Modern Day Knights

Knights to me are the equivalent of celebrities today. Knights were either common people who did some deed that got enough attention that it warranted a knighting or they were knighted because it ran in their family. It's like that today in a lot of ways, some celebrities are famous because they stared in a movie or wrote a good song and then there are those who are famous just because their family is i.e. those young Kardashian twins or Will Smiths son before he was in the Karate Kid remake.
Some knights were really famous for their battles and tournaments like we saw in Merlin in the same way that some celebrities are really famous for the books they wrote or the songs they sang. Some warriors got knighted for one battle then didn't really do anything for the rest of their lives a lot one hit wonder artist today i.e. that Korean guy who wrote Gangnam Style or Rebecca Black. The good knights did heroic things for the common people. A lot like how good celebrities move us (the common people) through acting, writing a book that people can relate to, or writing a song that makes people cry. I'm pretty sure that's why everyone calls Elton John and Paul McCartney, Sir.