Knoll
Knoll Origin and Meaning
An architectural take on Noel. Knoll honors Florence Knoll, the Michigan-born modernist architect and furniture designer. Her namesake company still produces her designs today.
Knoll first charted in 2015, when it was given to six baby boys. It has origins as both an English and a German surname. As the former, it originally denoted someone who lived near a hill and was derived from the Middle English word knolle, meaning "hilltop," ultimately from the Middle High German word knol, "peak." Variations of Knoll were used as place names throughout England, so the surname can be habitational as well.
The German surname is found among Ashkenazi Jews, and is derived from a Germanic word meaning "lump," or "clod." Ashkenazi Jews were one of the last ethnic groups in Europe to adopt surnames, and often disparaging and offensive surnames were assigned to them by government officials.