This surname, of Scottish, Irish or English origin, is either a topographical name for someone, who lived on a hilltop, derived from the Old English "cnocc" (Gaelic "cnoc") meaning "round-topped hill", or, a locational name from one of the places called Knock in Scotland and Northern England. The name dates back to the late 13th Century, (see below). Further recordings include Nicholas Knok (1279), "The Hundred Rolls of Bedfordshire" and Thomas atte Knocke (1296) "The Subsidy Rolls of Sussex" variations in the idiom of the spelling include Knox, Knocker, Nock etc.. One Katheryne Nockes married Arthur Lloide on the 25th May 1576 at St. James, Clerkenwell, London. Joseph, son of Thomas and Angel Knock, was christened on the December 15th 1691 at St. Giles Cripplegate, London, and John Knock married Elizabeth Everard on June 18th 1645 at St. Mary, Putney, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John de (of) Cnoc or Knoc, charter witness, which was dated 1260, in the "Records of Renfrewshire", Scotland, during the reign of King Henry 111, known as "The Frenchman", 1216 - 1272. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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