KalkGerman, Dutch Occupational name for a lime burner from Middle High German kalc and Middle Dutch calk "lime" (both a loanword from Latin calx).
KampGerman, Dutch, Danish From the Germanic element kamp "field", derived from Latin campus "open space, battlefield".
KamphuisDutch Topographic name for someone who lived near a field, derived from Dutch kamp "enclosed field" and huis "house, home, building".
KanDutch Means "jug, teapot, can" in Dutch, from Middle Dutch kanne "pitcher, tankard, flagon", a metonymic occupational name for a potter, pewterer, or tinsmith.
KantersDutch An occupational name for a singer, such as a precentor (someone who leads songs or prayers in a church, monastery, or synagogue) or choir member. Ultimately derived from Latin cantor "singer, leader of song at a ceremony; prayer leader in a Jewish ceremony".
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.
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.
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.
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]
KentieDutch Origin and meaning unknown. Possibly derived from a Scottish surname such as MacKenzie.
KerbowFrench Possibly derived from the French word 'corbeau', meaning "raven".
KernGerman, Dutch, Jewish Means "kernel, grain, core" in Dutch, German, and Yiddish (as קערן), an occupational name for a farmer or a nickname for a physically small person. As a Jewish name, it is ornamental.
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.
KestelootBelgian (Modern) No idea whatsoever as to the origin of the surname other than it is of Belgian origin.
KeymolenFlemish Derived from the place name Keimolen, itself probably derived from Middle Dutch key "cobblestone, boulder" and molen "mill".
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.
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.
KlaverDutch Means "clover" in Dutch, a topographic name for someone who lived by a field of clovers or a sign depicting them, or an occupational name for a clover farmer.
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.
KloosterboerDutch Occupational name derived from Dutch klooster meaning "monastery, convent, cloister" and boer meaning "peasant, farmer".
KloostermanDutch Derived from Dutch klooster "cloister, monastery" and man "person, man", given to someone who worked for a monastery or lived near one.
KloppGerman, Dutch Habitational name from a place called Kloppe.
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-).
KnechtGerman, German (Swiss), Dutch Means "servant, assistant" in German and Dutch, an occupational name for a journeyman or male servant derived from Old Germanic kneht meaning "servant, knight" or "youth, boy"... [more]
KnickerbockerDutch (Americanized) Americanized spelling of the Dutch occupational name Knickerbacker "marble baker", i.e., a baker of children's clay marbles. This lowly occupation became synonymous with the patrician class in NYC through Washington Irving's attribution of his History of New York (1809) to a fictitious author named Diedrich Knickerbocker... [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.
KoelewijnDutch Derived from Dutch koel "cool, cold" and wei "whey", a metonymic occupational name for a dairy farmer. Altered by folk etymology to mean "cool wine". Can also derive from a place name.
KoenenDutch Patronymic from the given name Koen, a short form of names beginning with the element kuoni "brave, bold".
KooijDutch From Dutch kooi meaning "cage", often referring to a pen or duck decoy (a plot of land with a pond set aside to lure in ducks). Occupational name for someone who raised or hunted ducks, or who made cages.
KoopmeinersDutch, German Perhaps derived from koop "purchase, buy" and meiners "mine." An alternate interpretation is that "meiners" could be derived from the German word miner.
KoopsDutch, Low German Patronymic from the given name Koop, a diminutive form of Jakob. Alternatively, a variant of German and Dutch Koop.
KootDutch Possibly derived from Middle Dutch kuut "coot (bird)".
KorbeeDutch From the French surname Corbé, which might derive from courbet "bent, bowed", a nickname based on a crooked posture or manner of walking, or from corbeau "crow, raven".
KortDutch Means "short" in Dutch, a nickname for a short person.
KortlandDutch From any of the places in the Netherlands called Kortland, which means "short land."
KorverDutch Derived from Dutch korf meaning "basket", an occupational name for someone who either made baskets or used them, such as a fisherman.
KraaijkampDutch Means "field of crows" in Dutch, from the plural form of Dutch kraai "crow" and kamp "camp, field".
KraanDutch Means "crane" in Dutch, referring to both the bird and the machine. Usually a nickname for a tall or long-legged person, but can also be an occupational name for someone who worked a mechanical crane, or a habitational name from a place containing the element kraan.
KrabbeGerman, Dutch, Danish Means "crab, shrimp", either a metonymic occupational name for someone who caught or sold shellfish, or a nickname based on someone’s way of walking.
KroesDutch, Low German Means "chalice, cup, jug" in Dutch, an occupational name for someone who made drinking vessels, such as a potter. Could also be a habitational name for someone who lived by a sign depicting a cup.
KrollGerman, Dutch Nickname for someone with curly hair, from Middle High German krol "curly", Middle Low German krulle "ringlet, curl", Middle Dutch croel, crul.
KrouwelDutch From Middle Dutch crauwel meaning "trident, hook, claw", an occupational name for someone who used such a tool, or habitational name for someone who lived near a landmark depicting it.
KruipDutch Means "crawl, creep" in Dutch, possibly a nickname for someone known for skulking about.
KruisDutch, Flemish Means "cross" in Dutch, a habitational name for someone who lived near a crossroads, a sign depicting a cross, or a place where people were executed. Could also denote someone who made crosses, either the religious symbol or the instrument of torture.
KuijtDutch Occupational name for a brewer of beer, derived from Dutch kuit, koyt literally meaning "beer". A famous bearer of this name is retired Dutch soccer player Dirk Kuijt (1980-), also known as Dirk Kuyt.
KuilartDutch Derived from Dutch kuil "pit, hole in the ground", probably part of a toponym.
KulGerman, Dutch Derived from Old High German kol meaning "coal", perhaps an occupational name for a miner or coal seller.