Surnames Starting with K

Koolen Dutch
Derived from the given name Nicolaas.

Kools Dutch
Derived from the given name Nicolaas.

Koopman Dutch
Occupational name meaning "merchant" in Dutch.

Kopecká f Czech
Feminine form of Kopecký.

Kopecký m Czech
Derived from Czech kopec meaning "hill". The name was given to a person who lived close to a hill.

Kopitar Slovene
From Slovene kopito meaning "hoof", an occupational name for a shoer.

Kopp German
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Jakob.

Koppel Estonian, Danish
From Low German koppel meaning "paddock, pasture" (a word borrowed into Estonian).

Korhonen Finnish
Possibly from archaic Finnish korho meaning "deaf, hard of hearing". This is the most common surname in Finland.

Korošec Slovene
Originally indicated a person from Koroška (Carinthia), a medieval Slovene state, now divided between Slovenia and Austria.

Korrapati Telugu
From an area called Korra or Korrapalem combined with Telugu పతి (pati) meaning "belongs to".

Kos Slovene
Means "blackbird" in Slovene.

Košar Croatian
From Croatian koš meaning "basket", originally indicating a person who made or sold baskets.

Koskinen Finnish
Derived from Finnish koski meaning "rapids". This is the second most common surname in Finland.

Kosmatka Polish
Derived from Polish kosmaty meaning "shaggy, hairy".

Kostelecká f Czech
Feminine form of Kostelecký.

Kostelecký m Czech
Originally denoted a person from a village named Kostelec, derived from Czech kostel meaning "church".

Koszorús Hungarian
Derived from Hungarian koszorú meaning "garland, wreath, girdle", a name for someone who made garlands.

Koumans Dutch
Variant of Koopman.

Kováč m Slovak, Czech
Slovak and Czech cognate of Kovač.

Kovac Slovak (Anglicized), Croatian (Anglicized), Serbian (Anglicized), Czech (Anglicized)
Simplified spelling of Kováč or Kovač.

Kovač Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Slovene
Means "blacksmith", a derivative of Slavic kovati meaning "to forge".

Kovačević Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian
Variant of Kovačić.

Kovačevič Slovene
Slovene form of Kovačević.

Kovách Hungarian
Variant of Kovács.

Kovachev m Bulgarian
Derived from Bulgarian ковач (kovach) meaning "blacksmith".

Kovacheva f Bulgarian
Feminine form of Kovachev.

Kovačić Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian
Patronymic derived from South Slavic kovač meaning "blacksmith".

Kovačič Slovene
Slovene form of Kovačić.

Kováčová f Slovak, Czech
Feminine form of Kováč.

Kovács Hungarian
Hungarian form of Kovač.

Kovalchuk Ukrainian, Russian
Derived from Ukrainian коваль (koval) meaning "blacksmith".

Kovalenko Ukrainian
Derived from Ukrainian коваль (koval) meaning "blacksmith".

Kovalev m Russian
Alternate transcription of Russian Ковалёв (see Kovalyov).

Kovaleva f Russian
Alternate transcription of Russian Ковалёва (see Kovalyova).

Kovalyov m Russian
Derived from Russian коваль (koval) meaning "blacksmith".

Kovalyova f Russian
Feminine form of Kovalyov.

Kovář m Czech
Czech cognate of Kovač.

Kovářová f Czech
Feminine form of Kovář.

Kováts Hungarian
Variant of Kovács.

Kövér Hungarian
Means "fat" in Hungarian.

Kowalczyk Polish
Patronymic derived from Polish kowal "blacksmith".

Kowalska f Polish
Feminine form of Kowalski.

Kowalski m Polish
From Polish kowal meaning "blacksmith". This is the second most common surname in Poland.

Kozel u & m Belarusian, Czech
Belarusian and Czech cognate of Kozioł.

Kozieł Polish
Variant of Kozioł.

Kozioł Polish
Means "male goat" in Polish, probably used to denote a goatherd.

Kozlov m Russian
Derived from Russian козёл (kozyol) meaning "male goat", probably used to denote a goatherd.

Kozlova f Russian
Feminine form of Kozlov.

Kozlová f Czech
Czech feminine form of Kozel.

Kozłow Polish
Variant of Kozłowski.

Kozłowska f Polish
Feminine form of Kozłowski.

Kozłowski m Polish
Originally a name for a person from Kozłów, Kozłowo, or other places with a name derived from Polish kozioł meaning "male goat".

Kraemer German
Variant of Krämer.

Krajnc Slovene
Originally denoted a person from Carniola (Slovene Kranjska), a region that makes up a large part of central Slovenia.

Krakowska f Polish
Feminine form of Krakowski.

Krakowski m & u Polish, Jewish
Habitational name for a person from the city of Kraków in southern Poland.

Král m Czech
Czech form of Król.

Kráľ m Slovak
Slovak form of Król.

Kralj Slovene, Croatian, Serbian
Slovene, Croatian and Serbian form of Król.

Krall Czech (Anglicized), Slovak (Anglicized)
Americanized form of Král or Kráľ.

Kráľová f Slovak
Feminine form of Kráľ.

Králová f Czech
Feminine form of Král.

Kramář m Czech
Czech form of Krämer.

Kramářová f Czech
Feminine form of Kramář.

Krämer German
Means "shopkeeper, merchant" in German, derived from Old High German kram meaning "tent, trading post".

Kramer Low German, Jewish
Low German and Jewish form of Krämer.

Krantz German, Jewish
Variant of Kranz.

Kranz German, Jewish
Derived from Old High German kranz meaning "wreath", an occupational name for a maker of wreaths or an ornamental Jewish name.

Krastev m Bulgarian
Means "son of Krastyo".

Krasteva f Bulgarian
Feminine form of Krastev.

Krastiņa f Latvian
Feminine form of Krastiņš.

Krastiņš m Latvian
Derived from Latvian krasts meaning "shore, coast".

Kratochvil m Czech
Derived from Czech kratochvíle meaning "pastime".

Kratochvilová f Czech
Feminine form of Kratochvil.

Kraus German
From Middle High German krus meaning "curly", originally a nickname for a person with curly hair.

Krause German
Variant of Kraus.

Krauss German
Variant of Kraus.

Krauß German
Variant of Kraus.

Kravchenko Ukrainian
Derived from Ukrainian кравець (kravets) meaning "tailor".

Kravitz Jewish
Occupational name derived from Polish krawiec meaning "tailor".

Krawczyk Polish
From a diminutive of krawiec meaning "tailor".

Krawiec Polish
Means "tailor" in Polish.

Krebs German
Means "crab" in German, perhaps a nickname for a person with a crab-like walk.

Krejči m Czech
Means "tailor" in Czech.

Krejčová f Czech
Feminine form of Krejči.

Krikorian Armenian
Alternate transcription of Armenian Գրիգորյան (see Grigoryan).

Kristensen Danish
Means "son of Kristen 1".

Kristiansen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Kristian".

Kristoffersen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Kristoffer".

Kříž m Czech
Means "cross" in Czech, ultimately from Latin crux.

Križman Slovene
From Slovene križ meaning "cross".

Křížová f Czech
Feminine form of Kříž.

Kröger German
Variant of Krüger 1 and Krüger 2.

Król Polish
Means "king" in Polish. The name referred to one who acted like a king or was connected in some way with a king's household.

Kron German, Swedish
From German Krone and Swedish krona meaning "crown" (from Latin corona), perhaps a nickname for one who worked in a royal household.

Kroon Dutch, Estonian
Means "crown" in Dutch and Estonian (from Latin corona).

Krstevska f Macedonian
Feminine form of Krstevski.

Krstevski m Macedonian
Means "son of Krste".

Krückel German
Nickname for a crippled person or someone who walked with a cane, from Middle High German krücke meaning "cane".

Krüger 1 German
In northern Germany an occupational name for a tavern keeper, derived from Middle Low German kroch meaning "tavern".

Krüger 2 German
In southern Germany an occupational name for a potter, derived from Middle High German kruoc meaning "jug, pot".

Kruger German
Variant of Krüger 1 and Krüger 2.

Krūmiņa f Latvian
Feminine form of Krūmiņš.

Krūmiņš m Latvian
Derived from Latvian krūms meaning "bush, shrub".

Krupa Polish
Means "groats, grain" in Polish.

Krupin m Russian
Derived from Russian крупа (krupa) meaning "grain".

Krupina f Russian
Feminine form of Krupin.

Kruse German
Variant of Kraus.

Krusen Dutch
Anglicized form of Cruyssen.

Kuang Chinese
From Chinese 邝 (kuàng), which refers to the clan of the same name.

Kubo Japanese
From Japanese 久 (ku) meaning "long time ago" and 保 (ho) meaning "protect".

Kučera m Czech, Slovak
Means "curl" in Czech and Slovak, a nickname for a person with curly locks of hair.

Kučerová f Czech, Slovak
Feminine form of Kučera.

Küchler German
Occupational surname for a baker who made small cakes or cookies, derived from Middle High German kuoche "cake, pastry".

Küçük Turkish
Means "small" in Turkish.

Kudrna m Czech
Means "curl" in Czech, a nickname for someone with curly hair.

Kudrnová f Czech
Feminine form of Kudrna.

Kuhn German
Derived from a diminutive of the German given name Konrad.

Kuijlaars Dutch
Derived from Middle Dutch cule "hole, pit".

Kuijpers Dutch
Variant of Kuiper.

Kuiper Dutch
Means "cooper, barrel maker" in Dutch.

Kuipers Dutch
Variant of Kuiper.

Kukk Estonian
Means "rooster" in Estonian, ultimately of Germanic origin.

Kulkarni Marathi
Means "village clerk, revenue collector" in Marathi.

Kulmala Finnish
From Finnish kulma meaning "corner" with the suffix -la indicating a place.

Kumagai Japanese
From Japanese 熊 (kuma) meaning "bear" and 谷 (gai) meaning "valley".

Kumamoto Japanese
From Japanese 熊 (kuma) meaning "bear" and 本 (moto) meaning "base, root, origin".

Kumar Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, Kannada, Punjabi, Bengali, Assamese, Gujarati, Odia, Malayalam, Tamil
Means "boy, prince" in Sanskrit.

Kumięga Polish
Possibly from Polish kum "godfather, friend" or komięga "raft, barge".

Kundakçı Turkish
From Turkish kundak meaning "stock, wooden part of a rifle".

Kundert German
Derived from the given name Konrad.

Kunkel German
Occupational name for a maker of distaffs, from Middle High German kunkel "distaff, spindle", of Latin origin.

Kunkle German
Variant of Kunkel.

Kuntz German
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Konrad.

Kunz German
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Konrad.

Kunze German
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Konrad.

Kurata Japanese
From Japanese 倉 (kura) or 蔵 (kura) both meaning "granary, storehouse" and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".

Kurbonov m Uzbek, Tajik
Alternate transcription of Uzbek/Tajik Қурбонов (see Qurbonov).

Kurbonova f Uzbek, Tajik
Alternate transcription of Uzbek/Tajik Қурбонова (see Qurbonova).

Kuroda Japanese
From Japanese 黒 (kuro) meaning "black" and 田 (ta) meaning "field, rice paddy".

Kuroiwa Japanese
From Japanese 黒 (kuro) meaning "black" and 岩 (iwa) meaning "cliff, rocks".

Kuroki Japanese
From Japanese 黒 (kuro) meaning "black" and 木 (ki) meaning "tree, wood".

Kurosawa Japanese
From Japanese 黒 (kuro) meaning "black" and 沢 or 澤 (sawa) meaning "marsh". A notable bearer was Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998), a Japanese film director.

Kurucz Hungarian
Derived from the Hungarian word kuruc, referring to rebels who fought against the Habsburgs in the late 17th to early 18th century.

Kurz German
Means "short" in German, ultimately from Latin curtus.

Kurzmann German
Means "short man" in German.

Kusumoto Japanese
From Japanese 楠 (kusu) meaning "camphor tree" and 本 (moto) meaning "base, root, origin".

Kuzmenko Ukrainian
Derived from the given name Kuzma.

Kuznetsov m Russian
Derived from Russian кузнец (kuznets) meaning "blacksmith".

Kuznetsova f Russian
Feminine form of Kuznetsov.

Kwan Chinese (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanization of Guan.

Kwiatkowska f Polish
Feminine form of Kwiatkowski.

Kwiatkowski m Polish
Habitational name for someone from any of the various locations named Kwiatków, Kwiatkowo or Kwiatkowice, named from a diminutive of Polish kwiat meaning "flower".

Kwok Chinese (Cantonese)
Cantonese romanization of Guo.

Kyle Scottish
Derived from Scottish Gaelic caol meaning "narrows, channel, strait", originally given to a person who lived by a strait.

Kyler Dutch (Anglicized)
Anglicized form of Cuyler.

Kyles Scottish
Variant of Kyle.

Kynaston English
Originally derived from a place name meaning "Cynefrith's town" in Old English.

Kyselá f Czech
Feminine form of Kyselý.

Kyselý m Czech
Means "sour" in Czech. It was most likely used to denote a person known for having a bad mood.