# Is "proposing" on your knees really a thing in the US? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 18, 2026, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-proposing-on-your-knees-really-a-thing-in-the-us/1026790 "2026-01-18T14:44:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-proposing-on-your-knees-really-a-thing-in-the-us/1026790/1 "2026-01-18T14:44:36Z")
… seeing lots of short vids in misc. "self-publishing / I need to show the world " websites … is that really a thing in the US - or does social-media just make it seem so? Seriously wondering… ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-proposing-on-your-knees-really-a-thing-in-the-us/1026790/2 "2026-01-18T14:47:13Z")
It’s not just in the United States but instead seems to be a Western tradition. Wikipedia has an image of an 1815 German woodcut illustration of a man doing this. [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/1815-regency-proposal-woodcut.gif) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/1815-regency-proposal-woodcut.gif) ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-proposing-on-your-knees-really-a-thing-in-the-us/1026790/3 "2026-01-18T15:21:47Z")
🎶 I hold your hand in mine, dear. I press it to my lips. I take a healthy bite from your dainty fingertips…🎶 ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-proposing-on-your-knees-really-a-thing-in-the-us/1026790/4 "2026-01-18T15:24:17Z")
An [article from Brides Magazine](https://www.brides.com/story/propose-on-one-knee-tradition) says > The tradition of a man (or woman) proposing on one knee comes from medieval knights bowing before noblewomen as a show of respect. That said, this common gesture, accompanied by the question “Will you marry me?”, is a somewhat recent phenomenon. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-proposing-on-your-knees-really-a-thing-in-the-us/1026790/5 "2026-01-18T15:25:19Z")
Not ‘on your knees’ but on one knee, I’d say it’s pretty common. How is it done in other countries? I’m not sure where the OP hails from. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-proposing-on-your-knees-really-a-thing-in-the-us/1026790/6 "2026-01-18T15:39:31Z")
Not commonplace in the U.S., at least based on social media, which suggests that marriage proposals these days are made through giant flashing text on stadium messageboards, signs held up by fellow football players or squeaks by a team of trained dolphins. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-proposing-on-your-knees-really-a-thing-in-the-us/1026790/7 "2026-01-18T15:49:50Z")
I don’t think it’s possible to judge the frequency of anything based only on social media, which encourages the posting of over the top stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-proposing-on-your-knees-really-a-thing-in-the-us/1026790/8 "2026-01-18T16:55:02Z")
ok then: do you have anybody in your family who did proposed on the knee? … or in your social circle/work/etc? trying to get a feeling … 0.1%, 1%, 10%. 30% of all proposals done this way ?? (we are in IMHO, after all) ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-proposing-on-your-knees-really-a-thing-in-the-us/1026790/9 "2026-01-18T17:09:45Z")
Never heard of anyone doing it in my social circle. I am 68 for reference. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-proposing-on-your-knees-really-a-thing-in-the-us/1026790/10 "2026-01-18T17:13:05Z")
I did it. Went to one knee. Seemed to be the thing to do at that moment. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-proposing-on-your-knees-really-a-thing-in-the-us/1026790/11 "2026-01-18T17:24:43Z")
My sister had a b-friend propose via a towed banner behind an airplane a few years ago. [Note they broke up soon after she accepted, tl;dr] ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-proposing-on-your-knees-really-a-thing-in-the-us/1026790/12 "2026-01-18T17:26:01Z")
A couple of years ago I posted [a poll](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polls-only-no-discussion/953642/2887) asking if anyone had ever proposed or been proposed to in this way. 18% of the 78 respondents said they had experienced it. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-proposing-on-your-knees-really-a-thing-in-the-us/1026790/13 "2026-01-18T17:29:25Z")
thx, good info - numbers probably inflated by “self-selection bias” (18% would be close to 1 in 5) … ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-proposing-on-your-knees-really-a-thing-in-the-us/1026790/14 "2026-01-18T17:31:41Z")
I didn’t and I don’t know if anyone in my circle who did. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-proposing-on-your-knees-really-a-thing-in-the-us/1026790/15 "2026-01-18T17:34:20Z")
I think that there is a much bigger problem with proposals than whether you should get down on your knees. A large proportion (how large is hard to determine) of proposals are turned down. Sometimes it’s because the person being proposed to is about to tell the proposer to bug off and never contact them again. There are cases in which the proposer asks the person being proposed to on their first date (and sometimes during things that don’t even constitute a date). There are cases where the person being proposed to says that it’s way too early to even discuss marriage. There are cases where the person being proposed to says that they don’t even believe in the institution of marriage. ---
**Author:** ![knavette57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knavette57/32/3871_2.png) [@knavette57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/knavette57)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-proposing-on-your-knees-really-a-thing-in-the-us/1026790/16 "2026-01-18T17:38:10Z")
My first husband proposed in bed, post-coital. So he went to the limit, lying down! Second husband (and my current), did do it on one knee, it was unexpected but he was a gentle person. I am still with him, and our marriage has been very successful. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-proposing-on-your-knees-really-a-thing-in-the-us/1026790/17 "2026-01-18T17:43:15Z")
I got down on one knee, per tradition. She said “yes,” and the crowd in the coffee shop applauded. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-proposing-on-your-knees-really-a-thing-in-the-us/1026790/18 "2026-01-18T17:46:16Z")
> [@knavette57](#): > > My first husband proposed in bed, post-coital. 👏 (that has to be at least 2 levels above being high-fived after sex) ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-proposing-on-your-knees-really-a-thing-in-the-us/1026790/19 "2026-01-18T18:05:35Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > that marriage proposals these days are made through giant flashing text on stadium messageboards Which are often accompanied by one person getting down on their knee while the other is reading the sign. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-proposing-on-your-knees-really-a-thing-in-the-us/1026790/20 "2026-01-18T18:10:53Z")
A big public proposal might be a mistake if the one being asked says no, or _wants_ to say no but feels awkward doing so in public. So perhaps save it for a private moment? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-proposing-on-your-knees-really-a-thing-in-the-us/1026790.md?page=2)