KazanovRussian Means "of Kazan", either referring to the city of Kazan in Tatarstan, Russia, or from a given name. The name is most likely of Turkic origin, possibly from Bulgar qazan meaning "cauldron, pot", which would have been used to denote someone who made pots.
KebelGerman (Americanized) Possibly an Americanized form of German Kübel "tub, vat", a metonymic occupational name for a cooper or barrel-maker.
KeelEnglish English habitational name from Keele in Staffordshire, named from Old English cy ‘cows’ + hyll ‘hill’, or from East and West Keal in Lincolnshire, which are named from Old Norse kjolr ‘ridge’... [more]
KeelerEnglish English: occupational name for a boatman or boatbuilder, from an agent derivative of Middle English kele ‘ship’, ‘barge’ (from Middle Dutch kiel). Americanized spelling of German Kühler, from a variant of an old personal name (see Keeling) or a variant of Kühl.
KeetonEnglish Habitational name from a place called Ketton in Durham or one in Rutland or from Keaton in Ermington, Devon. The first is named from the Old English personal name Catta or the Old Norse personal name Káti and Old English tūn "settlement"; the second is probably from an old river name or tribal name Cētan (possibly a derivative of Celtic cēd "wood") and Old English ēa "river"; and the last possibly from Cornish kee "hedge, bank" and Old English tūn.
KehlerGerman Habitational name from various places called Kehl, notably the town across the Rhine from Strasbourg. In some cases it may be a variant of Köhler.
KeigwinWelsh From "kei", meaning 'a dog' and "gwyn", meaning, 'white' in Cornish.(a Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language family.)... [more]
KeinerGerman Reduced form of the personal name Kagenher, from Old High German gagan 'against' + heri 'army'.
KeiperGerman Similar to the origins of Kuiper (Dutch) and Cooper (English), Keiper was an occupation which means "cooper" or "barrelmaker".
KeirnanIrish Gaelic form of Keirnan is Mac Thighearnain, which is derived from the word tighearna, meaning "lord." First found in County Cavan, Ireland.
KeirnsEnglish Name for someone who works at a mill of makes butter.
KeirseyIrish Topographic name of Norman origin name dating back to the 13th century.
KekkeJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 結解 (kekke), a variant reading of 結解 (ketsuge) meaning "klesha to nirvana".
KekkeJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 結解 (kekke), a variant reading of 結解 (ketsuge) meaning "account settlement", referring to someone who would deal with settlement of accounts.
KelchGerman nickname from Middle High German kelch "double chin", "goiter". from another meaning of Middle High German kelch "glass", "chalice", hence a metonymic occupational name for a chalice maker or a habitational name for someone living at a house distinguished by the sign of a chalice.
KelhamEnglish Derived from the village of Kelham, near Newark-upon-Trent, Nottingham.
KelleherIrish From Gaelic Ó Céileachair meaning "son of Céileachar". The Irish given name Céileachar means "companion-dear", i.e., "lover of company".
KellenGerman From the name of a place in Rhineland, which is derived from Middle Low German kel (a field name denoting swampy land) or from the dialect word kelle meaning "steep path, ravine".
KellnerGerman, Dutch, Jewish, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Hungarian, French Means "waiter, cellarman" in German, ultimately derived from Latin cellarium "pantry, cellar, storeroom". This was an occupational name for a steward, a castle overseer, or a server of wine.
KelmGerman Germanized form of Polish Chelm ‘peak’, ‘hill’, a topographic name for someone who lived by a hill with a pointed summit, or habitational name from a city in eastern Poland or any of various other places named with this word.
KelsallEnglish Habitational name probably derived from Kelsall in Cheshire, England, derived from the Old English given name Kell combined with halh "nook, recess", or possibly from Kelshall, Hertfordshire, meaning "Cylle’s hill", or Kelsale, Suffolk, meaning "Ceol’s nook"... [more]
KemererGerman From the Old German word "kämmerer," which means "chamberlain." A chamberlain was the person in charge of the noble household; to him would fall the duty of ensuring that the castle and court of the noble ran smoothly.
KemmerGerman Kemmer is a surname. The surname Kemmer is an occupational surname. Further research revealed that the name is derived from the Old German word "kämmerer," which means "chamberlain." A chamberlain was the person in charge of the noble household; to him would fall the duty of ensuring that the castle and court of the noble ran smoothly... [more]
KemperGerman, Dutch From Kamp "field, piece of land", an occupational name denoting a peasant farmer. It could also indicate someone from a place named using the element. Alternatively, a variant of Kempf meaning "fighter".
KempesGerman, Dutch German and Dutch variant of Kemp or Kamp. It could also be a habitational name for a person from any of the various places named Kempen on the border between Germany and the Netherlands (for example the town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, close to the Dutch border), a status name for a peasant farmer or serf, or an occupational name for an official calibrator who marked the correct weight and measures for verification, derived from Middle Low German kempen... [more]
KemptonEnglish From the name of a place in Shropshire meaning "Cempa's town" or "warrior town", from a combination of either the Old English word cempa "warrior" or the byname derived from it and tun "farmstead, settlement".
KennerkEnglish The surname Kennerk was first found in Westphalia, where the name emerged in mediaeval times as one of the notable families in the western region. From the 13th century onwards the surname was identified with the great social and economic evolution which made this territory a landmark contributor to the development of the nation.
KenobiPopular Culture Obi-Wan Kenobi is a fictional character in the 'Star Wars' saga, created by George Lucas. The meaning of the name is not known, but as Lucas was very much influenced by Japanese samurai movies, it is possible that the name is a combination of Japanese 剣 (ken) "sword" and 帯 (obi) "belt".
KensitEnglish A surname of Old English, pre-7th-century origins. It derives from a locality, probably either Kingsettle in Somerset, which translates as "the seat of the King", and is believed to relate to Alfred the Great, or possibly Kingside in Cumberland, or to some now lost village or town with a similar spelling.
KentonEnglish habitational name from any of various places so named Kenton, for example in Devon, Greater London (formerly Middlesex), Northumberland, and Suffolk... [more]
KenwoodEnglish From the settlement of Kenwood in the parish of Kenton, county of Devon, England. ... [more]
KenworthyEnglish (British, Anglicized, Rare) his interesting surname of English origin is a locational name from a place so called in Cheshire, deriving from the Old English pre 7th Century personal name Cyna, a short from of the various compound names with the first element "cyne" meaning "Royal", or, Cena, a byname meaning "Keon", "Bold" or a short form of various compound personal names with this first element plus the Old English pre 7th Century "worthing" "enclosure"... [more]
KenwynCornish (Rare) This surname is derived from the name of a town and river in Cornwall, England (called Keynwynn in Cornish). It is said that the name is derived from Cornish keyn meaning "back, keel, ridge" and gwynn meaning "white, fair, blessed."
KeplerGerman From Middle High German kappe meaning "hooded cloak". This was an occupational name for someone who made these kind of garments. A notable bearer was German astronomer and mathematician Johannes Kepler (1571–1630).
KerouacFrench (Quebec) Variant form of Kirouac. This name was borne by the American novelist and poet Jack Kerouac (1922-1969), who was a pioneer of the Beat Generation, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg.
KesselGerman Occupational name for a maker of cooking vessels from Middle High German kezzel meaning "kettle, cauldron, boiler".
KesselDutch Habitational name for someone originally from any of the various locations in the Netherlands named Kessel, ultimately derived from Latin castellum "fortress, stronghold, castle". Could possibly also be a variant of German Kexel.
KesselbergGerman Habitational name for someone from any of various places in Rhineland, Bavaria and Baden called Kesselberg.
KesslerGerman, Jewish Means "kettle-maker, tinker", denoting a maker of copper or tin cooking vessels, derived from Middle High German kezzel meaning "kettle, cauldron". In some instances, it could have referred to the shape of a landform.
KestelootBelgian (Modern) No idea whatsoever as to the origin of the surname other than it is of Belgian origin.
KetaAlbanian Meaning as of yet unknown. Known Albanian bearers of this surname include the colonel Myslym Keta (1925-1966) and the politician Roland Keta (b. 1971).
KettsEnglish (British) The proud Norman name of Ketts was developed in England soon after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. It was a name for a person who has a fancied resemblance to a cat. The name stems from the Old Northern French cat, of the same meaning, which occurs in many languages in the same form from a very early period.
KewatIndian Variant transcription of Devanagari केवट (see Kevat).
KewishScottish, Manx The surname Kewish was first found in on the Isle of Uist, in the Hebrides in Scotland, which is named for the Irish King, Colla Uais who was deposed in Ireland by Muedach Tireach and was banished with 300 of their principal chiefs to the Hebrides in 327 A.D. They became known as the kingdom of Ailech and gave birth to the kindred of St... [more]
KhalajiPersian From the name of the Khalaj people who primarily reside in Iran. The name itself is said to be derived from Turkic kal aç meaning "stay hungry".
KhalifeLebanese (Gallicized) French version of the Arabic name Khalifa which means “successor of Mohammed” used by Lebanese Christians ever since the French occupation of Lebanon.
KhalimbekovKazakh This surname is derived from the Kazakh given name Khalimbek, which combines the elements Khalim ("generous") and Bek ("ruler" or "leader"). Therefore, Халимбеков (Khalimbekov) would roughly mean "descendant of Khalimbek" or "belonging to the family of Khalimbek".
KhaljiAfghan, Iranian Meaning ‘From the city of Khalaj’, in Khalaj, a Common Turkic Language.
KhameneiPersian Originally denoted someone who came from the village of Khamaneh, located in the East Azerbaijan province of Iran. A famous bearer is Ali Khamenei (1939-), a former president and the current Supreme Leader of Iran.
KhanumBengali, Urdu From an aristocratic title traditionally used as an honorific for Muslim women in the Middle East and South Asia. It is derived from a feminine form of the title khan meaning "king, ruler", which is probably of Mongolian origin.
KharaziaAbkhaz There are several theories on the origin of the name. It could be derived from Arabic حَارِس (ḥāris) meaning "guard, guardian, defender", from a contraction of a Hebrew term, or from the Abkhaz word ҳара (ḥārā́) meaning "we, ours" combined with the Abkhaz suffix -ya or -ia denoting descent.
KhaskheliUrdu, Sindhi Referred to a person belonging to the Khaskheli tribe in the Pakistani provinces of Sindh and Balochistan. It is perhaps derived from the Urdu words خاص (khas) meaning "proper" and خالی (khali) meaning "performer"... [more]
KhatchadourianArmenian Variant of Khachaturian. This was the surname of Eva Khatchadourian, the mother of Kevin Khatchadourian, a school shooter in the 2003 fictional novel We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver.
KhatriIndian, Gujarati, Marathi, Hindi, Punjabi, Nepali Name for a member of the Kshatriya caste, derived from Sanskrit क्षत्रिय (kshatriya) referring to the Hindu caste consisting of kings, warriors and soldiers, ultimately from क्षत्र (kshatra) meaning "power, might, dominion".
KhayasiJapanese (Russified) Alternate transcription of Hayashi more commonly used by ethnic Japanese living in parts of the former Soviet Union and Sakhalin Japanese residing on Sakhalin Island in Russia.
KhaybulaevAvar, Crimean Tatar Means "son of Khaybulla", from a given name derived from Arabic حَيّ (ḥayy) meaning "alive" combined with الله (allāh) meaning "Allah, God".
KhokhlenkovmRussian From the term хохол (khokhol), a type of traditional Ukrainian cossack hairstyle or can be used as derogatory for Ukrainian person.
KhomeiniPersian Originally indicated a person who came from the city of Khomeyn in the Markazi province of Iran. A notable bearer of this surname was the Islamic revolutionary, politician and religious leader Ruhollah Khomeini (1900 or 1902-1989), who founded the Islamic Republic of Iran following the Iranian Revolution in 1979... [more]
KhooChinese (Hokkien) Hokkien spellig of the surname Qiu. This Means a person who lived near a mound, dune or hill. This spelling is found amongst Hokkien and Hakka families in Southeast Asia
KhrzhanovskiyRussian, Jewish Russian form of Chrzanowski. Khrzhanovskiy was the last name of Andrey and Ilya Khrzhanovskiy, both Soviet film directors. Ilya has made most of his career in the Russian Federation.
KicklighterAmerican Americanized spelling of German Kückleiter, literally ‘chicken ladder’, probably a nickname for a chicken farmer.
KidateJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 木 (ki) meaning "tree" and 建 (date), the joining continuative form of 建てる (tateru) meaning "to build; to construct".
KidderEnglish English: possibly an occupational name from early modern English kidd(i)er ‘badger’, a licensed middleman who bought provisions from farmers and took them to market for resale at a profit, or alternatively a variant of Kidman... [more]
KidmanEnglish Occupational name for a goatherd or someone in charge of young livestock, from Middle English kid "young goat" and man.
KidwellWelsh, English The origins of this surname are uncertain, but it may be derived from Middle English kidel "fish weir", denoting a person who lived by a fish weir or made his living from it, or from an English place called Kiddal, probably meaning "Cydda's corner of land" from the Old English given name Cydda and halh "nook or corner of land".
KiehlMedieval Low German From Middle Low German kil ‘wedge’, applied as a metonymic occupational name or as a pejorative nickname for a ruffian. Possibly a habitational name from Kiel in Schleswig-Holstein, from Dutch and Frisian kil ‘stagnant water’ (see Kiel)... [more]
KielGerman German surname of several possible origins and meanings.... [more]
KienbaumGerman, Jewish from Low German kienbaum "Scots pine" originally denoting any species or variety of pine tree. Derived from kien "pine tree" and boum "tree".
KienerGerman Named after profession from Middle High German kien ‘pine chip, torch’ for someone who chips pine wood (wood from pine or spruce) and sells it (e.g. to smelters), a lumberjack or charcoal burner.... [more]
KieslerGerman Topographic name for someone who lived on a patch of gravelly land, derived from Middle High German kisel or Old High German kisil meaning "pebble, gravel".
KiestlerGerman Possibly a form of Kistler an occupation name for a joiner or cabinet maker.
KiireJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 喜入 (Kiire) meaning "Kiire", a former village in the former district of Kiire in the former Japanese province of Satsuma in parts of present-day Kagoshima, Japan, or it being a variant spelling of 給黎 (Kiire) meaning "Kiire", the name of the district which the village was located in.