KÁDÁR HungarianMeans "cooper" in Hungarian (that is, a person who made or repaired wooden barrels).
KAHLER GermanFrom a nickname meaning "bald-headed" in German.
KAISER GermanFrom Middle High German
keiser meaning "emperor", originally a nickname applied to someone who acted kingly. The title ultimately derives from the Roman name
CAESAR.
KALBFLEISCH GermanOccupational surname that indicated a butcher who sold veal meat or a butcher who slaughtered calves. In German
kalb means "calf" and
fleisch means "meat".
KALMÁR HungarianOccupational surname that originated from the vocabulary word
kalmár meaning "merchant, trader, trafficker" in Hungarian.
KAMIŃSKI PolishOriginally denoted someone who came from a town called Kamien.
Kamien comes from the Slavic word
kamiñ meaning "stone".
KAPPEL German, DutchMeans "a person who lives near or works at a chapel" from Middle High German
kappel "chapel".
KARDOS HungarianFrom
kard meaning "sword" in Hungarian. It could have been applied to soldiers, sword makers, or one with a pugnacious nature.
KARGA TurkishNickname from a Turkish word indicating a "crow".
KÁRPÁTI HungarianDerived from the Hungarian name of the Carpathian mountains,
Kárpátok.
KASSMEYER GermanFrom the Low German area around Paderborn. The ending of the name is derived from German
meyer "farmer".
KASUN Croatian, Serbian, BosnianDerived from the Old Slavic term
kazac "to order, command", here referring to one who bore an air of authority, and whose word was heeded and obeyed.
KATIRCI TurkishDerived from Turkish
katır meaning "mule", a name for a person who made transports by mule.
KATOU JapaneseFrom Japanese
加 (ka) meaning "add, increase" and
藤 (tou) meaning "wisteria". The latter character may indicate a connection to the Fujiwara clan.
KATSAROS GreekMeans "curly" in Greek, referring to a person with curly hair.
KATZ GermanDerived from the German word
Katze "cat".
KAUR Indian (Sikh)Means "princess", ultimately from Sanskrit
कुमारी (kumari) meaning "girl". In 1699 Guru Gobind Singh gave all his Sikh female followers the surname
Kaur and all males
Singh. In many instances, it is also used as a middle name with the family name serving as the surname.
KAVA PolishDerived from Polish
kawa "coffee", perhaps originally denoting one who worked in the coffee trade.
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".
KAY (2) EnglishDerived from Middle English
kaye "wharf, quay". A name for one who lived near or worked on a wharf.
KEARNEY IrishFrom the Irish name
Ó Ceithearnaigh meaning "descendant of Ceithearnach", a given name meaning "warrior".
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.
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 which is probably derived from the Brythonic element
cet meaning "wood". This was the surname of a long line of Scottish nobles.
KELLER German, HungarianFrom Middle High German
këller meaning "cellar". This is either an occupational name for a cellarer or a name for a person who lived in a cellar.
KELLOGG EnglishFrom the Middle Ages, a name for a butcher meaning "killer of hogs".
KELSEY EnglishFrom an English place name meaning "Cenel's island", from the Old English name
Cenel "fierce" in combination with
eg "island".
KEMP EnglishDerived from Middle English
kempe meaning "champion, warrior".
KEMPF GermanGerman form of
KEMP. In order to Americanize the name, some people dropped the letter
f, altering the name to the English version.
KENDALL EnglishDerived from the town of Kendale in England, and was so called from the river Kent, on which it is situated, and
dael "valley, dale". Therefore, it means "valley on the river Kent".
KENNEDY IrishFrom the Irish name
Ó Cinnéidigh meaning "descendant of
CENNÉTIG". This surname was borne by assassinated American president John F. Kennedy (1917-1963).
KEREKES HungarianMeaning "wheel-maker, wheeler" from the word
kerék meaning "wheel" in Hungarian.
KERNER GermanDerived from German
kern "seed". It is an occupational name for one who sold or planted seeds.
KERR ScottishFrom Scots
kerr meaning "rough wet ground", ultimately from Old Norse
kjarr.
KERSEY EnglishFrom an English place name meaning "watercress island".
KHACHATURYAN ArmenianMeans "son of
KHACHATUR" in Armenian. A famous bearer was the Armenian composer Aram Khachaturyan or Khachaturian (1903-1978).
KIEFER (2) GermanDerived from German
kufe meaning "barrel". This was an occupational name for a barrel maker.
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 hamlet".
KILLOUGH IrishIndicated a person who was from Killough (County Down, Northern Ireland) or Killough (Wicklow, Ireland). The place name Killough means "church on the lake", derived from the Irish
cill "church" and
locha "lake".
KIM KoreanKorean form of
JIN, from Sino-Korean
金 (gim) meaning "gold". This is the most popular surname in Korea.
KING EnglishFrom Old English
cyning, originally a nickname for someone who either acted in a kingly manner or who worked for or was otherwise associated with a king.
KINGSLEY EnglishFrom a place name meaning "king's clearing" in Old English.
KINNAIRD ScottishFrom the name of a place in Scotland. The area concerned is high and occupies a vantage point and may have been named in Gaelic as
Ceann Ard meaning "high end or head". 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.
KIPLING EnglishFrom the name of a town in Yorkshire. A famous bearer of this name is the author Rudyard Kipling.
KIRÁLY HungarianMeans "king" in Hungarian. This was a nickname for a person who acted kingly.
KIRBY EnglishDerived from
Kirkeby, a name for numerous locations in northern England.
Kirkeby is derived from
kirkja and
byr, two Norse words meaning "church" and "settlement" respectively.
KIRCHNER GermanDerived from Middle High German
kirche "church". The name was probably given to someone who worked at a church or lived near one.
KISTLER GermanOccupational name meaning "chest maker, cabinetmaker" in German.
KITCHEN EnglishOccupational name for a person who worked in a kitchen (of a monastery for example).
KLADIVO CzechMeans "hammer" in Czech. The name most likely started as a nickname for a blacksmith.
KLEID German, JewishOccupational name for a tailor, from German
Kleid meaning "garment, clothing".
KLEIN German, Dutch, JewishMeans "small, little" from German
klein or Yiddish
kleyn. A famous bearer of this name is clothes designer Calvin Klein (1942-).
KLOET DutchPossibly from Middle Dutch
cloet meaning "lump, ball". In some cases this was a nickname for an oafish person. In other cases it may have been a name for someone who lived near a sign which had a globe on it.
KNAGGS EnglishFound most commonly in the north of England, in particular Yorkshire. It means "someone that lived by a knagg (a small mound)".
KNEF GermanOccupational name for a shoemaker (derived from Low German
knif meaning "shoemaker's knife").
KNELLER GermanOriginally a nickname for a noisy or disruptive person, derived from Old German
knellen "to make noise, to cause a disturbance".
KNIGHT EnglishFrom Old English
cniht meaning "knight" or "tenant serving as a mounted soldier".
KNOCHENMUS GermanFrom German
knochen "bone" and
mus "sauce". It probably referred to someone who worked in the butcher trade.
KNOPF GermanMeans "button" in German, originally belonging to a button maker or button seller.
KÓBOR HungarianFrom the word
kóbor meaning "wanderer, ranger" in Hungarian.
KOHL GermanDerived from Middle High German
kol "cabbage".
KOHLER GermanFrom Middle High German
koler meaning "charcoal burner" or "charcoal seller".
KOHUT UkrainianMeans "rooster" in Ukrainian. It was a nickname for a proud person.
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 CzechMeans "wheelwright", a derivative of Czech
kolo "wheel".
KOLBE GermanMeans "mace" in German. A mace is a heavy medieval war club with a spiked or flanged metal head, used to crush armour.
KOPECKY CzechDerived from Czech
kopec "hill". The name was perhaps given to a person who lived close to a hill.
KORHONEN FinnishPossibly from archaic Finnish
korho meaning "deaf, hard of hearing".
KOROŠEC SloveneOriginally indicated a person from Koroška (Carinthia), a medieval Slovene state, now divided between Slovenia and Austria.
KORRAPATI Indian, TeluguLocational surname, from an area called
Korra or
Korrapalem. In Telugu the word
pati means "belongs to".
KOŠAR CroatianFrom the Slavic word
koš meaning "basket". It originally indicated a person who made or sold baskets.
KOSTELECKY CzechOriginally denoted a person from a village named Kostelec. The place name Kostelec is derived from the Czech word
kostel "church".
KOSZORÚS HungarianDerived from
koszorú, a Hungarian word that means "garland, wreath, girdle". This name was used for someone who made garlands.
KOZIOL PolishMeans "goat" in Polish, probably used to denote a goatherd.
KOZLOV RussianPatronymic from the Slavic word
kozel "goat", probably used to denote a goatherd.
KOZLOW PolishFrom the Polish place name
Kozlow, ultimately derived from
koziol "goat".
KOZLOWSKI PolishOriginally a name for a person from Kozlow, Kozlowo, or any other place whose name was derived from Polish
koziol "goat".
KRALL CzechFrom Czech
král "king". It referred to one connected in some way with a king's household or one who played the part of a king in a pageant or play.
KRÄMER GermanFrom Middle High German
kræmer, kramære, kromer and Middle Low German
kramer, kremer, kromer meaning "shopkeeper, grocer".
KRAUS GermanFrom Middle High German
krus meaning "curly". Originally a nickname for a person with curly hair.
KRAVITZ JewishOccupational name meaning "tailor" (from Polish
krawiec). A famous bearer is singer Lenny Kravitz (1964-).
KREBS GermanGerman word meaning "crab", perhaps a nickname for a person with a crab-like walk.
KRÓL PolishMeans "king" in Polish. The name referred to one connected in some way with a king's household.
KRON German, SwedishMeans "crown", perhaps a nickname for one who worked in a royal household.
KRUCKEL GermanNickname for a crippled person or someone who walked with a cane, from German
krücke meaning "cane".
KRÜGER (2) GermanIn southern Germany: Means "potter" from Middle High German
kruoc meaning "jug, pot".
KRUSE (2) GermanOccupational surname meaning "potter", from Middle High German
kruse "pot, jug".
KUCERA CzechMeans "curl" in Czech, a nickname for a person with curly locks of hair.
KÜCHLER GermanOccupational surname for a baker who made small cakes or cookies. It is derived from Middle High German
kuoche "cake, pastry".
KULMALA FinnishMeans "corner", with suffix
-la giving an idea of a place. The name was originally given to a house or a place.
KUMAR Indian, Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, Kannada, Punjabi, Bengali, Assamese, Gujarati, Odia, Malayalam, TamilMeans "boy, prince" in Sanskrit.
KUNDAKÇI TurkishFrom Turkish
kundak meaning "stock, wooden part of a rifle".
KUNKEL GermanOccupational name for a maker of spindles (Middle German
kunkel "spindle", ultimately from Latin
conus "cone").
KUROSAWA JapaneseFrom Japanese
黒 (kuro) meaning "black" and
澤 (sawa) meaning "marsh". A notable bearer was Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998), a Japanese film director.
KURUCZ HungarianDerived from the Hungarian word
kuruc. The kurucs were armed anti-Habsburg rebels in Hungary in the late 17th to early 18th century.