KilJewish Jewish (Ashkenazic) of uncertain origin; perhaps a nickname from Yiddish kil ‘cool’.
KilKorean There is one Chinese character for the Kil surname. In the 1930 census, there was a significantly larger number of Kils living in Korea; it was the 62nd most common name in Korea. In a census taken after the Korean War, however, it had dropped to 72nd... [more]
KilcommonIrish Indicated a person who was from Kilcommon, Erris, County Mayo in Ireland. The place name Kilcommon derives from the Gaeltacht phrase Cill Chomáin, meaning "church of St. Comán."
KileNorwegian (Rare) Habitational name from any of thirteen farmsteads named Kile from, ultimately derived from Old Norse kíll "wedge" and, by extension, "narrow bay inlet".
KileyIrish, English Anglicized form of the Old Gaelic "O' Cadhla" meaning "son of Cadhla". Cadhla means meaning graceful or beautiful; hence, "descendant(s) of 'the graceful one'".
KilgallenIrish Kilgallen comes from the Irish name Mac Giolla Chaillin, meaning the son of a servant or devotee of St. Caillin.
KilmerGerman Variant of Gilmer, from the medieval personal name Gildemir or Gilmar, composed from the German gīsil, meaning "pledge", "hostage", or "noble offspring" and the Old German mâri meaning “famous”... [more]
KilpatrickScottish Scottish: habitational name from Gaelic cill Padraig "church of (Saint) Patrick".
KilroyEnglish "Kilroy was here" was a phrase widely written up on walls by American service personnel in the UK during World War II. The identity of the probably mythical Kilroy has been much debated (one theory is that he was a shipyard inspector of Quincy, Massachusetts, who chalked the phrase on material he had checked).
KimigafukuroJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 君ケ袋 (Kimigafukuro) meaning "Kimigafukuro", a former large village in the district of Kami in the former Japanese province of Rikuzen in parts of present-day Miyagi, Japan and Iwate, Japan.
KimmelGerman, Jewish Derived from Middle High German kumin and German kümmel meaning "caraway" (related to Latin cuminum, a word of Oriental origin, like the plant itself), hence a metonymic occupational name for a spicer, literally a supplier of caraway seeds... [more]
KimpōJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 金 (kin) meaning "gold, metal" and 宝 (pō), the joining form of 宝 (hō) meaning "treasure", possibly referring to someone who manufactured precious metals.
KincaidScottish Scottish habitational name from a place near Lennoxtown, north of Glasgow, which is first recorded in 1238 as Kincaith and in 1250 as Kincathe... [more]
KindGerman, Jewish, Dutch From Middle High German kint, German Kind "child", hence a nickname for someone with a childish or naive disposition, or an epithet used to distinguish between a father and his son. In some cases it may be a short form of any of various names ending in -kind, a patronymic ending of Jewish surnames.
KindEnglish Nickname from Middle English kynde meaning "kind, type, nature" or "disposition", possibly used in the sense of "legitimate".
KindemEnglish 1 English: habitational name from a place in Derbyshire, of unknown etymology (probably a pre-English hill name, but the form is obscure).... [more]
KinderEnglish Habitational name derived from a place in Derbyshire, of unknown etymology.
KinderknechtGerman Occupational name for a servant in charge of the children at a manor, derived from kinder (plural of kind) meaning "child" and knecht meaning "servant".
KindikeriTelugu The word ‘Kindi’ meaning “lower or down” in the Telugu language, while ‘Keri’ means “area,”land or street” in Kannada.... [more]
KingsburyEnglish Habitational surname derived from several places in England with the same name, for example in northwest London (formerly Middlesex), Somerset, and Warwickshire. These are mostly named in Old English as cyninges burh meaning "the king’s stronghold", but the last mentioned is cynesburh meaning "stronghold of Cyne" (cyne is a short form of any of various compound names with cyne- meaning "royal" as the first element).
KingsfordEnglish English habitational name from any of various places named Kingsford, for example in Essex, Devon, Warwickshire, and Worcestershire. The name ostensibly means ‘the king’s ford’, but the one in Worcestershire is named as Ceningaford ‘ford of Cena’s people’.
KinkleGerman Derived from the Middle High German word "kunkel," which meant "spindle." It is thus supposed that the first bearers of this surname were spindle makers in occupation.
KinneGerman From the female given name Kinne, a Silesian diminutive of Kunigunde.
KiplinEnglish A locational surname that takes its name from the hamlet of Kiplin in the English county of North Yorkshire. In turn, the hamlet is said to derive its name from Old English Cyppelingas, which means "the people of Cyppel", as it consists of the Old English personal name Cyppel with the Old English word ingas meaning "people".
KirchhoffGerman An old Norse origin surname. Combination of Norse word Kirkr and Hoff means 'garden'.
KirchmannGerman From Middle High German kirihha "church" and man "man" hence an occupational name for someone working in the service of the church or possibly a topographic name for someone living near a church... [more]
KirchoferGerman German topographic name for someone living near a churchyard, or habitational name for the proprietor or tenant of a farm named as "Church Farm", from Middle High German kirche "church" + hof "farmstead", "manor farm".
KirchschlägerGerman (Austrian) Habitational name of several places in Austria named Kirchschlag, all possibly from Middle High German kirche "church" and Schlag "blow, hit".
KirigayaJapanese From 桐 (kiri), referring to the tree known commonly as the empress or foxglove tree, combined with 谷 (ya) meaning "valley," sometimes with the infixation of the historical possessive particle が (ga) (written as ヶ) that is most often used in place names and surnames... [more]
KirigiriPopular Culture This surname is used as 霧切 with 霧 (bu, bou, mu, kiri) meaning "fog, mist" and 切 (sai, setsu, ki.ri, -ki.ri, ki.ru, -ki.ru, ki.re, -ki.re, ki.reru, -ki.reru, -gi.ri, -gi.re) meaning "be sharp, cut(off)."... [more]
KirklandEnglish, Scottish Derived from the Scottish 'kirk', meaning church, and land. This name denoted one who lived near or tended to the land belonging to or surrounding a church. A famous /fictional/ bearer is Arthur Kirkland, a main character in the highly popular anime/webmanga Axis Powers Hetalia... [more]
KirschenmannGerman from Middle High German kirsche "cherry" and man "man" an occupational name for a grower or seller of cherries or a topographic name.
KirschnerGerman (Silesian) From the German word "kirchenære." The other occupation is that of a furrier and, in this case, the name is derived from the word "kuerschner."
KirtzGerman Patronymic form of Gero or Gier, pet forms of names containing the Old High German elements ger "spear" or giri "desire, greed".
KirwanIrish From Gaelic Ó Ciardhubháin meaning "descendant of Ciardhubhán", a given name composed of the elements ciar "dark" and dubh "black" combined with a diminutive suffix.
KisaragiJapanese (Rare) 如月 (Kisaragi) can be translated as "February" and "second month of the lunar calendar" (obsolete term) and the kanji means (如月 = likeness; like; such as; as if; better; best; equal | month; moon)... [more]
KishEnglish A name for a person who worked as a maker of leather armor for the knight's legs.
KishinyovmRussian (Rare) Means "Chișinau", the capital of Moldova, in Russian. It is a very rare last name.
KishiokaJapanese formed with 岸 (Kishi, Gan) meaning "Beach" and 岡 (Oka, Kō) meaning "Mount; hill; knoll”. So the mean it could be interpreted as “Hill of the Beach” or “Beach Hill”
KissackManx Manx and Derry Irish form of "McIsaac"
KissamiArabic (Maghrebi) Means "descendants of Qasim" in Arabic. This was the name of a Moroccan family descended from the Idrisid dynasty.
KisselGerman From a pet form of the Germanic personal name Gisulf.
KissingerGerman HouseofNames.com: The Kissinger surname derives from the Old High German word "kisil," meaning "pebble," or "gravel." The name may have been a topographic name for someone who lived in an area of pebbles or gravel; or it may have evolved from any of several places named with this word.
KitanokoujiJapanese (Rare) Kitanokouji (北小路) comes from kita (北) means "North", Kouji (小路) means "Alley". This is one of the kuge surnames and this surname is very rare. No notable people or fictional characters bear this surname.
KitazawaJapanese Kita (北) means "North", zawa/sawa (沢 or 澤) means "swamp". Sawa changes to zawa because of rendaku.
KitchenerEnglish Variant spelling of Kitchen. A notable bearer was the Anglo-Irish senior British Army officer and colonial administrator Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener (1850-1916).
KitchenhamEnglish Occupational surname for a person who was in charge of the kitchen in a royal or noble house, or a monastery. From the Anglo Saxon cycene (German: Küche Dutch: kjøkken Latin: cocina Italian: cucina)
KiteEnglish From the name of the bird of prey, derived from Middle English kete "kite, bittern".
KitleyEnglish Derived from a place name in Devonshire, England, and was first recorded in the form of Kitelhey in 1305.... [more]
KittirattanawiwatThai (Rare) From Thai กิตติ (kitti) meaning "fame; renown", รัตน (rattana) meaning "gem; jewel", and วิวัฒน์ (wiwat) of unknown meaning.
KittoCornish Cornish forms of Kit, for Christopher, according to 'Patronymica Cornu-Brittanica' by Richard Stephen Charnock (1870).
KitumainiCentral African, Swahili Means "little hope" in Swahili, a diminutive of tumaini meaning simply "hope". It is mostly found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
KitzmillerEnglish (American) Americanized form of German Kitzmüller, literally ‘kid miller’ ( see Kitz + Muller ), a nickname for a miller who kept goats; alternatively, the first element may be from a personal name formed with the Germanic element Gid-, cognate with Old English gidd ‘song’.
KiviselgEstonian Kiviselg is an Estonian surname meaning the "back (of) stone" (literally, "stone back").
KivistöFinnish A combination of Finnish kivi "stone, rock" and the suffix -stö.
KixEnglish (Rare) Location name from one of two rivers in West Yorkshire called Kex.
KiyokoJapanese Surname of American-Japanese singer, songwriter, actress, dancer, and director Hayley Kiyoko.
KiyomigawaJapanese A notable user of this surname is Kiyomigawa Umeyuki, a sumo wrestler from Yokota, Akita Prefecture.
KiyomizuJapanese A variation of the popular surname Shimizu. 清 (Kiyo) means "Pure, Clean" and 水 (Mizu) means "Water".
KiyouraJapanese Combination of the Kanji 清 (kiyo, "clear, pure, refreshing, clean") and 浦 (ura, "bay, inlet"). A famous bearer of this surname was Japanese Prime Minister Kiyoura Keigo (清浦 奎吾; 1850–1942).
KizewskiPolish Polish, variant of Kiszewski a habitational name for someone from Stara Kiszewa (formerly Kiszewa) in Kościerzyna County in Pomeranian Voivodeship.
KlassGerman The name is patronymic and it comes from the German first name "Clausen" which is a variant of the name "Nicholas".
KlaverDutch Means "clover" in Dutch, a topographic name for someone who lived by a field of clovers or a sign depicting them, or an occupational name for a clover farmer.
KleindienstGerman Originally an occupational name for a farmhand or laborer, who was second in line to a more highly paid class of servant. Derived from German klein meaning "small, little" and dienst meaning "service, duty".
KleinknechtGerman A combining of the German word klein "small" and knecht "servant", originally an occupational name for a secondary hired hand. A famous historic figure who bore this surname was Jakob Friedrich Kleinknecht (8 April 1722 in Ulm - 11 August 1794 in Ansbach), a German composer of many works of chamber music and symphonies, flutist and Kapellmeister (chapel master).
KleinschmidtGerman Occupational surname which means "small smith", that is, a maker of small forged items and metal hand tools.
KleisUpper German, Romansh Derived from the given name Kleis, a South German variant of Klaus. The Kleis settled in Romansh-speaking areas after the Napoleonic Wars.
KlemmGerman Either from Middle High German klem "narrow, tight", a nickname for miserly person, or from the related klemme "constriction; narrows", a habitational name for someone who lived in a narrow area... [more]
KlingDutch Occupational surname meaning "blade" in Dutch, referring to a person who made knives. A Dutch cognate of Messer.
KlingbeilGerman From Middle High German klingen "to ring or sound" and bīl "axe", literally "sound the axe", an occupational nickname for a journeyman, carpenter, shipwright (or any occupation involving the use of an axe)... [more]
KlingerGerman Klinger is a German surname meaning ravine or gorge in Old German. The English variant of Klinger is Clinger.
KlobučarSlovene, Croatian, Serbian Occupational name derived from Serbian, Croatian and Slovene klobučar meaning "hatter" (a derivative of klobuk meaning "hat"), originally indicating a person who made, sold or repaired hats.
KlockGerman, Dutch As a German name this is formed from German glocke "bell", ultimately possibly borrowed from the Irish clocc "bell". It may be an occupational name for a crier or bell ringer, or an habitational name for someone who lived closer to a bell or the sign of a bell... [more]
KloseGerman, Silesian From a Silesian short form of the given name Nikolaus. A notable bearer is the German former soccer player Miroslav Klose (1978-).
KlostermannGerman Combination of "kloster" meaning "monastery," and common German suffix Mann.
KloudaCzech From Kloud, a vernacular short form of the Latin personal name Claudius (see Claud).
KluczyńskimPolish Derived from Polish klucz meaning "key". A notable bearer was John C. Kluczynski (1896-1975), an American veteran who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
KlugGerman (Austrian) First recorded in the early 14th century in present-day Austria (southeastern region of the Holy Roman Empire at that time). The surname was derived from the ancient Germanic word kluoc meaning "noble" or "refined".... [more]
KmetSlovene, Serbian, Croatian, Slovak Slovenian, Serbian, Croatian, and Slovak status name for a type of peasant. In Slovenia this denoted a peasant who had his own landed property. In Serbia and elsewhere it was a status name for a feudal peasant farmer who cultivated the land of his lord instead of paying rent or doing military service... [more]
KnabeGerman German status name for a young man or a page, from Middle High German knabe (English knave). In aristocratic circles this term denoted a page or squire (a youth destined to become a knight), while among artisans it referred to a journeyman’s assistant or (as a short form of Lehrknabe) ‘apprentice’... [more]
KnabenshuemAmerican German This surname is an American anglicized version of the German surname Knabenschuh. It means a "boy's shoe." The word maybe related to the English word "knave," which means rogue, scoundrel, or rascal... [more]
KnafoJudeo-Spanish Likely derived from Tamazight akhnif referring to a type of woolen hooded cloak (a type of burnous). It has also been connected to the Hebrew word כָּנָף (kanaf) meaning "wing".
KnapkeGerman A relative of mine has said this surname means “over the hill” and that it is of German origin.... [more]
KnappGerman Occupational name from the German word Knapp or Knappe, a variant of Knabe "young unmarried man". In the 15th century this spelling acquired the separate, specialized meanings "servant", "apprentice", or "miner"... [more]
KnappEnglish Topographic name for someone who lived by a hillock, Middle English "nappe, Old English cnæpp, or habitational name from any of the several minor places named with the word, in particular Knapp in Hampshire and Knepp in Sussex.
KnauerGerman (Silesian) Nickname for a gnarled person, from Middle High German knur(e) 'knot', 'gnarl'. habitational name for someone from either of two places in Thuringia called Knau.
KnausGerman Comes from Middle High German knuz ‘proud’, ‘arrogant’, ‘daring’, hence a nickname for a haughty person. In Württemberg knaus (and in Switzerland knus) also meant ‘gnarl’, hence a nickname for a short, fat, gnarled person; topographic name for someone living on a hillock, from knaus ‘hillock’ in the Swabian and Alemannic dialects of German
KneenManx Manx cognate of the Gaelic surname Mac Niadháin, itself derived from the Gaelic personal name Nia meaning "champion." It may also be a corruption of the surname McNiven (Anglicized form of Mac Cnáimhín).
KnicelyGerman (Swiss, Americanized) Americanized form of Swiss German Knüsli. Possibly also a variant of Nissley, a surname of Swiss German or German origin.
KnickGerman German: from Knick “hedge”, “boundary”, hence a topographic name for someone living near a hedge or hedged enclosure or a metonymic occupational name for someone who lays hedges. Hedging is a characteristic feature of the pastureland of Holstein, Mecklenburg, Westphalia, and Lower Saxony.
KnickerbockerDutch (Americanized) Americanized spelling of the Dutch occupational name Knickerbacker "marble baker", i.e., a baker of children's clay marbles. This lowly occupation became synonymous with the patrician class in NYC through Washington Irving's attribution of his History of New York (1809) to a fictitious author named Diedrich Knickerbocker... [more]
KnightonEnglish English surname which was derived from a place name composed of the Old English elements cnihta meaning "servant, retainer" (genitive plural of cniht) and tun "enclosure, settlement".
KnittGermanic (?), English (?) Possibly derived from the Middle High German word knüt or knüttel, meaning "club" or "knot". Could also derive from English word knit which indicates a knitter. Could be an anglicized or simplified form of Knittel, Knett, or even Knudt.
KnodelGerman dweller near a hilltop; descendant of Knut (hill, or white-haired); a lumpish, thickset person.
KnoedlerGerman Occupational name, probably for someone who made dumplings, from an agent derivative of Middle High German knödel.
KnolDutch Derived from Middle Dutch knolle "tuber, turnip, lump of earth", a nickname for a fat or clumsy person, or an occupational name for a farmer.
KnollEnglish, German, Jewish English and German topographic name for someone living near a hilltop or mountain peak, from Middle English knolle ‘hilltop’, ‘hillock’ (Old English cnoll), Middle High German knol ‘peak’... [more]
KnopflerEnglish, German Derived from Knopf (German for "button"), this surname was originally given to button makers or button sellers. A famous bearer of this surname is English musician Mark Knopfler (1949-).
KnösSwedish (Rare) Derived from the name of a farm named Knorren or Knörren in Sweden whose name is unexplained but possibly taken from Swedish knusa "to crush, to crumble". Knös coincides with the Swedish word knös meaning "rich person", but the surname existed before the vocabulary word appeared in the Swedish language.
KnottEnglish Either from the Middle English personal name Knut, or denoting a person who lived "at the knot", which is the summit of a rocky hill.
KnowlesIrish As an Irish surname it is an anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Tnúthghail meaning "descendant of Tnúthgal", a given name composed of the elements tnúth "desire, envy" and gal "valor".
KnowltonEnglish Habitational name from either of two places so named, one in Dorset and the other in Kent.
KoKorean There is only one Chinese character for the surname Ko. There are ten different Ko clans, but they are all descended from the Ko clan of Cheju Island. There is no historical information regarding the founder of this clan, but there is a legend which tells of three men who appeared from a cave on the north side of Cheju Island’s Halla Mountain... [more]
KōJapanese Variant reading of Japanese Kanji 神 (see Jin).
KőHungarian From kő ‘stone’, a word from the ancient Finno-Ugric word stock of Hungarian (cognate with Finnish kivi, Estonian keve), hence a topographic name for someone who lived on stony ground or by a notable outcrop of rock, or alternatively a metonymic occupational name for a mason or stonecutter... [more]
KochJewish Koch - which also has the meaning of Cook in German's origin was however not from that meaning. It origins are to be traced in the Jewish ancestory. The original meaning came from the word Star. Amongst the related surnames (with or without bar in front or a ba or similar appended) are: Koch, Kochba, Kok, Kock, Kuk, Coq, Coqui, Cook (as a translation from the perceived meaning of cook) and a host of others... [more]
KochendorferGerman Habitational name for someone from any of several places called Kochendorf, in Württemberg, Schleswig-Holstein, and Bohemia.
KodzuchiJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 小 (ko) meaning "small; little" and 土 (dzuchi), the joining form of 土 (tsuchi) meaning "earth; soil; mud, ground".
KoefoedDanish Probably a Danish form of Dutch Koevoets. The name arrived on the Danish island Bornholm via Lübeck, Germany.