KangChinese, Korean From Chinese 康 (kāng), derived from Kangju (康居), the Chinese name for an ancient kingdom in Central Asia (now known as Sogdiana). It may also refer to the city of Samarkand in present-day Uzbekistan, which was called 康 in Chinese.
KannEstonian Kann is an Estonian surname meaning "jug" and "pitcher".
KärgEstonian Kärg is an Estonian surname meaning "honeycomb".
KariFinnish, German (Austrian), Slovene (?), Hungarian, Indian, Marathi As a Finnish name, it is a topographic and ornamental name from kari "small island", "stony rapids", "sandbar", or "rocky place in a field". This name is found throughout Finland.... [more]
KariEstonian Kari is an Estonian surname meaning both "reef" and "herd".
KarkEstonian Kark is an Estonian surname meaning "stilt" (Himantopus himantopus).
KarmEstonian Karm is an Estonian surname meaning "strict" and "austere".
KärpEstonian Kärp is an Estonian surname meaning "stoat" or "ermine".
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]
KaruEstonian Karu is an Estonian surname meaning "bear".
KaseJapanese From Japanese 加 (ka) meaning "add, increase" and 瀬 (se) meaning "rapids, current".
KassEstonian From the Estonian word kass, meaning "cat".
KatzJewish An abbreviation of the phrase kohen tsedek "righteous priest".
KaukGerman probably a variant of Kauke from Middle Low German koke "cake" (dialect kauke) hence a metonymic occupational name for a baker or confectioner or a nickname for a cake lover.
KaulKashmiri (Modern) The word Kaul, meaning well-born, is derived from Kula, the Sanskrit term for family or clan.
KaunEstonian Kaun is an Estonian surname meaning "pod" or "legume".
KaupEstonian Kaup is an Estonian surname meaning "merchandise" or "goods".
KaurEstonian Kaur is an Estonian surname (and masculine given name) derived from the given name "Kaur" (loon: Gavia).
KausGerman From a regional (Hessian) variant of the habitational name Kues, from a place on the Mosel river, probably so named from Late Latin covis "field barn", "rack" and earlier recorded as Couese, Cobesa.
KautGerman Netonymic occupational name for a flax grower or dealer, from Middle High German kute, from Kaut(e) "male dove", hence a metonymic occupational name for the owner or keeper of a dovecote.
KautGerman Topographic name from the Franconian dialect word Kaut(e) "hollow", "pit", "den".
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]
KellEstonian Kell is an Estonian surname meaning "clock".
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.
KernGerman, Dutch, Jewish from Middle High German kerne "kernel, seed pip"; Middle Dutch kern(e)keerne; German Kern or Yiddish kern "grain" hence a metonymic occupational name for a farmer or a nickname for a physically small person... [more]
KesaEstonian Kesa is an Estonian surname meaning "fallow".
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).
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
KielGerman German surname of several possible origins and meanings.... [more]
KielDutch Dutch from Middle Dutch kidel, kedel ‘smock’, hence a metonymic occupational name for someone who make such garments or perhaps a nickname for someone who habitually wore one. Also a dutch habitational name from a place so named in Antwerp or from the German city Kiel in Schleswig-Holstein.
KielPolish Polish from kiel ‘tooth’, ‘fang’, hence a nickname for someone with bad or protruding teeth.
KiesGerman Either from Middle High German kis "gravel, shingle", denoting someone who lives in a gravelly place, or kiesen "to choose". Johann Kies (1713–1781) was a German astronomer and mathematician.
KiffEnglish the origin of the name KIFF could have come from a variation of KITH as in "kith and kin". The O.E.D. definition of the word KITH is that of a native land, familiar place or home so "kith and kin" meant your home and your relations... [more]
KiffGerman Topographic name from a Westphalian dialect Kiff "outhouse, tied cottage, shack".
KihuEstonian Kihu is an Estonian surname meaning "impulse" and "urge".
KiilEstonian Kiil is an Estonian surname meaning "keel", "wedge (tool)", and "frog".
KiinEstonian Kiin is an Estonian surname meaning both "gadfly" and "cleaver".
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".
KindEnglish, German, Jewish, Dutch German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) 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... [more]
KinkEstonian Kink is an Estonian surname meaning "bestowal" or "gift".
KinoJapanese Of unknown meaning. A notable name bearer is a fictional character "Makoto Kino" in the "Sailor Moon" anime.
KippEstonian Kipp is an Estonian surname derived from "kippama" meaning to "tilt", "rock" and "topple".
KlorGerman (Austrian) The Klor surname may have evolved from the feminine personal name Klara. Or it may have come from the Middle High German and Middle Low German "Klar," meaning "Pure" or "Beautiful".
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]
KnieSwiss A famous bearer is the Knie family, a Swiss circus dynasty that founded it in 1803. Today the circus is an enterprise with about 200 employees, operated by Frédy and Franco Knie and it is famous worldwide.
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.
KocaTurkish Means "large, great" or "husband" in Turkish.
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]
KōkaJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 紅花 (kōka) meaning "red- or crimson-colored flower", referring to an occupation that involves flowers and rouge powder.
KokiJapanese This surname combines 古 (ko, furu-, furu.i, -fu.rusu) meaning "old" or 小 (shou, o-, ko-, sa-, chii.sai) meaning "little, small" with 木 (boku, moku, ki, ko-) meaning "tree, wood."
KokkEstonian Kokk is Estonian surname, meaning "cook".
KoksEstonian Koks is an Estonian surname meaning "coke" or "charred coal".
KolaFinnish From vernacular forms of Ancient Greek Νικόλαος (See Nikolaos). It could also be from Swedish kol "coal", possibly denoting a coal miner, or kota, a type of conical tent.
KongChinese From Chinese 孔 (kǒng) meaning "hole, opening". According to legend, this name was created by Cheng Tang, the founder and first king of the Shang dynasty. He formed it by combining the character for his family name, 子 (zǐ) (his full personal name was Zi Lü), with 乙 (yǐ), the second part of his style name, Da Yi (or Tai Yi)... [more]
KöthGerman From Middle High German, Middle Low German kote ‘cottage’, ‘hovel’, a status name for a day laborer who lived in a cottage and owned no farmland.
KuhiEstonian Kuhi is an Estonian surname meaning "pile" or "stack".
KühlGerman, Low German The spelling Kühl results from a folk-etymological association with High German kühl ‘cool’ (Middle High German küel(e), a nickname from Middle High German küel ‘cool’, ‘calm’... [more]
KuruJapanese Japanese: though written with the character for ‘give’ or ‘present’, the original meaning may actually be ‘sunset’. The name is listed in the Shinsen shōjiroku and is no longer common in Japan, but there is a city by that name in Hiroshima prefecture and the area may have ancient connections with the family.