KATINA f Greek, MacedonianGreek and Macedonian contracted form of
KATERINA. This name had a spike in popularity in America in 1972 when it was used for a newborn baby on the soap opera
Where the Heart Is.
KAUʻI f & m HawaiianMeans
"the youthful one" from Hawaiian
ka, a definite article, and
uʻi "youth, beauty".
KAUR f Indian (Sikh)Means
"princess", ultimately from Sanskrit
कुमारी (kumari) meaning "girl". This surname was assigned to all female Sikhs in 1699 by Guru Gobind Singh. It is now used as a surname or a middle name by most female Sikhs. The male equivalent is
Singh.
KAUSALYA f HinduismMeans
"of the Kosala people" in Sanskrit. Kosala was an ancient Indian kingdom that was at its most powerful in the 6th century BC. In Hindu legend Kausalya is the name of the mother of the hero
Rama.
KAWEHI f & m HawaiianMeans
"the adornment" from Hawaiian
ka, a definite article, and
wehi "adornment".
KAYLA f EnglishCombination of
KAY (1) and the popular name suffix
la. Use of the name was greatly increased in the 1980s after the character Kayla Brady began appearing on the American soap opera
Days of Our Lives.
KAYLEIGH f English (Modern)Variant of
KAYLEE. This is also a common Anglicized form of the Gaelic word
ceilidh, a traditional social gathering and dance.
KAZUE f JapaneseFrom Japanese
和 (kazu) meaning "harmony, peace" or
一 (kazu) meaning "one" combined with
枝 (e) meaning "branch" or
恵 (e) meaning "favour, benefit". Other combinations of kanji characters can potentially form this name.
KAZUKO f JapaneseFrom Japanese
一 (kazu) meaning "one" or
和 (kazu) meaning "harmony, peace" combined with
子 (ko) meaning "child". This name can also be formed from other kanji combinations.
KEAHI f & m HawaiianMeans
"the fire" from Hawaiian
ke, a definite article, and
ahi "fire".
KEALA f & m HawaiianMeans
"the path" from Hawaiian
ke, a definite article, and
ala "path".
KEALOHA f & m HawaiianMeans
"the loved one" from Hawaiian
ke, a definite article, and
aloha "love".
KEANU m & f HawaiianMeans
"the cool breeze" from Hawaiian
ke, a definite article, and
anu "coolness". This name is now associated with Canadian actor Keanu Reeves (1964-).
KEELY f EnglishFrom an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of
Ó Caolaidhe meaning
"descendant of Caoladhe". The given name
Caoladhe is derived from the Gaelic word
caol "slender".
KEI m & f JapaneseFrom Japanese
慧 (kei) meaning "intelligent",
圭 (kei) meaning "gemstone" or
慶 (kei) meaning "congratulate". This name can also be formed from other kanji or kanji combinations.
KEIGHLEY f English (Rare)From a surname that was derived from an English place name, ultimately meaning
"clearing belonging to Cyhha". The Old English given name
Cyhha is of unknown meaning. This name also serves as a variant of
KAYLEE.
KEIKO f JapaneseFrom Japanese
慶 (kei) meaning "celebrate",
敬 (kei) meaning "respect",
啓 (kei) meaning "open, begin" or
恵 (kei) meaning "favour, benefit" combined with
子 (ko) meaning "child". Other kanji combinations are possible.
KELLY m & f Irish, EnglishAnglicized form of the Irish given name
CEALLACH or the surname derived from it
Ó Ceallaigh. As a surname, it has been borne by actor and dancer Gene Kelly (1912-1996) and actress and princess Grace Kelly (1929-1982).
KELSEY f & m EnglishFrom an English surname that is derived from town names in Lincolnshire. It may mean "Cenel's island", from the Old English name
Cenel "fierce" in combination with
eg "island".
KENDALL m & f EnglishFrom a surname that comes from the name of the city of Kendale in northwest England meaning
"valley on the river Kent".
KENNEDY f & m English, IrishFrom an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of
Ó Cinnéidigh meaning
"descendant of CENNÉTIG". The name is often given in honour of assassinated American president John F. Kennedy (1917-1963).
KENYA f English, African AmericanFrom the name of the African country. The country is named for Mount Kenya, which in the Kikuyu language is called
Kĩrĩnyaga meaning "the one having stripes". It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the 1960s.
KEONE m & f HawaiianMeans
"the homeland" from Hawaiian
ke, a definite article, and
one "sand, homeland".
KEREN f HebrewMeans
"horn" or
"ray of light" in Hebrew.
KEREN-HAPPUCH f BiblicalMeans
"horn of antimony" in Hebrew. Antimony is a substance that was formerly used as an eye cosmetic (eye shadow). A hollowed animal horn could have been used to store this material. Keren-Happuch is the name of the third daughter of Job in the Old Testament.
KERRY m & f EnglishFrom the name of the Irish county, called
Ciarraí in Irish Gaelic, which means "
CIAR's people".
KESTREL f English (Rare)From the name of the bird of prey, ultimately derived from Old French
crecelle "rattle", which refers to the sound of its cry.
KETUT m & f BalinesePossibly from a Balinese word meaning
"small banana". This name is traditionally given to the fourth child.
KEZIAH f BiblicalFrom the Hebrew name
קְצִיעָה (Qetzi'ah) meaning
"cassia, cinnamon", from the name of the spice tree. In the Old Testament she is a daughter of Job.
KHADIJA f ArabicMeans
"premature child" in Arabic. This was the name of the Prophet
Muhammad's first wife and the mother of all of his children, with the exception of one. She was a wealthy merchant and a widow when they married in the year 595. Muhammad received his first revelation 15 years after their marriage, and she was the first person to convert to Islam.
KHALEESI f LiteratureFrom a title used in the George R. R. Martin book series
A Song of Ice and Fire (first published 1996) and the television adaptation
Game of Thrones (2011-2019). It is a feminine form of the Dothraki title
khal meaning "warlord". In the series
Daenerys Targaryen gains this title after she marries Khal Drogo.
KHAMPHET m & f LaoFrom Lao
ຄຳ (kham) meaning "gold" and
ເພັດ (phet) meaning "diamond, gem".
KHATUNA f GeorgianFrom the Turkic title
khatun meaning
"lady, woman", a feminine form of
khan.
KHULAN f MongolianMeans
"onager, wild donkey" in Mongolian. This was the name of a wife of Genghis Khan.
KHURSHID m & f Persian, Urdu, Persian MythologyModern Persian form of Avestan
Hvare Khshaeta meaning
"shining sun". In Zoroastrianism this was the name of a Yazata (or angel) who was associated with the sun.
KI f Sumerian MythologyMeans
"earth" in Sumerian. This was the name of the Sumerian goddess of the earth, the consort of
An.
KIARA f English (Modern)Variant of
CIARA (1) or
CHIARA. This name was brought to public attention in 1988 after the singing duo Kiara released their song
This Time. It was further popularized by a character in the animated movie
The Lion King II (1998).
KIKU f JapaneseFrom Japanese
菊 (kiku) meaning "chrysanthemum", as well as other kanji characters that are pronounced the same way.
KIM (1) f & m EnglishAt the present it is usually considered a short form of
KIMBERLY, but it in fact predates it as a given name. The author Rudyard Kipling used it for the title hero of his novel
Kim (1901), though in this case it was short for
KIMBALL. In her novel
Show Boat (1926) Edna Ferber used it for a female character who was born on the Mississippi River and was named from the initials of the states Kentucky, Illinois and Mississippi. The name was popularized in America by the actresses Kim Hunter (1922-2002) and Kim Novak (1933-), both of whom assumed it as a stage name.
KIMBERLY f EnglishFrom the name of the city of
Kimberley in South Africa, which was named after Lord
KIMBERLEY (1826-1902). The city came to prominence in the late 19th century during the Boer War.
Kimberly has been used as a given name since the mid-20th century, eventually becoming very popular as a feminine name.
KIMIKO f JapaneseFrom Japanese
貴 (ki) meaning "valuable" with
美 (mi) meaning "beautiful" or
君 (kimi) meaning "lord, noble" combined with
子 (ko) meaning "child". Other kanji combinations are possible.
KINCSŐ f HungarianDerived from Hungarian
kincs meaning
"treasure". This name was created by Hungarian author Mór Jókai in
The Novel of the Next Century (1872).
KINNERET f HebrewFrom the name of a large lake in northern Israel, usually called the Sea of Galilee in English. Its name is derived from Hebrew
כִּנּוֹר (kinnor) meaning "harp" because of its shape.
KIRAN f & m Indian, Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil, Gujarati, Nepali, UrduDerived from Sanskrit
किरण (kirana), which can mean
"dust" or
"thread" or
"sunbeam".
KIRBY m & f EnglishFrom an English surname that was originally from a place name meaning
"church settlement" in Old Norse. This name briefly spiked in popularity for American girls in 1982 after the character Kirby Anders Colby was introduced to the soap opera
Dynasty.
KIRI f MaoriMeans
"skin of a tree or fruit" in Maori. This name has been brought to public attention by New Zealand opera singer Kiri Te Kanawa (1944-).
KIYOKO f JapaneseFrom Japanese
清 (kiyo) meaning "clear, pure, clean" or
聖 (kiyo) meaning "holy" and
子 (ko) meaning "child". This name can also be formed from other combinations of kanji characters.
KIZZY f EnglishDiminutive of
KEZIAH. This particular spelling was repopularized in the late 1970s by a character in the book and miniseries
Roots.
KLEIO f Greek Mythology, GreekDerived from Greek
κλέος (kleos) meaning
"glory". In Greek mythology she was the goddess of history and heroic poetry, one of the nine Muses. She was said to have introduced the alphabet to Greece.
KLOTHO f Greek MythologyMeans
"spinner" in Greek. In Greek mythology Klotho was one of the three Fates or
Μοῖραι (Moirai). She was responsible for spinning the thread of life.
KLYTIË f Greek MythologyDerived from Greek
κλυτός (klytos) meaning
"famous, noble". In Greek myth Klytië was an ocean nymph who loved the sun god Helios. Her love was not returned, and she pined away staring at him until she was transformed into a heliotrope flower, whose head moves to follow the sun.
KOHARU f JapaneseFrom Japanese
小 (ko) meaning "small" or
心 (ko) meaning "heart" combined with
春 (haru) meaning "spring". The compound word
小春 means "late summer". Other combinations of kanji characters can form this name as well.
KOHINOOR f VariousFrom
Koh-i-noor, the name of a famous gemstone, meaning "mountain of light" in Persian.
KOKORO f JapaneseFrom Japanese
心 (kokoro) meaning "heart, mind, soul" or other kanji and kanji combinations having the same pronunciation. It is often written using the hiragana writing system.
KOLAB f KhmerMeans
"rose" in Khmer (of Persian origin).
KOMANG m & f BalineseMeaning unknown. This name is traditionally given to the third-born child in Balinese families.
KORALJKA f CroatianFrom Croatian
koralj meaning
"coral", ultimately from Latin
corallium.
KORE f Greek MythologyMeans
"maiden" in Greek. This was another name for the Greek goddess Persephone.
KOTONE f JapaneseFrom Japanese
琴 (koto), which refers to a type of musical instrument similar to a harp, combined with
音 (ne) meaning "sound". Other kanji combinations are also possible.
KREKA f HistoryMeaning unknown, possibly of Turkic or Germanic origin. This name was borne by the most powerful of
Attila's wives.
KRIEMHILD f German (Rare), Germanic MythologyDerived from the Germanic elements
grim "mask" and
hild "battle". Kriemhild was a beautiful heroine in the Germanic saga the
Nibelungenlied, where she is the sister of
Günther and the wife of
Siegfried. After her husband is killed by
Hagen with the consent of Günther, Kriemhild tragically exacts her revenge.