Proctor is a city in Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States. Established in 1894, the town was named after former Kentucky Governor J. Proctor Knott. It is part of the Duluth Metropolitan Area. The population was 3,120 at the 2020 census.

James Proctor Knott was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky and served as the 29th Governor of Kentucky from 1883 to 1887. Born in Kentucky, he moved to Missouri in 1850 and began his political career there. He served as Missouri Attorney General from 1859 to 1861, when he resigned rather than swear an oath of allegiance to the federal government just prior to the outbreak of the Civil War.