KÁDÁRHungarianMeans "cooper" in Hungarian (that is, a person who made or repaired wooden barrels).
KAHLERGermanFrom a nickname meaning "bald-headed" in German.
KAISERGermanFrom Middle High German
keiser meaning "emperor", originally a nickname applied to someone who acted kingly. The title ultimately derives from the Roman name
CAESAR.
KALBFLEISCHGermanOccupational surname that indicated a butcher who sold veal meat or a butcher who slaughtered calves. In German
kalb means "calf" and
fleisch means "meat".
KALMÁRHungarianOccupational surname that originated from the vocabulary word
kalmár meaning "merchant, trader, trafficker" in Hungarian.
KAMIŃSKIPolishOriginally denoted someone who came from a town called Kamien.
Kamien comes from the Slavic word
kamiñ meaning "stone".
KAPPELGerman, DutchMeans "a person who lives near or works at a chapel" from Middle High German
kappel "chapel".
KARDOSHungarianFrom
kard meaning "sword" in Hungarian. It could have been applied to soldiers, sword makers, or one with a pugnacious nature.
KARGATurkishNickname from a Turkish word indicating a "crow".
KÁRPÁTIHungarianDerived from the Hungarian name of the Carpathian mountains,
Kárpátok.
KASSMEYERGermanFrom the Low German area around Paderborn. The ending of the name is derived from German
meyer "farmer".
KASUNCroatian, 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.
KATIRCITurkishDerived from Turkish
katır meaning "mule", a name for a person who made transports by mule.
KATOUJapaneseFrom Japanese
加 (ka) meaning "add, increase" and
藤 (tou) meaning "wisteria". The latter character may indicate a connection to the Fujiwara clan.
KATSAROSGreekMeans "curly" in Greek, referring to a person with curly hair.
KATZGermanDerived from the German word
Katze "cat".
KAURIndian (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.
KAVAPolishDerived from Polish
kawa "coffee", perhaps originally denoting one who worked in the coffee trade.
KAVANAGHIrishDerived 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.
KAWAGUCHIJapaneseMeans "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.
KEARNEYIrishFrom the Irish name
Ó Ceithearnaigh meaning "descendant of Ceithearnach", a given name meaning "warrior".
KEEFEIrishAnglicized form of the Irish
Ó Caoimh meaning "descendant of
CAOMH".
KEEGANIrishFrom Irish
Mac Aodhagáin meaning "descendant of Aodhagán". The given name
Aodhagán is a double diminutive of
AODH.
KEIGHLEYEnglishDerived from an English place name meaning "clearing belonging to Cyhha". The Old English given name
Cyhha is of unknown meaning.
KEILGermanMeans "wedge shaped" in German. It was used to denote a person who owned a wedge-shaped piece of land.
KEITHScottishFrom 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.
KELLERGerman, 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.
KELLOGGEnglishFrom the Middle Ages, a name for a butcher meaning "killer of hogs".
KELSEYEnglishFrom an English place name meaning "Cenel's island", from the Old English name
Cenel "fierce" in combination with
eg "island".
KEMPEnglishDerived from Middle English
kempe meaning "champion, warrior".
KEMPFGermanGerman form of
KEMP. In order to Americanize the name, some people dropped the letter
f, altering the name to the English version.
KENDALLEnglishDerived 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".
KENNEDYIrishFrom the Irish name
Ó Cinnéidigh meaning "descendant of
CENNÉTIG". This surname was borne by assassinated American president John F. Kennedy (1917-1963).
KEREKESHungarianMeaning "wheel-maker, wheeler" from the word
kerék meaning "wheel" in Hungarian.
KERNERGermanDerived from German
kern "seed". It is an occupational name for one who sold or planted seeds.
KERRScottishFrom Scots
kerr meaning "rough wet ground", ultimately from Old Norse
kjarr.
KERSEYEnglishFrom an English place name meaning "watercress island".
KHACHATURYANArmenianMeans "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.
KILDUFFIrishFrom the Irish
Mac Giolla Dhuibh meaning "son of the black-haired man".
KILLAMEnglishDenoted one who hailed from the English town of Kilham, meaning "kiln hamlet".
KILLOUGHIrishIndicated 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".
KIMKoreanKorean form of
JIN, from Sino-Korean
金 (gim) meaning "gold". This is the most popular surname in Korea.
KINGEnglishFrom 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.
KINNAIRDScottishFrom 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.
KIPLINGEnglishFrom the name of a town in Yorkshire. A famous bearer of this name is the author Rudyard Kipling.
KIRÁLYHungarianMeans "king" in Hungarian. This was a nickname for a person who acted kingly.
KIRBYEnglishDerived 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.
KIRCHNERGermanDerived from Middle High German
kirche "church". The name was probably given to someone who worked at a church or lived near one.
KISTLERGermanOccupational name meaning "chest maker, cabinetmaker" in German.
KITCHENEnglishOccupational name for a person who worked in a kitchen (of a monastery for example).
KLADIVOCzechMeans "hammer" in Czech. The name most likely started as a nickname for a blacksmith.
KLEIDGerman, JewishOccupational name for a tailor, from German
Kleid meaning "garment, clothing".
KLEINGerman, Dutch, JewishMeans "small, little" from German
klein or Yiddish
kleyn. A famous bearer of this name is clothes designer Calvin Klein (1942-).
KLOETDutchPossibly 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.
KNAGGSEnglishFound most commonly in the north of England, in particular Yorkshire. It means "someone that lived by a knagg (a small mound)".
KNEFGermanOccupational name for a shoemaker (derived from Low German
knif meaning "shoemaker's knife").
KNELLERGermanOriginally a nickname for a noisy or disruptive person, derived from Old German
knellen "to make noise, to cause a disturbance".
KNIGHTEnglishFrom Old English
cniht meaning "knight" or "tenant serving as a mounted soldier".
KNOCHENMUSGermanFrom German
knochen "bone" and
mus "sauce". It probably referred to someone who worked in the butcher trade.
KNOPFGermanMeans "button" in German, originally belonging to a button maker or button seller.
KÓBORHungarianFrom the word
kóbor meaning "wanderer, ranger" in Hungarian.
KOHLGermanDerived from Middle High German
kol "cabbage".
KOHLERGermanFrom Middle High German
koler meaning "charcoal burner" or "charcoal seller".
KOHUTUkrainianMeans "rooster" in Ukrainian. It was a nickname for a proud person.
KOIZUMIJapaneseFrom 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.
KOLÁŘCzechMeans "wheelwright", a derivative of Czech
kolo "wheel".
KOLBEGermanMeans "mace" in German. A mace is a heavy medieval war club with a spiked or flanged metal head, used to crush armour.
KOPECKYCzechDerived from Czech
kopec "hill". The name was perhaps given to a person who lived close to a hill.
KORHONENFinnishPossibly from archaic Finnish
korho meaning "deaf, hard of hearing".
KOROŠECSloveneOriginally indicated a person from Koroška (Carinthia), a medieval Slovene state, now divided between Slovenia and Austria.
KORRAPATIIndian, TeluguLocational surname, from an area called
Korra or
Korrapalem. In Telugu the word
pati means "belongs to".
KOŠARCroatianFrom the Slavic word
koš meaning "basket". It originally indicated a person who made or sold baskets.
KOSTELECKYCzechOriginally denoted a person from a village named Kostelec. The place name Kostelec is derived from the Czech word
kostel "church".
KOSZORÚSHungarianDerived from
koszorú, a Hungarian word that means "garland, wreath, girdle". This name was used for someone who made garlands.
KOZIOLPolishMeans "goat" in Polish, probably used to denote a goatherd.
KOZLOVRussianPatronymic from the Slavic word
kozel "goat", probably used to denote a goatherd.
KOZLOWPolishFrom the Polish place name
Kozlow, ultimately derived from
koziol "goat".
KOZLOWSKIPolishOriginally a name for a person from Kozlow, Kozlowo, or any other place whose name was derived from Polish
koziol "goat".
KRALLCzechFrom 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.
KRÄMERGermanFrom Middle High German
kræmer, kramære, kromer and Middle Low German
kramer, kremer, kromer meaning "shopkeeper, grocer".
KRAUSGermanFrom Middle High German
krus meaning "curly". Originally a nickname for a person with curly hair.
KRAVITZJewishOccupational name meaning "tailor" (from Polish
krawiec). A famous bearer is singer Lenny Kravitz (1964-).
KREBSGermanGerman word meaning "crab", perhaps a nickname for a person with a crab-like walk.
KRÓLPolishMeans "king" in Polish. The name referred to one connected in some way with a king's household.
KRONGerman, SwedishMeans "crown", perhaps a nickname for one who worked in a royal household.
KRUCKELGermanNickname 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".
KUCERACzechMeans "curl" in Czech, a nickname for a person with curly locks of hair.
KÜCHLERGermanOccupational surname for a baker who made small cakes or cookies. It is derived from Middle High German
kuoche "cake, pastry".
KULMALAFinnishMeans "corner", with suffix
-la giving an idea of a place. The name was originally given to a house or a place.
KUMARIndian, Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, Kannada, Punjabi, Bengali, Assamese, Gujarati, Odia, Malayalam, TamilMeans "boy, prince" in Sanskrit.
KUNDAKÇITurkishFrom Turkish
kundak meaning "stock, wooden part of a rifle".
KUNKELGermanOccupational name for a maker of spindles (Middle German
kunkel "spindle", ultimately from Latin
conus "cone").
KUROSAWAJapaneseFrom Japanese
黒 (kuro) meaning "black" and
澤 (sawa) meaning "marsh". A notable bearer was Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998), a Japanese film director.
KURUCZHungarianDerived from the Hungarian word
kuruc. The kurucs were armed anti-Habsburg rebels in Hungary in the late 17th to early 18th century.