KEN (2) m JapaneseFrom Japanese
健 (ken) meaning "healthy, strong" or other kanji that are pronounced the same way.
KENAN m BiblicalPossibly means
"possession" in Hebrew. He is a son of
Enosh and a great-grandson of
Adam in the Old Testament.
KENANIAH m BiblicalMeans
"YAHWEH establishes" in Hebrew. This was the name of two minor Old Testament characters.
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".
KENDE m HungarianFrom the Hungarian royal title
kende or
kündü, which referred to the ceremonial Magyar king (who ruled together with the military leader the
gyula in the period before the Magyars settled in Hungary).
KENDRICK m EnglishFrom a surname that has several different origins. It could be from the Old English given names
Cyneric "royal power" or
Cenric "bold power", or from the Welsh name
Cynwrig "chief hero". It can also be an Anglicized form of the Gaelic surname
Mac Eanraig meaning "son of
HENRY".
KENELM m English (Rare)From the Old English name
Cenhelm, which was composed of the elements
cene "bold, keen" and
helm "helmet". Saint Kenelm was a 9th-century martyr from Mercia, where he was a member of the royal family. The name was occasionally used during the Middle Ages, but has since become rare.
KEN'ICHI m JapaneseFrom Japanese
健 (ken) meaning "healthy, strong" or
研 (ken) meaning "study, sharpen" combined with
一 (ichi) meaning "one". Other kanji combinations are possible.
KENJI m JapaneseFrom Japanese
健 (ken) meaning "healthy, strong" or
研 (ken) meaning "study, sharpen" combined with
二 (ji) meaning "two". This name can also be formed from other combinations of kanji characters.
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).
KENNETH m Scottish, English, Swedish, Norwegian, DanishAnglicized form of both
COINNEACH and
CINÁED. This name was borne by the Scottish king Kenneth (Cináed) mac Alpin, who united the Scots and Picts in the 9th century. It was popularized outside of Scotland by Sir Walter Scott, who used it for the hero in his 1825 novel
The Talisman. A famous bearer was the British novelist Kenneth Grahame (1859-1932), who wrote
The Wind in the Willows.
KENSHIN m JapaneseFrom Japanese
謙 (ken) meaning "humble, modest" and
信 (shin) meaning "trust, believe". Other kanji combinations can also form this name.
KENT m EnglishFrom a surname that was originally derived from
Kent, the name of a county in England, which may be derived from a Brythonic word meaning "coastal district".
KENTA m JapaneseFrom Japanese
健 (ken) meaning "healthy, strong" and
太 (ta) meaning "thick, big", as well as other kanji combinations having the same pronunciation.
KENTIGERN m ScottishPossibly means
"chief lord" in Gaelic. This was the name of a 6th-century saint from Glasgow.
KENTON m EnglishFrom a surname that was derived from an English place name meaning either "town on the River Kenn" or "royal town" in Old English.
KENYON m EnglishFrom a surname that was derived from an English place name, of uncertain meaning.
KENZO m Japanese, French (Modern)Alternate transcription of Japanese Kanji
謙三 or
健三 or
賢三 (see
KENZŌ). Use of the name in France can probably be attributed to the fashion brand Kenzo, founded in 1970 by the Japanese-French designer Kenzō Takada (1939-).
KENZŌ m JapaneseFrom Japanese
謙 (ken) meaning "humble",
健 (ken) meaning "healthy, strong" or
賢 (ken) meaning "wise" combined with
三 (zō) meaning "three". Other kanji combinations can also form this name.
KEONE m & f HawaiianMeans
"the homeland" from Hawaiian
ke, a definite article, and
one "sand, homeland".
KERMIT m EnglishFrom a Manx surname, a variant of the Irish surname
MacDermott meaning
"son of DIARMAID". Theodore Roosevelt used it for one of his sons. The name is now associated with Kermit the Frog, one of the Muppets created by puppeteer Jim Henson.
KERR m Scottish, English (Rare)From a Scottish surname that was derived from a place name meaning
"rough wet ground" in Old Norse.
KERRY m & f EnglishFrom the name of the Irish county, called
Ciarraí in Irish Gaelic, which means "
CIAR's people".
KĘSTUTIS m LithuanianFrom Lithuanian
kęsti meaning
"to cope, to endure" combined with a diminutive suffix. This was the name of a 14th-century ruler of Lithuania.
KETIL m NorwegianFrom the Old Norse name
Ketill meaning
"kettle, cauldron" (later also acquiring the meaning
"helmet"). In old Scandinavian rituals the
ketill was used to catch the blood of sacrificed animals.
KETUT m & f Indonesian, BalinesePossibly from a Balinese word meaning
"small banana". This name is traditionally given to the fourth child.
KEVIN m English, Irish, French (Modern), German (Modern), Dutch (Modern), Swedish (Modern), Norwegian (Modern), Danish (Modern)Anglicized form of the Irish name
Caoimhín meaning
"handsome birth", derived from the older
Cóemgein, composed of the Old Irish elements
cóem "kind, gentle, handsome" and
gein "birth". Saint Caoimhín established a monastery in Glendalough, Ireland in the 6th century and is the patron saint of Dublin. It became popular in the English-speaking world outside of Ireland in the middle of the 20th century, and elsewhere in Europe in the late 20th century.
KHALID m ArabicMeans
"eternal", derived from Arabic
خلد (khalada) meaning "to last forever". This name was borne by a 7th-century Islamic military leader, Khalid ibn al-Walid.
KHALIFA m ArabicMeans
"successor, caliph" in Arabic. The title
caliph was given to the successors of the Prophet
Muhammad, originally elected by the Islamic populace.
KHALIQ m ArabicMeans
"creator" in Arabic. In Islamic tradition
الخليق (al-Khaliq) is one of the 99 names of Allah.
KHAN m Urdu, PashtoFrom a title meaning
"king, ruler". Its origin is probably Mongolian, though the word has been transmitted into many other languages.
KHANPASHA m ChechenDerived from the Turkic title
Khan meaning "ruler, leader" combined with the high Ottoman military rank
pasha.
KHAYYAM m ArabicMeans
"tent maker" in Arabic. This was the surname of the 12th-century Persian poet Omar Khayyam.
KHODADAD m PersianMeans
"God given" from Persian
خدا (khoda) meaning "god, lord" and
داد (dad) meaning "gave".
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.
KHWAJA m PersianFrom a title meaning
"master, owner" in Persian. It is not generally used as a name itself.
KICHIRŌ m JapaneseFrom Japanese
吉 (kichi) meaning "good luck" and
郎 (rō) meaning "son". Other kanji combinations are also possible.
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.
KIMMO m FinnishMeaning unknown. It was popularized by Eino Leino's poem
Kimmo's Revenge (1902).
KING m EnglishFrom a nickname that derives from the English word
king, ultimately from Old English
cyning.
KINGSLEY m English (Modern)From a surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning
"king's wood" in Old English.
KINGSTON m English (Modern)From a surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning
"king's town" in Old English.
KIP m EnglishFrom a nickname, probably from the English word
kipper meaning
"male salmon".
KIPLING m English (Rare)From an English surname that was from a place name meaning
"Cyppel's people". The surname was borne by Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936), a British novelist born in India who wrote
The Jungle Book and other works.
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.
KIRK m EnglishFrom an English and Scottish surname meaning
"church" from Old Norse
kirkja, ultimately from Greek. A famous bearer was American actor Kirk Douglas (1916-), whose birth name was Issur Danielovitch.
KLEITOS m Ancient GreekMeans
"splendid, famous" in Greek. This was the name of one of the generals of Alexander the Great. He was killed by Alexander in a dispute.
KLEMENS m German, Danish, Swedish, PolishGerman, Danish, Swedish and Polish form of
Clemens (see
CLEMENT). Prince Klemens Metternich was a 19th-century Austrian chancellor who guided the Austrian Empire to victory in the Napoleonic Wars.
KNOX m EnglishFrom a Scottish surname that was derived from Old English
cnocc "round hill".
KNUT m Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, GermanDerived from Old Norse
knútr meaning
"knot". Knut was a Danish prince who defeated Æðelræd II, king of England, in the early 11th century and became the ruler of Denmark, Norway and England.
KOBE (2) m VariousFrom the name of the city in Japan. The parents of basketball player Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) chose this name after seeing Kobe beef (which is from the Japanese city) on a menu.
KOIOS m Greek MythologyPossibly derived from Greek
κοῖος (koios), also spelled
ποῖος (poios), a questioning word meaning approximately
"of what kind?". This was the name of a Titan god of intelligence in Greek mythology.
KŌJI m JapaneseFrom Japanese
浩 (kō) meaning "prosperous",
幸 (kō) meaning "happiness, good luck" or
康 (kō) meaning "peace" combined with
司 (ji) meaning "officer, boss",
二 (ji) meaning "two" or
次 (ji) meaning "next". This name can also be formed from many other combinations of kanji characters.
KOJI m JapaneseAlternate transcription of Japanese Kanji
浩司 or
浩二 or
康二 or
幸次 or
光司 (see
KŌJI).
KŌKI m JapaneseFrom Japanese
光 (kō) meaning "light" or
幸 (kō) meaning "happiness, good luck" combined with
希 (ki) meaning "hope" or
輝 (ki) meaning "brightness". This name can be formed from other combinations of kanji characters as well.
KOLOMAN m German (Rare), SlovakGerman and Slovak form of
COLMÁN. Saint Koloman (also called Coloman or Colman) was an Irish monk who was martyred in Stockerau in Austria.
KOMANG m & f Indonesian, BalineseMeaning unknown. This name is traditionally given to the third-born child in Balinese families.
KORALO m EsperantoMeans
"coral" in Esperanto, ultimately from Latin
corallium.
KORBINIAN m GermanDerived from Latin
corvus meaning
"raven". This was the name of an 8th-century Frankish saint who was sent by Pope Gregory II to evangelize in Bavaria. His real name may have been
Hraban (see
RABAN).
KŌSUKE m JapaneseFrom Japanese
康 (kō) meaning "peace",
孝 (kō) meaning "filial piety, obedience" or
浩 (kō) meaning "prosperous" combined with
介 (suke) meaning "forerunner, herald". This name can also be formed from other combinations of kanji characters.
KŌTA m JapaneseFrom Japanese
康 (kō) meaning "peace" and
太 (ta) meaning "thick, big". Other kanji combinations are possible.
KOUJI m JapaneseAlternate transcription of Japanese Kanji
浩司 or
浩二 or
康二 or
幸次 or
光司 (see
KŌJI).
KREIOS m Greek MythologyPossibly derived from either Greek
κρείων (kreion) meaning
"lord, master" or
κριός (krios) meaning
"ram, male sheep". This was the name of a Titan in Greek mythology.
KREŠIMIR m CroatianFrom the Slavic elements
kresu "spark, light, rouse" and
miru "peace, world". This was the name of four kings of Croatia.
KRISHNA m Hinduism, Indian, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, NepaliMeans
"black, dark" in Sanskrit. This is the name of a Hindu god believed to be an incarnation of the god
Vishnu. He was the youngest of King Vasudeva's eight children, six of whom were killed by King Kamsa because of a prophecy that a child of Vasudeva would kill Kamsa. Krishna however was saved and he eventually killed the king as well as performing many other great feats. In some Hindu traditions, Krishna is regarded as the supreme deity. He is usually depicted with blue skin.
KUBLAI m HistoryFrom the Mongolian name
Khubilai, of unknown meaning. This was the name of a 13th-century grandson of
Genghis Khan (being the son of his son Tolui), and the fifth ruler of the Mongol Empire. He is also considered the first ruler of the Chinese Yuan dynasty.
KUDRET m TurkishMeans
"power, might" in Turkish, ultimately from Persian.
KULAP f & m ThaiMeans
"rose" in Thai (of Persian origin).
KUMAR m Indian, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Assamese, Odia, Gujarati, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, NepaliModern form of
KUMARA.