It's Kuh-nay-guh.
High school sports star Noah Knigga has become quite the internet sensation for much more than his athletic accomplishments recently ... but he wants everyone to know his name is safe for everyone to say -- as long as it's pronounced correctly.
The athlete and his family did an interview with Robert Griffin III this week ... and they answered the burning question surrounding their surname.
Of course, social media has been having a field day with the whole phenomenon ... firing off jokes left and right as it comes SUPER close to a word that could get a lot of folks canceled real quick.
Even RGIII had fun with it during the Q&A ... asking the Kniggas if they've ever been to Paris -- a reference to the famous Jay-Z and Kanye West song.
FWIW -- the Kniggas have never visited the City of Lights.
But friendly jabs aside, Noah -- a junior at Lawrenceburg High in Indiana -- is being recruited by multiple Division I schools to play football ... and recently won MVP honors in a basketball tournament over the weekend, so his game is no joke.
Who knows, maybe he'll even become a household name someday!!