KeithGerman Nickname from Middle High German kit "sprout, offspring".
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.
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]
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]
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.
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".
KingmanEnglish From the words "king" and "man", denoting a servant of the king.
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).
KitadaiJapanese From 北 (kita) meaning "north" and 代 (dai) meaning "society, world, cost, price" or 台 (dai) meaning "Taiwan, machine or vehicle counter, stand, pedestal".
KlassGerman The name is patronymic and it comes from the German first name "Clausen" which is a variant of the name "Nicholas".
KleberGerman, English (American) Derived from German kleben "to bind, to stick", hence an occupational name for someone who applied clay daub or whitewash on buildings.
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)".
KloseGerman, Silesian From a Silesian short form of the given name Nikolaus. A notable bearer is the German former soccer player Miroslav Klose (1978-).
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.
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".
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).
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]
KondōJapanese From Japanese 近 (kon) meaning "near, close" and 藤 (tō) meaning "wisteria". The latter character could indicate a connection to the Fujiwara clan.
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]
KongHmong From the clan name Koo or Xoom associated with the Chinese characters 龔 (gōng) or 鞏 (gǒng) (see Gong) or 宋 (sòng) (see Song).
KonnoJapanese Variously written, most usually with characters meaning ‘now’ or ‘near’ and ‘field’. Found mostly in eastern Japan, farther to the northeast it is pronounced Imano.
KonnoJapanese From Japanese 今 (kon) meaning "this, now" and 野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness".
KonnoJapanese From Japanese 金 (kon) meaning "gold, money" and 野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness".
KonnoJapanese From Japanese 紺 (kon) meaning "dark blue, navy blue" and 野 (no) meaning "field, wilderness".
KonopásekCzech From konopa meaning "hemp", probably an occupational name for a rope maker.
KonovalovRussian Derived from dialectal Russian коновал (konoval) meaning "farrier, horseleech".
KorenSlovene, Hebrew Koren is a surname which has multiple origins. Koren may be a variant of the German occupational surname Korn, meaning a dealer in grain. Alternatively, it may be a variant of the Greek female name Kora... [more]
KorjusEstonian Korjus is an Estonian surname meaning "carrion".
KozakJewish Nickname from Yiddish kozak from a Ukrainian loanword meaning "warrior", "brave man".
KozakPolish, Czech, Slovak, Sorbian, Ukrainian Ethnic name for a Cossack, a member of a people descended from a group of runaway serfs who set up a semi-independent military republic in Ukraine in the 15th and 16th centuries.
KrasniqiAlbanian The name "Krasniqi" is of Albanian linguistic origin. The exact historical origin and meaning of the surname "Krasniqi" can vary, but it's believed to be related to the Albanian word "kërsenik" or "kërseniku," which means "blackbird" or "thrush."
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]
LabontéFrench (Quebec), Haitian Creole, Mauritian Creole From French la bonté meaning "(the) kindness, (the) goodness", originally used as a soldier's name and perhaps also as a nickname for a benevolent person. This surname is rare in France.
LabordeFrench Derived from the French word borde meaning "small farm" (from Frankish bord meaning "plank") with the definite article la. This is an occupational surname for a tenant farmer.
LafleurFrench, French (Caribbean) from la fleur "the flower" used as a soldier's name and also as a servant's name; it was one of the most common nicknames (noms de guerre) among French soldiers.
LagardeFrench Habitational name from Lagarde or La Garde names of several places in various parts of France named in Old French with garde "watch protection" (see Garde).
LagoItalian, Spanish, Portuguese Topographic name for someone living by a lake from lago "lake" (from Latin lacus) or a habitational name from any of the many places called with this word.
LaînéFrench distinguishing epithet from French l'aîné "the eldest (son)", used to identify the older of two bearers of the same name in a family.
LaingScottish Scottish form of Lang. A famous bearer was the explorer Alexander Gordon Laing.
LammersEnglish Habitational name from either Lamas in Norfolk or Lamarsh in Essex, derived from Old English lām "loam, clay" combined with ersc "plowed field" or mersc "marsh".
LancerJewish, Polish Ornamental name from German Lanze "lance, spear" combined with the agent suffix -er.
LandonFrench Either from the given name Landon the French cognate of Lando. Or a habitational name from a place so named (from a diminutive of lande "heath") in Creuse.
LangEstonian Lang is an Estonian surname meaning "relative" and "in-law".
LangPopular Culture From 狼 (láng) meaning "wolf". Shi-Long Lang is a character in the game Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth, a wolf-themed Interpol agent who speaks mainly in quotes and metaphors about wolves... [more]
LappGerman From Middle High German lap(pe) ‘cloth’, ‘patch’, ‘rag’; a metonymic occupational name for a mender of clothes or shoes, or a nickname for a simple-minded person.... [more]
LäuferGerman, Jewish Habitational name for someone from a place called Lauf, also an occupational name for a messenger or a nickname for a fast runner, from an agent derivative of Middle High German loufen, German laufen ‘to run’.
LavenderEnglish, Dutch Occupational name for a washerman or launderer, Old French, Middle Dutch lavendier (Late Latin lavandarius, an agent derivative of lavanda "washing", "things to be washed"). The term was applied especially to a worker in the wool industry who washed the raw wool or rinsed the cloth after fulling... [more]
LeegstraDutch Probably derived from either leeg "empty, hollow" or laag "low" combined with the West Frisian suffix -stra.
LegendreFrench relationship name from Old French gendre "son-in-law" (from Latin gener) with fused masculine definite article le.
LegkovmRussian Derived from Russian word легко (lyegko) meaning easy.
LehtoFinnish Finnish: from lehto ‘grove’; either a habitational name, recorded since the 17th century, from any of the farms in eastern Finland named for their location by a grove, or in other cases a more recent ornamental adoption... [more]
LemaîtreFrench Means "the master" in French, either used as a nickname for someone who behaved in a masterful manner or an occupational name for someone who was a master of their craft.
LembergJewish Habitational name from the city of Lviv in Ukraine, from its German name Lemberg.
LembergGerman Habitational name from a place called Lemberg in Silesia, originally Löwenberg, from Middle High German lewe, löwe "lion" and berg "mountain".
LemmingDanish Derived from any of the places in Denmark called Lemming where the first element lem "lamb" is combined with the suffix -ing denoting a place.
LeonardoItalian, Spanish, German Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese from the Germanic personal name Leonhard, formed from the elements leo ‘lion’ + hard, ‘hardy’, ‘brave’, ‘strong’; this was an early medieval saint’s name (see Leonard).
LétourneauFrench Nickname for a chatty, gregarious person or an occupational name for a birdcatcher, derived from French l'étourneau meaning "the starling".
LiebGerman From a short form of the various compound Slavic personal names formed with lubo- "love" as the first element.
LiebGerman, Jewish Nickname for a pleasant or agreeable person, from Middle High German liep "dear, beloved"; Yiddish lib or German lieb. This word was also used as a personal name, both alone (German) and in compounds (German and Jewish).
LillardBelgian Habitational name from either of two places called Li(e)laar, in Gavere and Sint-Maria-Oudenhove, East Flanders.
LimKorean 12th most common surname in Korea. ... [more]
LimaPortuguese Topographic name for someone living on the banks of the river of this name (of pre-Roman origin, probably akin to a Celtic element lemos, limos 'elm').
LimaPortuguese Topographic name for someone who lived on the banks of the Lima River in Portugal, most likely derived from Indo-European *léymō meaning "lake".
LindberghSwedish (Rare), English (Rare) Rare variant spelling of Lindberg. A famous bearer was American aviator Charles Lindbergh (1902-1974) who was the first person to fly non-stop from America to mainland Europe in 1927.
LindeSpanish From Spanish linde "boundary" or a habitational name from places called La Linde in Spain.
LindeGerman, Dutch, Jewish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish Derived from Middle Hugh German, Dutch linde or Scandinavian lind "lime tree". Almost exclusively ornamental in Swedish, otherwise probably habitational. There are also a number of feminine names containing the element lind, for example Linda, Dietlinde and Gerlinde, and it's possible that the surname is derived from any of those names.
LindforsSwedish Combination of Swedish lind "lime tree, linden" and fors "rapid, waterfall".
LinnGerman (Silesian), Jewish (Ashkenazi) Derived from the Slavic word lin "tench (fish)", a nickname for a fisherman, or for a person who somehow resembled a tench.
LipiecPolish Derived from Polish lipiec "July (month)".
LipińskiPolish Name for someone from any of various places named Lipno, Lipin, Lipiny or Lipino, all derived from Polish lipa meaning "lime tree".
LippincottEnglish A habitational name meaning "of Luffincott," a parish in Devon, England. Named from Old English uncertain first element + cot ‘cottage’.