KawachiJapanese From 川 or 河 (kawa) meaning "river, stream" combined with 内 (dai, nai, uchi, chi) meaning "among, between, home, house, inside, within."
KazakovRussian From Russian казак (kazak) meaning "Cossack".
KazancıTurkish Occupational name for a maker or seller of cauldrons, kettles or boilers, from Turkish kazan meaning "cauldron, boiler".
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.
KeicherGerman from the East Prussian dialect word keicher "small cake, pastry" hence a metonymic occupational name for a pastry chef or cook.
KeigwinWelsh From "kei", meaning 'a dog' and "gwyn", meaning, 'white' in Cornish.(a Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language family.)... [more]
KeillorScottish Habitational name from a place in Angus called Keilor.
KeirnanIrish Gaelic form of Keirnan is Mac Thighearnain, which is derived from the word tighearna, meaning "lord." First found in County Cavan, Ireland.
KeirseyIrish Topographic name of Norman origin name dating back to the 13th century.
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.
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.
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".
KenmuirScottish Derived from one of several places named with Gaelic ceann mòr "big end" (of a feature such as a hill or loch).
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.
KensleyEnglish This surname might derive from the surname Kinsley or from the locational surname Kelsey (denoting someone who is from either North or South Kelsey in Lincolnshire).
KenwoodEnglish From the settlement of Kenwood in the parish of Kenton, county of Devon, England. ... [more]
KeränenFinnish Possibly from Keräpää, a nickname for a bald person or someone with a round head and/or with closely cropped hair, combined with the common surname suffix -nen. In eastern Finland the name dates back to the 16th century.
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.
KeskülaEstonian Kesküla is an Estonian name, derived from "kesk" ("central") and "küla" ("village").
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.
KetchumPopular Culture The surname of Ash Ketchum in the English dub of the anime "Pokémon," and comes from the English localizations' catchphrase "Gotta Catch' em All!"
KeurlisGerman Unknown origin. This surname is no longer found in Germany.
KevilleEnglish Denoted someone from Keevil (recorded in the Domesday book as Chivele), a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, probably derived from Old English c¯f meaning "hollow" and leah meaning "woodland clearing".
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.
KhawajaUrdu From an honorific title for a Muslim teacher or saint, derived from Persian خواجه (khajeh) meaning "lord, master, owner".
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.
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".
KieblerGerman Comes from the Middle High German word "kübel" meaning a "vat," or "barrel." As such it was an occupational name for a cooper, or barrel maker.
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".
KilburgGerman, Luxembourgish "Kyll castle," from German burg (castle) near the Kyll river in Germany. Also "wedge mountain" in Swedish: kil (wedge) and berg (mountain).
KilgoreScottish Habitational name for someone from Kilgour in Fife, named with the Gaelic coille "wood" and gobhar, gabhar "goat".
KilvertEnglish Probably from an Old Norse personal name Ketilfrith, literally "cauldron peace". The surname was borne by British clergyman and diarist Francis Kilvert (1840-1879).
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]
KindredEnglish From the Anglo-Saxon given name Cenered meaning "bold counsel" from the elements cene, cen (later kene) meaning "bold, brave, proud" and raed meaning "counsel".
KinslowEnglish habitational name from Kingslow in Worfield (Shropshire). The placename means "king's tumulus" from Old English cyning "king" (genitive cyninges) and hlaw "tumulus burial mound hill".
KirkmanEnglish A name originally found in both Scotland and England. From Kirk- meaning "church" and -man for someone who lived near or worked at a church.
KirkseyEnglish English: probably a habitational name from a lost or unidentified place. This surname is also common in the American South.
KirouacFrench (Quebec) From an unidentified place name in Brittany, France, derived from Breton kaer, caer, ker meaning "fortified settlement" and an unknown given name.
KiryuinJapanese (?), Popular Culture (?) Either from 桐生 (Kiryu), a place name, combined with 院 (in) meaning "college" or 鬼 (ki, oni) meaning "demon" and 龍 (ryu) meaning "dragon, imperial" combined with 院 (in) meaning "college".
KitaokaJapanese From Japanese 北 (kita) meaning "north" and 岡 (oka) meaning "hill, ridge".
KitauraJapanese Kita means "north" and ura means "bay, seacoast".
KitcherEnglish (British) This name derives from the Old English word "Cyta", and describes 'the cat' or perhaps more specifically a wild cat. This name may also refer to someone who worked in a Kitchen.
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).
KleiberGerman Derived from an agent Middle High German kleben "to stick or bind" an occupational name for a builder working with clay or in Swabia for someone who applied whitewash. in Bavaria and Austria an occupational name for a shingle maker from Middle High German klieben "to split (wood or stone)".
KlepperGerman Derived from Middle High German kleppern "to clatter, chatter; to gossip", a nickname for a talkative or gossipy person.
KlepperGerman A metonymic name for someone who bred or kept horses, from Middle High German klepper "knight’s horse", possibly derived from kleppen "to strike rapidly, to ring sharply" in reference to bells on their harness... [more]
KlopferGerman, Jewish (Ashkenazi) Derived from Middle High German klopfen "to knock, pound, hammer", an occupational name for a clothmaker, metalworker, miner, or hunter. As a Jewish name, it can refer to a shulklopfer, someone who knocks to call people to synagogue.
KnifatiArabic Means "Knafeh maker," given to pasty makers specializing in Knafeh, a filo-dough middle-eastern pastry typically filled with cheese and syrup.
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".
KnyazevmRussian Derived from князь (knyaz'), a word for a Russian prince used in the Kiyevan Rus' settlement.
KobashiJapanese From Japanese 小 (ko) meaning "small" or 古 (ko) meaning "ancient, old, previous" combined with 橋 (hashi) meaning "bridge".
KoboldtGerman (Rare) Derived from German Kobold (Middle High German kobolt) "kobold; hobgoblin; puck; imp".
KocabaşTurkish Means "hawfinch" (a type of bird) in Turkish.
KochaviHebrew From Hebrew כוכב (kokhav) meaning "star", commonly used as a replacement for Ashkenazi surnames containing the old German element stern "star". For example, it was adopted as a surname by the Romanian-born Israeli archaeologist and university professor Moshe Kochavi (1928-2008), whose birth surname was Stern.
KoelschGerman German from the adjective kölsch, denoting someone from Cologne (German Köln).
KoelzerGerman From a noun derived from kolzen "ankle boots" (from Latin calceus "half-boot walking shoe") hence an occupational name for a boot maker or a cobbler. Or a habitational name for someone from Kölzen near Merseburg.
KohlmanGerman This surname comes from the Middle High German word kol which translates into English as coal. However, German Kohl, kol or Kohle also translate into English as cabbage. Middle High German man and German Mann translate into English as man... [more]