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.
KanieJapanese From Japanese 蟹 (kani) meaning "crab" and 江 (e) meaning "bay, inlet".
KanisDutch, German Dutch metonymic occupational name for a pedler from Dutch kanis "basket hamper". variant of Canis a humanistic surname a translation into Latin of Dutch De Hond or De Hondt German Hund or Hundt surnames meaning "dog"... [more]
KanitzGerman, Jewish Habitational name from Kanitz in Saxony or from one of the similarly named places in Germany and Bohemia. In some cases Czech kanec "boar" is likely to be the source of the name.
KanjaJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 冠者 (Kanja), a variant spelling of 管者 (Kanja) meaning "Kanja", a former division in the district of Chīsagata in the former Japanese province of Shinano in present-day Nagano, Japan.
KänngårdSwedish (Rare) Derived from a place named Kännavallen (now known as Tjännavallen) outside Enånger, Hälsingland, Sweden.
KannoJapanese From the Japanese 菅 (kan or suga) "sedge" and 野 (no) "field," "area." This name can also be read as Sugano.
KanoJapanese From Japanese 狩 (ka) meaning "hunt, gather" and 野 (no) meaning "field, rice paddy".
KanpistegiBasque It indicates familial origin within the eponymous neighborhood of the commune of Ezterenzubi in the arrondissement of Baiona.
KanrojiJapanese Fron Japanese 甘 (kan) meaning "sweet", 露 (ro) meaning "dew" and 寺 (ji) meaning "temple".
KantakouzenosGreek One of the noble Byzantine families, the surname is connected to the locality of Kouzenas, a name for the southern part of Mount Sipylus near Smyrna (Izmir).
KäosaarEstonian Possibly means "cuckoo island" in Estonian, from a genitive form of kägu "cuckoo" combined with saar "island". It could also indicate someone from the village Käo in Saare county, on the island Saaremaa.
KapelDutch, Dutch (Surinamese) Means "chapel" in Dutch, a habitational name for someone who lived near a chapel (or in a place named after one), or an occupational name for a chaplain.
KapellerGerman, German (Austrian) Derived from Middle High German kappelle, kapelle "chapel", this name denoted someone who lived near a chapel.
KaramanlifGreek Feminine form of Karamanlis. Anna Karamanli (1968-) is a Greek politician, sports journalist, and former athlete.
KaramanlismGreek Originally indicated a person who came from Karaman, a city located in south-central Turkey, itself is derived from Karaman Bey, a Turkoman chieftain who ruled the Karamanids in the 13th century... [more]
KarbowskiPolish Habitational name for someone from Karbowo in Torun voivodeship, a place so named from Polish karbowy "overseer (of farm laborers)", from karbowac "to make notches", i.e. to keep records.
KarczewskiPolish habitational name for someone from Karczew, named with Polish karcz ‘stump’.
KareagaBasque Derived from Basque kare "lime (mineral)" and -aga "place of, abundance of".
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]
KarjalaFinnish Finnish from karja ‘cattle’ + the local suffix -la, or possibly from a word of Germanic origin, harja- ‘host’, ‘crowd’, Old Swedish haer. Historic records suggest that the Germanic inhabitants of the area around Lake Ladoga (in present-day Russia) used this term to refer to the Finns who once lived there.
KarjamaaEstonian Karjamaa is an Estonian surname meaning "pastureland".
KarkavandianArmenian, Iranian Those belonging to the Karkevand/Garkevand district of Iran who are most likely of Armenian origin. Typical modern Armenian last names end with the originally patronymic suffix -յան or -եան, transliterated as -yan, -ian, or less often '-jan'... [more]
KärkinenFinnish Combination of Finnish kärki "peak, point, tip" and the common surname suffix -inen.
KarlinPolish Polish habitational name from a village in Poland.
KarlingGerman A habitational name from Karling in Bavaria.
KarlsbergGerman Means "Carl's Mountain" in German language, it is also used in other Germanic languages
KármánHungarian An ethnic name for people from Karaman, Turkey, via Medieval Latin Caramanus.
KarmazinasLithuanian Perhaps a habitational name taken from the Lithuanian village Karmazinai. The name of the village is allegedly derived from Polish karmazyn "crimson". See also Karmazsin, a Hungarian occupational name for a dyer or for someone making dyestuff (taken directly from Hungarian karmazsin "crimson").
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.
KarrantzaBasque Habitational name from Basque Country, Spain, a Basque adaptation of Carrantia, a toponym probably of Cantabrian origin meaning "high rocks" (compare Basque harri "rock, stone" and (h)andi "big, large").
KasedaJapanese If kase is spelled like 加 (ka) meaning "add, increase, join, include, Canada" and 世 (se, yo) meaning "generation, world, society, public", then it can also be read as kayo... [more]
KaselaidEstonian Kaselaid is an Estonian surname meaning "birch islet".
KasemaaEstonian Kasemaa is an Estonian surname meaning "birch land".
KasemetsEstonian Kasemets is an Estonian surname meaning "birch forest".
KashaniPersian Indicated a person from the city of Kashan in Isfahan province, Iran. The name may be derived from the Kasian, the original inhabitants of the area.
KashgariUyghur, Arabic Originally denoted someone who came from the city of Kashgar, located in the Xinjiang region of western China. The city's name is of Persian origin probably meaning "rock mountain".
KashmanianArmenian this name is believed to be a version of the name of a city called kashman
KasimovRussian From the city of Kasimov, located in Ryazan district, Russia.
KasongoCentral African A Congolese surname derived from the town with the same name, located in the Maniema Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
KasselGerman habitational name mainly from a place of this name in northeastern Hesse so named from Frankish castellacassela "fortification" a military term from Late Latin castellum "fortified position fort" or a topographic name from the same word.
KasselmannGerman Combination of the German place name Kassel (or Cassel) and German Mann "man".
KastanismGreek From Greek καστανιά (kastania) meaning "chestnut, chestnut tree". This name is given to someone with chestnut hair or someone who lived near a chestnut tree.
KasuyaJapanese From Japanese 粕 (kasu) meaning "dregs, sediment, scrap" and 谷 (ya) meaning "valley".
KatDutch, Frisian, South African, Jewish Means "cat", a habitational name for someone who lived by a sign depicting a cat, or a nickname for someone who somehow resembled a cat, perhaps in agility or an independent nature.
KatabaJapanese (Rare) From Japanese 片 (kata) meaning "one side; one-sided" and 場 (ba) meaning "place".
KatagamiJapanese From Japanese 片 (kata) meaning "single" and 上 (gami) meaning "above".
KatagiriJapanese From the Japanese 片 (kata) "single-" and 桐 (giri) "foxglove tree."
KataiJapanese From Japanese 片 (kata) meaning "partial, one-sided" and 井 (i) meaning "well".
KatajaFinnish Finnish for common juniper. Originally given to people living near juniper trees.
KatzenJewish (Ashkenazi) Katzen is a variant of Kotzen, or a shortened version of Katzenellenbogen. Its origins can also be traced back to a habitational form of Katzenelnbogen. There is no clear answer of where this surname exactly came from... [more]
KaunasLithuanian From Kaunas, the name of a city in Lithuania, itself most likely derived from a given name.
KaunismäkiFinnish Derived from Finnish kaunis "beautiful, pretty" and mäki "hill".
KaunisvesiFinnish Means "beautiful water", deriving from the Finnish elements kaunis ("possessing charm and attractiveness") and vesi ("water").
KaurismäkiFinnish Derived from Finnish kauris, meaning "deer", and mäki, meaning "hill".
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.
KavakamiJapanese (Russified) Alternate transcription of Kawakami more commonly used by ethnic Japanese living in parts of the former Soviet Union and Sakhalin Japanese residing on Sakhalin Island in Russia.
KavasakiJapanese (Russified) Alternate transcription of Kawasaki more commonly used by ethnic Japanese living in parts of the former Soviet Union and Sakhalin Japanese residing on Sakhalin Island in Russia.
KawabataJapanese 'Side or bank of the river'; written two ways, with two different characters for kawa ‘river’. One family is descended from the northern Fujiwara through the Saionji family; the other from the Sasaki family... [more]
KawabataJapanese From Japanese 川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream" and 畑 (hata) meaning "farm, cropfield".
KawabataJapanese From Japanese 川 (kawa) or 河 (kawa) both meaning "river, stream" and 端 (hata) meaning "edge, end, tip".
KawabeJapanese From Japanese 川 (kawa) or 河 (kawa) both meaning "river, stream" and 辺 (be) meaning "area, place, vicinity".
KawachiJapanese From 川 or 河 (kawa) meaning "river, stream" combined with 内 (dai, nai, uchi, chi) meaning "among, between, home, house, inside, within."
KawadaJapanese From Japanese 川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream" and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".
KawaeiJapanese From 川 (kawa) meaning "river, stream" and 栄 (ei) meaning "glory, honour, flourish, prosper".... [more]
KazamatsuriJapanese From Japanese 風祭 (Kazamatsuri) meaning "Kazamatsuri", an area in the city of Odawara in the prefecture of Kanagawa in Japan.
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.
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]
KeetonEnglish Habitational name from a place called Ketton in Durham or one in Rutland or from Keaton in Ermington, Devon. The first is named from the Old English personal name Catta or the Old Norse personal name Káti and Old English tūn "settlement"; the second is probably from an old river name or tribal name Cētan (possibly a derivative of Celtic cēd "wood") and Old English ēa "river"; and the last possibly from Cornish kee "hedge, bank" and Old English tūn.
KegasawaJapanese From 気 (ke) meaning "feeling, spirit, mood", 賀 (ga) meaning "celebrate, congratulate, greet", and 沢 (sawa) meaning "swamp, marah".
KehlerGerman Habitational name from various places called Kehl, notably the town across the Rhine from Strasbourg. In some cases it may be a variant of Köhler.
KeillorScottish Habitational name from a place in Angus called Keilor.
KelhamEnglish Derived from the village of Kelham, near Newark-upon-Trent, Nottingham.
KellenGerman From the name of a place in Rhineland, which is derived from Middle Low German kel (a field name denoting swampy land) or from the dialect word kelle meaning "steep path, ravine".
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.
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]
KemperGerman, Dutch From Kamp "field, piece of land", an occupational name denoting a peasant farmer. It could also indicate someone from a place named using the element. Alternatively, a variant of Kempf meaning "fighter".
KempesGerman, Dutch German and Dutch variant of Kemp or Kamp. It could also be a habitational name for a person from any of the various places named Kempen on the border between Germany and the Netherlands (for example the town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, close to the Dutch border), a status name for a peasant farmer or serf, or an occupational name for an official calibrator who marked the correct weight and measures for verification, derived from Middle Low German kempen... [more]
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".
KendoJapanese From Japanese 拳 (ken) meaning "fist" and 藤 (do, dou, dō) meaning "wisteria"
KensingtonEnglish Habitational name from any of the various places named Kensington in England, all derived from Old English given name Cynesige and tun "enclosure, town".
KensitEnglish A surname of Old English, pre-7th-century origins. It derives from a locality, probably either Kingsettle in Somerset, which translates as "the seat of the King", and is believed to relate to Alfred the Great, or possibly Kingside in Cumberland, or to some now lost village or town with a similar spelling.
KentonEnglish habitational name from any of various places so named Kenton, for example in Devon, Greater London (formerly Middlesex), Northumberland, and Suffolk... [more]
KenwoodEnglish From the settlement of Kenwood in the parish of Kenton, county of Devon, England. ... [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]
KenwynCornish (Rare) This surname is derived from the name of a town and river in Cornwall, England (called Keynwynn in Cornish). It is said that the name is derived from Cornish keyn meaning "back, keel, ridge" and gwynn meaning "white, fair, blessed."
KenyonEnglish, Welsh Kenyon is a surname from Wales meaning "a person from Ennion's Mound"
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.
KershawEnglish From the name of a town in Lancashire, derived from Old Norse kirkja "church" and Old English sceaga "thicket, grove, copse".
KerslakeEnglish Topographic name for someone who lived by a stream where cress grew, derived from Old English cærse meaning "watercress" and lacu meaning "stream".
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.
KesselbergGerman Habitational name for someone from any of various places in Rhineland, Bavaria and Baden called Kesselberg.
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.
KestelEnglish Habitational name from Kestle, a place in Cornwall, so named from Cornish castell "castle, village, rock".
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".
KeyworthEnglish Habitational name from Keyworth in Nottinghamshire. The place name derives from an uncertain initial element (perhaps Old English ca "jackdaw") and Old English worþ "enclosure".
KhameneiPersian Originally denoted someone who came from the village of Khamaneh, located in the East Azerbaijan province of Iran. A famous bearer is Ali Khamenei (1939-), a former president and the current Supreme Leader of Iran.
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.
KhilRussian Russian spelling of Hill. A notable bearer was Russian baritone singer Eduard Khil (1934-2012).
KhokhlenkovmRussian From the term хохол (khokhol), a type of traditional Ukrainian cossack hairstyle or can be used as derogatory for Ukrainian person.
KhomeiniPersian Originally indicated a person who came from the city of Khomeyn in the Markazi province of Iran. A notable bearer of this surname was the Islamic revolutionary, politician and religious leader Ruhollah Khomeini (1900 or 1902-1989), who founded the Islamic Republic of Iran following the Iranian Revolution in 1979... [more]
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