KarpPolish From Middle High German karp(f)e Middle Low German karpe or Slavic (Russian and Polish) and Yiddish karp ‘carp’ hence a metonymic occupational name for a carp fisherman or seller of these fish or a nickname for someone thought to resemble the fish.... [more]
KarpińskimPolish Derived from karp, the Polish spelling of "carp." Historically, the Karpiński family was part of the royal Clan of Korab, one of the twelve noble tribes of Poland.
KasperovichBelarusian The last name taken literally is Kasper's son with -vich being a common patronymic suffix in Belarus and other slavic countries. The Kasper likey refers to an unknown Kasper in the family. However some stories tie the name to one of the wise men who visited Jesus after his birth - not named in the Bible but later referred to as Gaspar or Caspar/Kaspar in Eastern European traditions.
KaukaLow German, Sorbian Best known as the surname of a certain Rolf. It is perhaps a Sorbian and Northeast Low German variant of Kafka and Kawa, both of which mean ‘Jackdaw’ in Czech and Polish.... [more]
KavkaSlovak, Ukrainian, Czech Yet another variant of Kafka and its pop culture equivalents Kefka and Cefca. Also like Kaffka, it simply means ‘Jackdaw’ in Slovak.
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.
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.
KerbelEnglish, German, Russian (Rare) Means "chervil" in German, a parsley-related herb. The surname probably came into England via Germanic relations between the two languages, hence it being most common in German & English countries.
KhokhlenkovmRussian From the term хохол (khokhol), a type of traditional Ukrainian cossack hairstyle or can be used as derogatory for Ukrainian person.
KhokhlovRussian Derived from Russian хохол (khokhol) meaning "topknot". Khokhol is also a derogatory word often used to describe Ukrainians.
KhrystosenkoUkrainian From Ukrainian Христос (Khrystos), meaning "Christ". Likely denoted to very religious person.
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.
KizewskiPolish Polish, variant of Kiszewski a habitational name for someone from Stara Kiszewa (formerly Kiszewa) in Kościerzyna County in Pomeranian Voivodeship.
KjukaMacedonian Kjuka has its highest incidence in North Macedonia.
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.
KloseGerman, Silesian From a Silesian short form of the given name Nikolaus. A notable bearer is the German former soccer player Miroslav Klose (1978-).
KloudaCzech From Kloud, a vernacular short form of the Latin personal name Claudius (see Claud).
KluczewskimPolish Habititional surname for someone from a village called Kluczewo, derived from klucz, meaning "key."
KluczyńskimPolish Variant of Kluczewski. A notable bearer was John C. Kluczynski (1896-1975), an American veteran who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
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]