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The surname "Knapton" derives from the Old Norse language. Presumably brought over during the Viking Invasions in the Dark Ages. The Vikings settled in the East Coast of England & the West Coast of Scotland. "Knap" or "Cnaep" is the Old Norse for "Hill". Similarly "Ton" means a "Farm". So the surname literally means a "Farm on a Hill". The name "Dale" has identical roots & is the Old Norse for a Valley. Thus the Yorkshire "Dales" are literally the Yorkshire "Valleys". "Knapdale" on the West Coast of Scotland literally means "Hill/Valley. My research has shown the ancestral Knaptons bred far more women than men, generation after generation. Frequently, I have noted between 4 & 6 daughters with only one son.That is why, even after hundreds of years, the surname Knapton is still uncommon in the UK. The old Viking capital of England was York. Check York out on a map. You will see the small village of Knapton to the south west of York. Proves my point, I think! Note: Our surname has nothing to to do with Flint "Knapping" i.e. sharpening flint stones. That expression has more to do with the Saxons rather than the Vikings.