Jaso BasqueDerived from Basque
jats meaning
"sorghum", a type of cereal grass.
Jaworski m PolishHabitational name for someone from any of the various places named
Jawory or
Jaworze, derived from Polish
jawor meaning "maple tree".
Jefferson EnglishMeans
"son of Jeffrey". A famous bearer was American president Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826). Since his surname was sometimes adopted by freed slaves, it is now more common among the African-American population.
Jekyll EnglishDerived from the Breton given name
Judicaël. This name was used by Robert Louis Stevenson for the character of Dr Henry Jekyll in the book
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886).
Jenkins EnglishFrom the given name
Jenkin, a diminutive of
Jen, itself a Middle English form of
John.
Jennings EnglishFrom the given name
Jenyn, a diminutive of
Jen, itself a Middle English form of
John.
Jerome EnglishDerived from the given name
Jerome. A famous bearer of this surname was the American-born Jennie Jerome (1854-1921), Lady Randolph Churchill, mother of Winston Churchill.
Jinks EnglishMeans
"son of Jenk", a short form of
Jenkin, a diminutive of
Jen, itself a Middle English form of
John.
Jo KoreanAlternate transcription of Korean Hangul
조 (see
Cho).
Johnson EnglishMeans
"son of John". Famous bearers include American presidents Andrew Johnson (1808-1875) and Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973).
Jöllenbeck GermanFrom the name of a village in western Germany, itself derived from the name of the Jölle, a small river, combined with Low German
beck "stream".
Jordan 2 JewishDerived from the name of the Jordan river, which is from Hebrew
יָרַד (yaraḏ) meaning "descend" or "flow down".
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.
Kolář m CzechMeans
"wheelwright", a derivative of Czech
kolo "wheel".
Konečný m Czech, SlovakMeans
"final, last" in Czech and Slovak, perhaps a nickname for the youngest son of a family or a topographic name for someone who lived at the end of a settlement.
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.