Save Type Surname (from nickname) Usage German, Dutch, Jewish Pronounced Pron. /ˈklaɪ̯n/(German) [key·simplify] Meaning & History Means "small, little" from German klein or Yiddish kleyn. A famous bearer of this name is clothes designer Calvin Klein (1942-). Related NamesDetails RootkleiniVariantsCline(German) Cline(Jewish) Categories brand names, fashion designers, German words, isograms, sizes