Explore the Family Name Kight

The meaning of Kight

1. Americanized form of German Keith. 2. English: perhaps a variant of Kite.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Kight in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Kight has seen a slight increase in popularity across the United States between the years 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it was ranked as the 6,956th most common surname, increasing to the 6,753rd position in 2010. This represents a change of 2.92 percent in rank. The count of people with this surname also rose from 4,446 in 2000 to 4,992 in 2010, an impressive surge of 12.28 percent. Over the same period, the proportion of people named Kight per 100,000 U.S. residents increased by 2.42 percent.

20002010Change
Rank#6,956#6,7532.92%
Count4,4464,99212.28%
Proportion per 100k1.651.692.42%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Kight

When examining the ethnic identity tied to the Kight surname, the Decennial U.S. Census data shows some interesting trends. The majority of individuals with the last name Kight identified as White, although this percentage dropped slightly from 89.25 percent in 2000 to 87.32 percent in 2010. Meanwhile, there were noteworthy increases in the percentages of those identifying as Hispanic, from 1.10 percent in 2000 to 1.66 percent in 2010, and American Indian and Alaskan Native, which saw an increase from 0.34 percent to 0.50 percent over the same period. The percentage of individuals identifying as Black also rose from 7.15 percent to 7.89 percent. However, the percentage of those who identified as Asian/Pacific Islander remained consistent at 0.56 percent, and the group indicating two or more races experienced an increase from 1.60 percent to 2.06 percent.

20002010Change
White89.25%87.32%-2.16%
Black7.15%7.89%10.35%
Two or More Races1.6%2.06%28.75%
Hispanic1.1%1.66%50.91%
Asian/Pacific Islander0.56%0.56%0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0.34%0.5%47.06%

Kight ancestry composition

23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Kight is British & Irish, which comprises 58.7% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (24.4%) and Scandinavian (2.5%). Additional ancestries include Eastern European, Ashkenazi Jewish, Italian, Spanish & Portuguese, and Nigerian.

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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWNCOMPOSITION
British & Irish58.7%
French & German24.4%
Scandinavian2.5%
Other14.5%
Kight

Possible origins of the surname Kight

Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.

Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Kight have recent ancestry locations all within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

RECENT ANCESTRY LocationPercentage
Tyne And Wear, United Kingdom92.70%
Greater Manchester, United Kingdom92.70%
Merseyside, United Kingdom92.70%
Greater London, United Kingdom92.70%
West Yorkshire, United Kingdom92.70%

What Kight haplogroups can tell you

Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.

The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Kight is R-CTS241, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup R-CTS241 is descended from haplogroup R-M343. Other common haplogroups include R-L21 and R-L48, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Broadbent, Brundage, Strother, Hargis, Hinman, Peckham, Pauley, Liddle, Tedder, Renshaw.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Kight surname are: H1, H, H2a. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.

kightPaternal Haplogroup Origins R-M343

Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette

Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.

Maternal Haplo Image

What do people with the surname Kight have in common?

Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.

Preferences

Kight

Chocolate Ice Cream

Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Kight" Surname 59.4%

23andMe Users 41.3%

Traits

Kight

Misophonia

When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.

"Kight" Surname 20.7%

23andMe Users 27.9%

Habits

Kight

Sugary Drink

Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.

"Kight" Surname 28.2%

23andMe Users 21.1%

Wellness

Kight

Migraine

A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.

"Kight" Surname 16.8%

23andMe Users 16.4%

Are health conditions linked to the last name Kight?

The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.

Disease variant frequency by ancestry

Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Kight are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition

Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Y402H variant

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of irreversible vision loss among older adults. The disease results in damage to the central part of the retina (the macula), impairing vision needed for reading, driving, or even recognizing faces. The 23andMe Health + Ancestry DNA test includes the two most common variants associated with an increased risk of developing the condition: the Y402H variant in the CFH gene and the A69S variant in the ARMS2 gene. Learn more about Age-Related Macular Degeneration

British & Irish 62.1%

23andMe Users 57.2%