]]. There are pockets in the main Yorkshire industrial and commercial cities such as Hull, Leeds, and Middlesbrough, and isolated families throughout the rest of the United Kingdom. [[Image:Knaggs2.jpg|thumb| Distribution of the Knaggs surname in England, 1881]] The surname Knagg occurs most often in the industrial cities of [[Lancashire]]; most of these descend from a family that originated in [[Westmorland]]. The surname Naggs occurs most in [[Northumberland]] and [[County Durham]], and in those places where the name was so rare that nobody knew about the silent “K”. In 2002, in [[England]] and [[Wales]] there were 1,286 people named Knaggs, 172 named Knagg and 54 named Naggs. People with the Knaggs surname have settled in foreign parts since the 18th century, and are now to be found in The [[United States]] and [[Canada]], [[Australia]] and [[New Zealand]], [[South Africa]], [[Trinidad]], and even [[Haiti]] and [[Singapore]]. ==Researchers== This surname, and its variants, are registered with the [[Guild of One-Name Studies]], whose online register should be consulted. [[Genealogical]] aspects of the surname are covered at [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/jeffery.knaggs/genealogy.html this website]. ==Some People Named Knaggs== *[[Thomas Knaggs]] 1661-1724, preacher and publisher of sermons *[[Whitmore Knaggs]] 1763-1827, Indian fighter, linguist and spy *[[Samuel William Knaggs|Sir Samuel William Knaggs]] 1856-1924, civil servant (West Indies) *[[Henry Valentine Knaggs]] 1859-1954, physician and author *[[Skelton Barnaby Knaggs]] 1911-1955, stage actor and horror movie actor *[[Charlie Knaggs]] Colonel in the Irish Guards *[[Ed Knaggs]], a Canadian rugby player who competed in the 2003 World Cup [[Category:Surnames]]