JuanChinese Alternate transcription of Chinese 阮 (see Ruan).
JudehArabic From Arabic جودة (jawdah) meaning "excellence, goodness".
JudgeEnglish, Irish occupational name for an officer of justice or a nickname for a solemn and authoritative person thought to behave like a judge from Middle English Old French juge "judge" (from Latin iudex from ius "law" and dicere "to say") which replaced the Old English term dema... [more]
JuelDanish, Norwegian, Swedish Alternate form of Juhl. This variant of the name can be traced back to the 14th century and is the name of a Danish noble family sometimes referred to as "Juel med stjernen" meaning "Juel with the star" in reference to their coat-of-arms, as a way to distinguish them from another Danish noble family - the Juul-family - who in turn are known as "Juul with the fleur-de-lis"... [more]
JuhlDanish, Norwegian (Rare), Low German Likely originating as a nickname for people born around Christmas or who had a connection with that time of year, from the Old Norse jól, which was the name of the Nordic pagan midwinter festival, or modern Danish jul meaning "Christmas" (cf... [more]
JuinFrench Derived from French juin meaning "June", perhaps indicating a person who was baptized in that month.
JungbluthGerman Means "young blossom" in German, from German jung "young" and blüte "blossom, flower", possibly denoting a person who blossomed early in their life.
JüngerGerman, Jewish German (Jünger) distinguishing name, from Middle High German jünger ‘younger’, for the younger of two bearers of the same personal name, usually a son who bore the same name as his father... [more]
JuniorMedieval English Junior or Jr. is used for a baby boy who has the same name as his father. The name is derived from the Middle English word junior, meaning the young or child.
JupeEnglish A kind of cloak or cape. It is possible that an ancestor of an individual with this surname was known for their association with these kinds of clothing.
JusayFilipino, Tagalog, Cebuano From Tagalog and Cebuano husay meaning "settled, orderly, arranged" or "settle, arrange, put in order".
JuulDanish, Norwegian Alternate form of Juhl. This variant of the name can be traced back to the 13th century as the name of a Danish noble family still alive today. The family is sometimes referred to as "Juul med liljen" meaning "Juul with the fleur-de-lis" in reference to their coat-of-arms, as a way to distinguish them from another Danish noble family - the Juel-family - who in turn are known as "Juel with the star"... [more]
KabiriPersian From the Arabic كَبِير (kabīr) meaning "big, large, great".
KaçanTurkish Means "runaway, fugitive, escaper" in Turkish.
KalhorhUrdu, Sindhi Originally a nickname for a person who belonged to the Kalhora clan in Sindh, Pakistan. The clan's name is derived from Sindhi ڪلهوڙو (kalhoro), ultimately from ڪَلھو (kalho) meaning "alone".
KalhoroSindhi From the name of the Kalhora (or Kalhoro) people, a Sindhi tribe residing in Pakistan. The name itself is of uncertain meaning.
KalitaPolish A polish surname meaning "money pouch" in old polish
KalkEstonian Kalk is an Estonian surname meaning "heartless", "callous" and "harsh".
KaltGerman, German (Swiss) From Middle High German kalt "cold" probably applied as a nickname for someone who felt the cold or for someone with an unfriendly disposition.
KambanFaroese, Old Norse, Old Celtic, Old Irish Likely from Old Irish cambán "crooked one". This was the surname of Grímur Kamban, the legendary first settler in the Faroe Islands according to the Færeyinga saga. This name is still borne by a handful of people in the Faroe Islands today.
KämpfGerman, Jewish From middle high German kampf, German kamf "fight, struggle" an occupational name for a champion a professional fighter (see Kemp ) or a nickname for someone with a pugnacious temperament.
KanKorean (Russified) Russified form of Kang used by ethnic Koreans living in parts of the former Soviet Union.
Kara-SalTuvan Means "black beard", derived from Tuvan кара (kara) meaning "black" combined with сал (sal) meaning "beard, moustache".
KarataşTurkish From Turkish kara meaning "black" and taş meaning "stone, rock".
KarayusufTurkish Yusuf is a name for men and Karayusuf means Dark Yusuf.
KarhuFinnish Means "bear" (the animal) in Finnish.
KarkEstonian Kark is an Estonian surname meaning "stilt" (Himantopus himantopus).
KärkkäinenFinnish From Finnish kärkäs meaning ”eager” and the suffix -nen. A Finnish department store chain bears this name after its founder, Juha Kärkkäinen.
KartmannGerman Derived from German karte meaning "card". Possibly an occupational name for someone who makes, sells or trades cards. In an alternative representation, it could be a nickname for someone who gambles.
KarunanayakeSinhalese From Sanskrit करुणा (karuna) meaning "compassion, kindness, mercy" and नायक (nayaka) meaning "hero, leader".
KarunaratneSinhalese From Sanskrit करुणा (karuna) meaning "compassion, kindness, mercy" and रत्न (ratna) meaning "jewel, treasure".
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.
KastlGerman From a pet form of the saint's name Castulus, itself a diminutive of the Latin adjective castus 'chaste'.
KastratiAlbanian Derived from the name of the Kastrati tribe inhabiting the region of Malësia in northern Albania.
KasunićCroatian Possibly derived from the old Slavic word kazati, meaning "to order, to command".
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.
KatanJewish From Hebrew קָטָן (katan) meaning "small, little, young".
KatzinJewish Jewish: nickname from Hebrew katsin ‘rich man’. ... [more]
KauGerman Topographic name for someone who lived by a mineshaft, from Middle High German kouw(e) "mining hut".
KauhaneHawaiian Literally, "the spirit". Ka being "the" and Uhane being "spirit".
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]
KaunisEstonian Kaunis is an Estonian surname meaning "beautiful".
KauschGerman Pet name derived from the Old High German personal name Gozwin, of uncertain origin.
KautGerman Topographic name from the Franconian dialect word Kaut(e) "hollow", "pit", "den".
KautzGerman Nickname for a shy or strange person, from Middle High German kuz "screech owl".
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.
KelavaCroatian Possibly derived from Turkish kel, meaning "bald".... [more]
KelchGerman nickname from Middle High German kelch "double chin", "goiter". from another meaning of Middle High German kelch "glass", "chalice", hence a metonymic occupational name for a chalice maker or a habitational name for someone living at a house distinguished by the sign of a chalice.
KeleşTurkish Means "brave, handsome" as well as "bald" or "ugly" in Turkish.
KennerGerman, Jewish Means "expert, connoisseur" in German, from kennen "to know", a nickname for someone considered to be intelligent or knowledgeable.
KennerEnglish Possibly derived from Middle English kenner "teacher", derived from kennen "to make known, to teach".
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.
KettsEnglish (British) The proud Norman name of Ketts was developed in England soon after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. It was a name for a person who has a fancied resemblance to a cat. The name stems from the Old Northern French cat, of the same meaning, which occurs in many languages in the same form from a very early period.
KhaVietnamese Vietnamese form of Ke, from Sino-Vietnamese 柯 (kha).
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".
KhaleghiPersian Derived from Persian خالق (khaleq) meaning "creator (an epithet for God)".
KhalsaIndian (Sikh), Punjabi Derived from Arabic خلص (khalasa) meaning "pure, clear". This is also the term used to refer to initiated Sikhs.
KhamThai, Lao From Thai คำ (kham) meaning "gold" or "word, speech" or Lao ຄຳ (kham) meaning "gold".
KhamkaeoThai From Thai คำ (kham) meaning "gold" or "word, speech" and แก้ว (kaeo) meaning "crystal, glass, diamond".
KhanumBengali, Urdu From an aristocratic title traditionally used as an honorific for Muslim women in the Middle East and South Asia. It is derived from a feminine form of the title khan meaning "king, ruler", which is probably of Mongolian origin.
KharaziaAbkhaz There are several theories on the origin of the name. It could be derived from Arabic حَارِس (ḥāris) meaning "guard, guardian, defender", from a contraction of a Hebrew term, or from the Abkhaz word ҳара (ḥārā́) meaning "we, ours" combined with the Abkhaz suffix -ya or -ia denoting descent.
KhaskheliUrdu, Sindhi Referred to a person belonging to the Khaskheli tribe in the Pakistani provinces of Sindh and Balochistan. It is perhaps derived from the Urdu words خاص (khas) meaning "proper" and خالی (khali) meaning "performer"... [more]
KhatriIndian, Gujarati, Marathi, Hindi, Punjabi, Nepali Name for a member of the Kshatriya caste, derived from Sanskrit क्षत्रिय (kshatriya) referring to the Hindu caste consisting of kings, warriors and soldiers, ultimately from क्षत्र (kshatra) meaning "power, might, dominion".
KibarTurkish Means "kind, polite, noble" in Turkish, ultimately from Arabic كبار (kibar).
KicklighterAmerican Americanized spelling of German Kückleiter, literally ‘chicken ladder’, probably a nickname for a chicken farmer.
KiehlMedieval Low German From Middle Low German kil ‘wedge’, applied as a metonymic occupational name or as a pejorative nickname for a ruffian. Possibly a habitational name from Kiel in Schleswig-Holstein, from Dutch and Frisian kil ‘stagnant water’ (see Kiel)... [more]
KielDutch 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 From Polish kieł "tooth, fang", hence a nickname for someone with bad or protruding teeth.
KienerGerman Named after profession from Middle High German kien ‘pine chip, torch’ for someone who chips pine wood (wood from pine or spruce) and sells it (e.g. to smelters), a lumberjack or charcoal burner.... [more]
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 Possibly a variant of Kift, itself from an Old English nickname meaning "clumsy, awkward".
KihulaneEstonian Kihulane is an Estonian surname meaning "midge".
KillJewish Maybe a nickname derived from Yiddish kil "cool".
KinDutch, Flemish Means "chin", a nickname for someone with a pointed or jutting chin. Alternatively, from kinne "relative, family".
KindGerman, Jewish, Dutch 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. In some cases it may be a short form of any of various names ending in -kind, a patronymic ending of Jewish surnames.
KindEnglish Nickname from Middle English kynde meaning "kind, type, nature" or "disposition", possibly used in the sense of "legitimate".
KippsEnglish From Middle English Kipp, perhaps a byname for a fat man, from an unattested Old English form Cyppe, which according to Reaney is from the Germanic root kupp 'to swell'.
KıraçTurkish Means "barren, wasted, infertile" in Turkish.
KıranTurkish Means "pestilence, murrain" or "breaker, crusher" in Turkish.
KislitsynRussian Derived from Russian кислица (kislitsa) meaning "mope, a dull, spiritless person".
KislyRussian, Belarusian Derived from Russian кислый (kisly) meaning "acid, acidic, sour".
KissamiArabic (Maghrebi) Means "descendants of Qasim" in Arabic. This was the name of a Moroccan family descended from the Idrisid dynasty.
KisselGerman From a pet form of the Germanic personal name Gisulf.
KitchingEnglish The surname is thought to have originally been an occupational name for a cook, deriving from the Old English word cycen.
KiteEnglish From the name of the bird of prey, derived from Middle English kete "kite, bittern".
KitumainiCentral African, Swahili Means "little hope" in Swahili, a diminutive of tumaini meaning simply "hope". It is mostly found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
KlemmGerman Either from Middle High German klem "narrow, tight", a nickname for miserly person, or from the related klemme "constriction; narrows", a habitational name for someone who lived in a narrow area... [more]
KlepperGerman Derived from Middle High German kleppern "to clatter, chatter; to gossip", a nickname for a talkative or gossipy person.
KlierGerman, Czech, Jewish artificial name (for Jews) and nickname (for Germans and Czechs) derived from German dialect klier "castrated cock".
KlijnDutch Could be a variant of Klein "small, little", or could be derived from Old Dutch kluin (also klyn or kloen) "peat".
KlinSlovene A nickname for someone with a beak-shaped nose, from kljun "beak, bill" (old spelling klun).
KloekDutch From Middle Dutch cloec meaning "deft, clever, skilful", derived from Old Germanic *klōkaz "strong, quick, smart".
KlokDutch From Middle Dutch clocke "bell", an occupational name for someone who made or rang bells, or perhaps for a clockmaker. Compare Van Der Klok and Kloek.
KlompDutch, Low German Means both "lump, block, compact heap" and "clog, wooden shoe" in Dutch, often an occupational name for someone who made such shoes. It could also be a nickname for a stocky or clumsy person, or a habitational name for someone who lived by a sign depicting a clog.
KluitDutch Means "lump, clod (of earth)" in Dutch.
KluivertDutch, Dutch (Surinamese) Nickname perhaps related to Dutch kluiven meaning "to gnaw, to bite, to nibble". A notable bearer is Dutch former soccer player Patrick Kluivert (1976-).
KlutzGerman The ancient and distinguished German surname Klutz is derived from the old Germanic term "Klotz," meaning "awkward, clumsy." The name was most likely initially bestowed as a nickname, either on someone who was clumsy or in an ironic way on someone who was exceptionally graceful.
KnatchbullEnglish A nickname from Old English knatch "to strike" + bull "bull", indicating strength.
KnauerGerman (Silesian) Nickname for a gnarled person, from Middle High German knur(e) 'knot', 'gnarl'. habitational name for someone from either of two places in Thuringia called Knau.
KnausGerman Comes from Middle High German knuz ‘proud’, ‘arrogant’, ‘daring’, hence a nickname for a haughty person. In Württemberg knaus (and in Switzerland knus) also meant ‘gnarl’, hence a nickname for a short, fat, gnarled person; topographic name for someone living on a hillock, from knaus ‘hillock’ in the Swabian and Alemannic dialects of German
KnobelGerman, German (Swiss), Yiddish Derived from the Middle High German knübel probably a nickname for a fat person or in the sense "ankle". However the term also denotes a rounded elevation and may therefore also be a topographic name for someone who lived by a knoll... [more]
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.
KnollEnglish, German, Jewish English and German topographic name for someone living near a hilltop or mountain peak, from Middle English knolle ‘hilltop’, ‘hillock’ (Old English cnoll), Middle High German knol ‘peak’... [more]
KnorrGerman From a nickname for a gnarly person, derived from Middle High/Low German knorre "knot, protruberance".
KoldenGerman, Norwegian From Middle Low German kolt, kolde ‘cold’, a nickname for an unfriendly person; alternatively, it may be a habitational name, a shortened form of Koldenhof ‘cold farm’ in Mecklenburg (standardized form: Kaltenhof, a frequent place name in northern Germany, East Prussia, Bavaria, and Württemberg).Norwegian: habitational name from a farm called Kolden, from Old Norse kollr ‘rounded mountain top’.
KolymaginRussian Derived from Russian колымага (kolymaga) meaning "jalopy (old, dilapidated car)".
KomarovRussian From Russian комар (komar) meaning "mosquito".
KondouJapanese From Japanese 近 (kon) meaning "near, close" and 藤 (dou) meaning "wisteria". The latter character could indicate a connection to the Fujiwara clan.
KoniRussian Derived from Russian конь (konʹ) "horse", denoting someone who worked with horses or whose traits are similar to one. Anatoly Koni (1844-1927) was a Russian jurist, judge, politician and writer... [more]
KontrafourisGreek A surname of Italian origin, from the Italian words 'contra' meaning against, and 'furo' meaning thief. Common in Greece and among the Greek diaspora.