Boy names that start with K
K is a letter of hard consonants and soft vowels: Kai is the only K name in the current U.S. top 100, while Kieran carries the older Irish tradition of naming a boy for his dark hair. Beneath them the letter runs deep into Hawaiian, Persian and West African naming. Every name below links to a full entry.
Most popular K names
Kai is the letter's single entry in the current U.S. top 100 — its rank below is the live Social Security position. The names after it are the K names Americans still know by heart, all of them now outside that top 100.
- #93KaiKYSeveral origins
Sea in Hawaiian, triumph in Chinese, recovery in Japanese. Three letters that mean something almost everywhere.
- KevinKEV-inIrish
Of gentle or comely birth. Anglicised from Caoimhín, the hermit of Glendalough; an American staple for decades, now outside the top 100.
- KennethKEN-uthScottish
Born of fire, or handsome — the spelling covers two different Gaelic originals. Kenneth MacAlpin was the first king of the Scots.
- KyleKYLEScottish
Narrow: a strait, a channel, a thin stretch of land. A 1990s favourite that has since faded.
- KieranKEER-unIrish
Little dark one, from ciar, dark — originally a name for a dark-haired boy. Commoner in Ireland than in America.
- KeeganKEE-gunIrish
Son of little Aodh, and Aodh is the old Irish word for fire. A surname that made an easy jump to the front.
- KnoxNOKSScottish
Round hill, hillock. One syllable, no soft edges, and a Reformation surname behind it.
- KendrickKEN-drikWelsh
Chief man, or royal power — one spelling covering an Old Welsh and an Old English original. Kendrick Lamar owns it now.
- KeatonKEE-tunEnglish
A farmstead somewhere in England; which one is the argument. Buster Keaton lends it deadpan charm.
- KaneKAYNIrish
Battle, or beautiful, or gold, depending which Kane you mean — the Irish Ó Catháin is the usual source.
- KobeKOH-beeContested origin
Three candidates: a Japanese port city, Swahili for tortoise, or a pet form of Jacob. Kobe Bryant made it American.
Classic K names
K arrived late in English, so its old names came in from elsewhere — Scotland, the Nordic countries and Slavic Europe, where the letter has always done heavy work.
- KarlKARLGerman
Free man — the ordinary word for a man who owed nobody. The German twin of Charles.
- KeithKEETHScottish
A wood in East Lothian, by the usual reading. A quiet, well-tailored name.
- KirkKURKScottish
Church, and the man who lived beside one. Kirk Douglas wore it for seven decades.
- KentKENTEnglish
From Kent — a place name, not a word with a tidy translation.
- KasperKAS-perDanish
Traditionally, treasurer. One of the three kings of European Nativity tradition.
- Konstantinkon-stun-TEENRussian
Steadfast; one who stands firm. From the emperor Constantine.
- Kristofferkris-TOF-ferScandinavian
Christ-bearer. The Nordic Christopher, and softer in the mouth than it looks on paper.
- KarelKAH-relCzech
A free man. Karel Čapek, who wrote it, gave the world the word robot.
- Kirillkee-REELRussian
Lordly. Saint Cyril's name — the one behind the Cyrillic alphabet.
- KrzysztofKSHISH-tofPolish
Christ-bearer. Four consonants before the first vowel, and Poland wears it lightly.
Unique K names
Almost none of these are rare where they come from. They are simply rare in the U.S., which is a different thing.
- Kavehkah-VEHPersian
The blacksmith of the Shahnameh who raised his leather apron as a banner against a tyrant. A Persian byword for revolt.
- Kiankee-AHNPersian
Kingly, royal — literally "the kings". Two syllables with no hard edges.
- KoaKOH-ahHawaiian
Brave, a warrior — and the great Hawaiian hardwood the old canoes were cut from.
- Keanukeh-AH-nooHawaiian
The cool breeze; literally, the coolness. One actor is the reason you know it.
- KenjiKEN-jeeJapanese
Set by the characters, not the sound: 健二 is healthy, 賢治 is wise, 謙二 is modest.
- KofiKOH-feeAkan
Born on a Friday. Akan day-names record the day of birth; Kofi Annan is the bearer the world knows.
- Kayodekah-YAW-dehYoruba
He brought joy. Yoruba names are sentences, and this one is a verdict on the birth.
- Kelechikeh-LEH-cheeIgbo
Thank God — an instruction, not a description.
- Kirankih-RUNSanskrit
A ray of light; a sunbeam. Used across India for boys and girls alike.
- KepaKEH-pahBasque
Rock — Peter taken straight from the Aramaic, without passing through Greek.