Jughashvili Georgian (Rare)Meaning uncertain. One theory suggests Ossetian roots with the meaning
"son of the herder", derived from Ossetian
дзуг (dzug) meaning "herd, flock, troop". Alternately, it could be derived from the name of the village of
ჯუღაანი (Jughaani) in eastern Georgia. The most notable bearer was Joseph Stalin (1878-1953), born Ioseb Jughashvili, a leader of the Soviet Union.
Kalmár HungarianOccupational name meaning
"merchant, shopkeeper" in Hungarian, of German origin.
Kapanadze GeorgianMeans
"son of the one from Kapan", originally denoting someone who came from the city of Kapan in present-day Armenia (from Armenian
կապել (kapel) meaning "to tie, to fasten").
Kappel German, DutchName for a person who lived near or worked at a chapel, ultimately from Late Latin
cappella, a diminutive of
cappa "cape", arising from the holy relic of the torn cape of Saint
Martin, which was kept in small churches.
Karamazov LiteratureCreated by Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky for his novel
The Brothers Karamazov (1879), about three brothers and their murdered father. Dostoyevsky may have based it on Tartar/Turkic
кара (kara) meaning "black" and Russian
мазать (mazat) meaning "stain". The connection to black is implied in the novel when one of the brothers is accidentally addressed as Mr.
Черномазов (Chernomazov), as if based on Russian
чёрный meaning "black".
Kaube GermanFrom the name of the town of Kaub in Germany.
Kavanagh IrishDerived from the Irish Gaelic name
Caomhánach, which means "a student of saint
Caomhán". It was the name used by a 12th-century king of Leinster, Domhnall Caomhánach, the eldest son of the historic Irish king Diarmait Mac Murchada.
Kawaguchi JapaneseMeans
"mouth of the river", from Japanese
川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream" and
口 (kuchi) meaning "mouth, entrance".
Kearney IrishFrom the Irish name
Ó Ceithearnaigh meaning
"descendant of Ceithearnach", a given name meaning "warrior".
Keaton EnglishFrom any of three English place names: Ketton in Rutland, Ketton in Durham or Keaton in Devon. The first is probably derived from an old river name or tribal name combined with Old English
ea "river", with the spelling later influenced by
tun "enclosure, yard, town". The second is from the Old English given name
Catta or the Old Norse given name
Káti combined with Old English
tun. The third is possibly from Cornish
kee "hedge, bank" combined with Old English
tun.
Kecskeméti HungarianOriginally indicated a person who came from the Hungarian city of Kecskemét, derived from
kecske meaning "goat".
Keefe IrishAnglicized form of the Irish
Ó Caoimh meaning
"descendant of Caomh".
Keegan IrishFrom Irish
Mac Aodhagáin meaning
"descendant of Aodhagán". The given name
Aodhagán is a double diminutive of
Aodh.
Keeley IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Ó Caolaidhe meaning
"descendant of Caoladhe", a given name derived from
caol "slender".
Keighley EnglishDerived from an English place name meaning "clearing belonging to Cyhha". The Old English given name
Cyhha is of unknown meaning.
Keil GermanMeans
"wedge shaped" in German. It was used to denote a person who owned a wedge-shaped piece of land.
Keith ScottishFrom a place name that is probably derived from the Brythonic element
cet meaning
"wood". This was the surname of a long line of Scottish nobles.
Keller GermanMeans
"cellar" in German, an occupational name for one in charge of the food and drink.
Kelly 1 IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Ó Ceallaigh meaning
"descendant of Ceallach". Famous bearers include actor and dancer Gene Kelly (1912-1996) and actress and princess Grace Kelly (1929-1982).
Kendall EnglishDerived from the town of Kendal in England, so-called from the river
Kent, on which it is situated, and Old English
dæl meaning "valley, dale".
Kennedy IrishFrom the Irish name
Ó Cinnéidigh meaning
"descendant of Cennétig". This surname was borne by assassinated American president John F. Kennedy (1917-1963).
Kenyatta KikuyuFrom
kinyata, the name of a type of ornamental belt worn by the Maasai. This was the surname of the first president of Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta (1897-1978). He adopted the surname in his youth.
Kerekes HungarianOccupational name for a maker of wheels, from Hungarian
kerék meaning
"wheel".
Khachaturyan ArmenianMeans
"son of Khachatur" in Armenian. A famous bearer was the Armenian composer Aram Khachaturyan or Khachaturian (1903-1978).
Khan Urdu, Pashto, BengaliFrom a title meaning
"king, ruler", probably of Mongolian origin but used in many languages.
Kidd EnglishFrom a nickname meaning
"young goat, kid" in Middle English, of Old Norse origin.
Kilduff IrishFrom the Irish
Mac Giolla Dhuibh meaning
"son of the black-haired man".
Killam EnglishDenoted one who hailed from the English town of Kilham, meaning "kiln homestead".
Kilpatrick IrishFrom the Irish
Mac Giolla Phádraig meaning
"son of the servant of Saint Patrick".
Kim KoreanKorean form of
Jin, from Sino-Korean
金 (gim) meaning
"gold". This is the most common surname in South Korea.
Kinnaird ScottishFrom the name of a place in Scotland, in Gaelic
An Ceann Ard, meaning "high headland". In the 12th century a Norman nobleman received a charter of land here from King William the Lion (King of Scots), and was thereafter known by this name.
Kinsley EnglishFrom the name of a town in West Yorkshire, meaning "clearing belonging to Cyne". The Old English given name
Cyne is a short form of longer names beginning with
cyne meaning "royal".
Kipling EnglishFrom the name of a town in Yorkshire, of Old English origin meaning "Cyppel's people", from a given name
Cyppel of unknown meaning. A famous bearer of this name was the author Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936).
Kirk EnglishFrom northern Middle English
kirk meaning
"church", from Old Norse
kirkja (cognate of
Church). A famous fictional bearer is the starship captain James Kirk from the
Star Trek television series (1966-1969), and subsequent films.
Kitchen EnglishOccupational name for a person who worked in a kitchen (of a monastery for example), derived from Old English
cycene, ultimately from Latin
coquina.
Klein German, Dutch, JewishMeans
"small, little" from German
klein or Yiddish
kleyn. A famous bearer of this name is clothes designer Calvin Klein (1942-).
Knaggs EnglishFrom Middle English
knagg meaning
"small mound, projection". It is found most commonly in the north of England, in particular Yorkshire.
Knox ScottishFrom the name of various places in Scotland and northern England, derived from Scottish Gaelic
cnoc "round hill".
Koizumi JapaneseFrom Japanese
小 (ko) meaning "small" and
泉 (izumi) meaning "spring, fountain". A notable bearer of this name is Junichiro Koizumi (1942-), who was Prime Minister of Japan.
Korhonen FinnishPossibly from archaic Finnish
korho meaning
"deaf, hard of hearing". This is the most common surname in Finland.
Koster DutchMeans
"churchwarden, sexton" in Dutch, an occupational name for a caretaker of a church.
Krajnc SloveneOriginally denoted a person from Carniola (Slovene
Kranjska), a region that makes up a large part of central Slovenia.
Kranz German, JewishDerived from Old High German
kranz meaning
"wreath", an occupational name for a maker of wreaths or an ornamental Jewish name.
Kukk EstonianMeans
"rooster" in Estonian, ultimately of Germanic origin.
Kundakçı TurkishFrom Turkish
kundak meaning
"stock, wooden part of a rifle".
Kunkel GermanOccupational name for a maker of distaffs, from Middle High German
kunkel "distaff, spindle", of Latin origin.
Labriola ItalianOriginally indicated a person from the town of Abriola in southern Italy.
Lacey EnglishDerived from
Lassy, the name of a town in Normandy. The name of the town was Gaulish in origin, perhaps deriving from a personal name that was Latinized as
Lascius.
Lagorio ItalianFrom a nickname derived from Ligurian
lagö, referring to a type of lizard, the European green lizard. This little reptile is respected because it supposedly protects against vipers.
Laguardia ItalianOccupational name meaning
"sentry, sentinel" in Italian, also a locative name referring to a person who lived near a watchtower. Fiorello Laguardia (1882-1947) was the first mayor of New York of Italian origin.
Lamb EnglishFrom the name of the animal, perhaps a nickname for a shy person.
Lamon ItalianFrom the name of the village of Lamon near the city of Belluno in Veneto, Italy.
Landau German, JewishDerived from the town of Landau in the Palatinate region of Germany, of Old High German origin meaning "land valley".
Lane 1 EnglishOriginally designated one who lived by a lane, a narrow way between fences or hedges, later used of any narrow pathway, including one between houses in a town.
Lane 3 IrishFrom Irish
Ó Luain meaning
"descendant of Luan", a given name meaning "warrior".
Langbroek DutchFrom the name of a small town in the province of Utrecht, Holland, derived from
lang meaning "wide" and
broek meaning "marsh, wetland".
Langdon EnglishDerived from the name of various places, of Old English origin meaning
"long hill" (effectively
"ridge").
Langford EnglishFrom any of various places in England with this name, derived from Old English
lang "long" and
ford "ford, river crossing".
Langley 1 EnglishFrom any of the various places with this name, all derived from Old English
lang "long" and
leah "woodland, clearing".
Langston EnglishFrom any of the various locations in England with this name, derived from Old English
lang "long" and
stan "stone".
Lapointe FrenchMeans
"the point (of a lance)" in French, possibly a nickname for a soldier.
Lara SpanishFrom the name of a village in Burgos, Spain. It might be derived from Latin
lar "household god, house, home".
Laterza ItalianFrom the name of the town of Laterza near Taranto in Apulia. It is typical of southern Italy.
Laurito ItalianFrom the name of the town of Laurito, near Salerno in the area of Naples.
Lavigne FrenchMeans
"the vineyard" in French, referring to a person who lived close to a vineyard, or was from the town of Lavigny.
Layton EnglishDerived from the name of English towns, meaning "town with a leek garden" in Old English.
Lê VietnameseVietnamese form of
Li 2, from Sino-Vietnamese
黎 (lê). This is the third most common surname in Vietnam.
Leach EnglishOriginally indicated a person who was a physician, from the medieval practice of using leeches to bleed people of ills.
Leavitt EnglishFrom the name of various places called Livet in Normandy, France. They are possibly of Gaulish origin.
Lecomte FrenchMeans
"the count" in French, a nickname for someone in the service of a count or for someone who behaved like one.
Lécuyer FrenchFrom French
écuyer meaning
"squire, shield-bearer", from Latin
scutarius, a derivative of
scutum "shield".
Ledford EnglishFrom the name of English places called
Lydford, derived from
hlud meaning "loud, noisy" and
ford meaning "ford, river crossing".
Lee 2 Korean, ChineseKorean form of
Li 1, from Sino-Korean
李 (i). This is the second most common surname in South Korea. It is also a variant Chinese romanization of
Li 1.
Leeuwenhoek DutchMeans
"lion's corner" in Dutch. The first bearer of this name lived on the corner (Dutch
hoek) of the Lion's Gate (Dutch
Leeuwenpoort) in the city of Delft.
Leitzke GermanEither from
Leitzkau, the name of a town in Saxony-Anhalt, or from a diminutive of the given name
Leutz, a variant of
Lutz.
Lémieux FrenchDerived from the place name
Leymieux, a town in the Rhône-Alpes region of France.
Lenin HistorySurname adopted by the Russian revolutionary and founder of the former Soviet state Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924), whose birth surname was
Ulyanov. He probably adapted it from the name of the River Lena in Siberia.
Lennon IrishAnglicized form of the Irish name
Ó Leannáin, which means
"descendant of Leannán". The byname
Leannán means "lover". The name was borne by the musician John Lennon (1940-1980).
Lennox ScottishFrom the name of a district in Scotland, called
Leamhnachd in Gaelic, possibly meaning "place of elms".
León 1 SpanishReferred to a person from the city of León in northern Spain, derived from Latin
legio (genitive
legionis) meaning
"legion", so named because the Roman 7th Legion Gemina was stationed there.
Leslie ScottishFrom a Scottish clan name, earlier
Lesselyn, derived from a place name in Aberdeenshire, itself probably from Gaelic
leas celyn meaning "garden of holly".
Lewis 1 EnglishDerived from the given name
Lewis. The author C. S. Lewis (1898-1963) was a bearer of this surname.
Li 1 ChineseFrom Chinese
李 (lǐ) meaning
"plum, plum tree". This was the surname of Chinese emperors of the Tang dynasty.
Liang ChineseFrom Chinese
梁 (liáng) referring to the ancient state of Liang, which existed from the 8th to 7th centuries BC in what is now Shaanxi province.
Liao ChineseFrom Chinese
廖 (liào) referring to the ancient state of Liao, which was located in present-day Henan province.
Lincoln EnglishOriginally indicated that the bearer was from the English city of Lincoln, called
Lindum Colonia by the Romans, derived from Brythonic
lindo "lake, pool" and Latin
colonia "colony". A famous bearer was Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), president of the United States during the American Civil War.