Kaipo m & f HawaiianMeans
"the sweetheart" from Hawaiian
ka, a definite article, and
ipo "sweetheart".
Kaiser m VariousGerman form of the Roman title
Caesar (see
Caesar). It is not used as a given name in Germany itself.
Kaito m JapaneseFrom Japanese
海 (kai) meaning "sea, ocean" combined with
斗 (to), which refers to a Chinese constellation, or
翔 (to) meaning "soar, fly". Other kanji combinations are also possible.
Kalani m & f HawaiianMeans
"the heavens" from Hawaiian
ka "the" and
lani "heaven, sky, royal, majesty".
Kalei m & f HawaiianMeans
"the flowers" or
"the child" from Hawaiian
ka "the" and
lei "flowers, lei, child".
Kal-El m Popular Culture, English (Modern)Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in 1938 as the birth name of the comic book hero Superman, who came from the distant planet Krypton. The original spelling
Kal-L was changed to
Kal-El in the 1940s. Some have theorized that
El is inspired by the common Hebrew name element
אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". Although Siegel and Shuster were Jewish, there is no evidence that they had this connection in mind, and it seems possible they simply made it up. Superman's other name, Clark Kent, was given to him by his adoptive parents.
... [more] Kaleo m HawaiianMeans
"sound, voice" from Hawaiian
ka "the" and
leo "sound, voice".
Kalev 1 m EstonianEstonian form of
Kaleva. This is the name of a character (the father of Kalevipoeg) in the Estonian epic poem
Kalevipoeg.
Kaleva m Finnish, Finnish MythologyFrom the name of the mythological ancestor of the Finns, which is of unknown meaning. The name of the Finnish epic the
Kalevala means "the land of Kaleva".
Kali 1 f & m Hinduism, Bengali, TamilMeans
"the black one", derived from Sanskrit
काल (kāla) meaning "black". The Hindu goddess Kali is the fierce destructive form of the wife of
Shiva. According to stories in the Puranas, she springs from the forehead of
Durga in order to defeat various demons. She is typically depicted with black skin and four arms, holding a severed head and brandishing a sword. As a personal name, it is generally masculine in India.
Kalidasa m SanskritMeans
"servant of Kali" from the name of the Hindu goddess
Kali 1 combined with Sanskrit
दास (dāsa) meaning "servant". Kalidasa (or Kālidāsa) was a 4th-century Indian poet and dramatist, the author of the
Abhijnanashakuntalam and other works.
Kallias m Ancient GreekDerived from Greek
κάλλος (kallos) meaning
"beauty". This was the name of an Athenian who fought at Marathon who later became an ambassador to the Persians.
Kalliope f Greek MythologyMeans
"beautiful voice" from Greek
κάλλος (kallos) meaning "beauty" and
ὄψ (ops) meaning "voice". In Greek mythology she was a goddess of epic poetry and eloquence, one of the nine Muses.
Kallisto f Greek Mythology, Ancient GreekDerived from Greek
κάλλιστος (kallistos) meaning
"most beautiful", a derivative of
καλός (kalos) meaning "beautiful". In Greek mythology Kallisto was a nymph who was loved by
Zeus. She was changed into a she-bear by
Hera, and subsequently became the Great Bear constellation. This was also an ancient Greek personal name.
Kálmán m HungarianProbably of Turkic origin, meaning
"remainder". This was the name of a 12th-century king of Hungary. It was also borne in the 13th-century by the first king of Galicia-Volhynia, who was also a member of the Hungarian Árpád royal family. This name has been frequently confused with
Koloman.
Kaloyan m BulgarianFrom Greek
καλός Ἰωάννης (kalos Ioannes) meaning
"handsome John", the nickname of a 13th-century emperor of Bulgaria. He successfully defended the empire from the Fourth Crusade.
Kalyna f Ukrainian (Rare)From the Ukrainian word for a type of shrub, also called the guelder rose (species Viburnum opulus).
Kama m HinduismMeans
"love, desire" in Sanskrit. Kama is the Hindu god of love and pleasure, typically depicted as a young man armed with a bow and riding on the back of a giant parrot. His wife is
Rati.
Kamala f & m Hinduism, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Hindi, NepaliMeans
"lotus" or
"pale red" in Sanskrit. In Sanskrit this is a transcription of both the feminine form
कमला and the masculine form
कमल, though in modern languages it is only a feminine form. In Tantric Hinduism and Shaktism this is the name of a goddess, also identified with the goddess
Lakshmi.
Kamalani f & m HawaiianMeans
"heavenly child" or
"royal child" from Hawaiian
kama "child" and
lani "heaven, sky, royal, majesty".
Kamaria f ComorianFrom Arabic
qamar meaning
"moon", also the root of the name of the island country of the Comoros.
Kamau m KikuyuMeaning unknown. This was the birth name of the Kenyan president Jomo Kenyatta (1897-1978).
Kamen m BulgarianMeans
"stone" in Bulgarian. This is a translation of the Greek name
Πέτρος (Petros).
Kanako f JapaneseFrom Japanese
加 (ka) meaning "increase" or
香 (ka) meaning "fragrance" combined with
奈 (na), a phonetic character, or
菜 (na) meaning "vegetables, greens" and finished with
子 (ko) meaning "child". Other kanji combinations can form this name as well.
Kanani f HawaiianMeans
"the beauty" from Hawaiian
ka "the" and
nani "beauty, glory".
Kanata m & f JapaneseFrom Japanese
奏 (kana) meaning "play music, complete" and
多 (ta) meaning "many", as well as other combinations of kanji that have the same pronunciation.
Kandaĵa f EsperantoMeans
"made of candy" in Esperanto, a derivative of
kando meaning "candy, rock sugar".
Kaneonuskatew m Cree (Anglicized)Means
"he who walks on four claws" in Cree, derived from
ᓀᐅᐧ (newo) "four" and the root
ᐊᐢᑲᓯᕀ (askasiy) "claw". This was the name of a 19th-century Plains Cree chief in Saskatchewan, also known as George Gordon.
Kaniehtiio f MohawkMeans
"she is good snow" in Mohawk, from
ka- "she",
óniehte "snow" and the suffix
-iio "good".
Kanna f JapaneseFrom Japanese
栞 (kan) meaning "bookmark" and
菜 (na) meaning "vegetables, greens". Other kanji combinations can form this name as well.
Kanon f JapaneseFrom Japanese
花 (ka) meaning "flower, blossom" and
音 (non) meaning "sound". Other kanji combinations are possible as well.
Kanta f & m Hindi, BengaliFrom Sanskrit
कान्त (kānta) meaning
"desired, beautiful". The feminine form has a long final vowel, while in the masculine form it is short.
Kantuta f AymaraMeans
"cantua flower" in Aymara (species Cantua buxifolia).
Kanye m African American (Modern)Meaning uncertain. It could be from the name of a town in Botswana (of Tswana origin). Yoruba, Igbo, Xhosa and Fula meanings have also been suggested. It is borne by the American rapper Kanye West (1977-), and the name briefly appeared on the United States top 1000 list in 2004 when he released his debut album.
Kaori f JapaneseFrom Japanese
香 (kaori) meaning "fragrance". It can also come from an alternate reading of
香 (ka) combined with
織 (ori) meaning "weaving". Other kanji combinations are possible. It is often written using the hiragana writing system.
Kaoru f & m JapaneseFrom Japanese
薫 (kaoru),
香 (kaoru),
馨 (kaoru) all meaning "fragrance, fragrant", as well as other kanji having the same reading.
Kapila m Hinduism, SinhaleseMeans
"reddish brown" in Sanskrit, derived from
कपि (kapi) meaning "monkey". According to Hindu tradition this was the name of a sage who founded Samkhya philosophy. He is sometimes considered an incarnation of
Vishnu.
Kapono m HawaiianMeans
"the good one" from Hawaiian
ka, a definite article, and
pono "good, moral".
Kapua f & m HawaiianMeans
"the flower" or
"the child" from Hawaiian
ka, a definite article, and
pua "flower, offspring".
Kára f Norse MythologyProbably from Old Norse
kárr meaning
"curly, curved". In Norse legend this was the name of a valkyrie.
Kara 2 m Ottoman TurkishMeans
"black, dark" in Turkish. This was sometimes used as a byname by Ottoman officials, figuratively meaning "courageous".
Karam m & f ArabicMeans
"nobility, generosity" in Arabic, derived from
كرم (karuma) meaning "to be generous".
Kareem m ArabicAlternate transcription of Arabic
كريم (see
Karim). A famous bearer of this name is basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1947-).
Karen 3 f JapaneseFrom Japanese
華 (ka) meaning "flower" and
蓮 (ren) meaning "lotus, water lily". Other combinations of kanji can also form this name.
Kari 2 m FinnishForm of
Macarius (see
Macario) used by the Finnish author Juhani Aho in his novel
Panu (1897).
Karine 3 f ArmenianProbably from
Կարին (Karin), the Armenian name for the city of Erzurum in eastern Turkey. It was an Armenian city in classical times.
Karl m German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, English, Finnish, Estonian, Germanic, Old NorseGerman and Scandinavian form of
Charles. This was the name of seven rulers of the Franks and the Holy Roman Empire. It was also borne by a beatified emperor of Austria (1887-1922), as well as ten kings of Sweden. Other famous bearers include the German philosophers Karl Marx (1818-1883), one of the developers of communism, and Karl Jaspers (1883-1969), an existentialist and psychiatrist.
Karna m HinduismDerived from Sanskrit
कर्ण (karṇa) meaning
"ear". According to the Hindu epic the
Mahabharata this was the name of the son of the sun god
Surya and
Kunti, who gave birth to him through her ear. He was a great warrior who became the king of Anga, eventually joining the Kauravas to fight against his half-brothers the Pandavas.
Kartikeya m HinduismFrom Sanskrit
कृत्तिका (Kṛttikā), the Indian name for the constellation the Pleiades, ultimately from
कृत् (kṛt) meaning "to cut, to divide". This is another name for the Hindu god
Skanda, given because he was raised by the Krttikas.
Kartini f IndonesianDerived from Indonesian
karti meaning
"act, deed", ultimately from Sanskrit
कृति (kṛti). A notable bearer was the Indonesian women's rights activist Kartini (1879-1904).
Kashi f HindiFrom the name of a holy city in India, famous for its many temples dedicated to the Hindu god
Shiva. Its name is derived from Sanskrit
काशि (kāśi) meaning "shining".
Kashyapa m HinduismMeans
"turtle, tortoise" in Sanskrit. In Hindu belief this is the name of one of the Saptarshis, or seven sages. He appears often in Hindu scripture, and is believed to be the author of several hymns in the
Rigveda. According to the Puranas he was the husband of the goddess
Aditi and the father by her of some of the gods.
Kasumi f JapaneseFrom Japanese
霞 (kasumi) meaning "mist". It can also come from
花 (ka) meaning "flower, blossom" combined with
澄 (sumi) meaning "clear, pure". Other kanji combinations are also possible.
Katashi m JapaneseFrom Japanese
堅 (katashi) meaning "hard, firm" or other kanji and kanji combinations that are pronounced the same way.
Kate f English, CroatianShort form of
Katherine, often used independently. It is short for
Katherina in Shakespeare's play
The Taming of the Shrew (1593). It has been used in England since the Middle Ages. A famous bearer is the British actress Kate Winslet (1975-).
Katherine f EnglishFrom the Greek name
Αἰκατερίνη (Aikaterine). The etymology is debated: it could derive from an earlier Greek name
Ἑκατερινη (Hekaterine), itself from
ἑκάτερος (hekateros) meaning
"each of the two"; it could derive from the name of the goddess
Hecate; it could be related to Greek
αἰκία (aikia) meaning
"torture"; or it could be from a Coptic name meaning
"my consecration of your name". In the early Christian era it became associated with Greek
καθαρός (katharos) meaning
"pure", and the Latin spelling was changed from
Katerina to
Katharina to reflect this.
... [more]