| Origin | |
|---|---|
| Language(s) | Czech, Estonian |
| Meaning | Cat (in Estonian) |
| Region of origin | Estonia |
| Other names | |
| Variant form(s) | Katz |
Kass is a surname. It originated in several different ways, including as a nickname in former eastern territories of Germany from the Czech word kos ("blackbird" or "shrewd person"), from the Estonian word kass meaning cat, from the given name Gazo, as an Ashkenazi Jewish surname from the given name Casriel, and possibly as an Americanized spelling of Káš or Kaše. The 2010 United States census found 3,796 people with the surname Kass, making it the 8,655th-most-common surname in the country, compared to 3,523 people (8,599th-most-common) in the 2000 census. In both US censuses, more than nine-tenths of the bearers of the surname identified as non-Hispanic white.
People with the surname include:
- Amalie Kass (1928–2019), American historian
- Amy Kass (1940–2015), American humanities scholar
- Carmen Kass (born 1978), Estonian model
- Danny Kass (born 1982), American snowboarder
- Deborah Kass (born 1952), American painter
- Edward H. Kass (1917–1990), American physician, professor and historian
- James R. Kass (fl. 1962–present), Canadian physicist
- János Kass (1927–2010), Hungarian illustrator
- Jerome Kass (1937–2015), American screenwriter and author
- Johannes Kass (born 1949), Estonian politician
- John Kass (born 1956), American journalist
- Kristiina Kass (born 1970), Estonian children's writer and illustrator
- Leon Kass (born 1939), American bioethicist
- Leonhard Kass (1911–1985), Estonian footballer
- Peter Kass (1923–2008), American acting teacher and director
- Pnina Moed Kass (born 1938), Belgian writer
- Ras Kass (born John Austin, 1973), American rapper
- Raye Kass (fl. 1970–present), Canadian social scientist
- Rob Kass (fl. 1990–present), American statistician
- Robin Kåss (born 1977), Norwegian medical doctor and politician
- Ron Kass (1935–1986), American businessman, recording executive, and film producer
- Sam Kass (born 1980), American chef
See also
References
- Puss, Fred (22 August 2018). "Prosopographical-Territorial Analysis for Researching Estonian Surname Giving (1822–1835)" (PDF). University of Tartu, Institute of the Estonian Language: 24. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
- Hanks, Patrick (2003). Dictionary of American Family Names. Vol. 1. Oxford University Press. p. 281. ISBN 0199771693.
- Guggenheimer, Heinrich Walter; Guggenheimer, Eva H. (1992). Jewish Family Names and Their Origins. New York: KTAV Publishing House. p. 392. ISBN 0881252972.
- "How common is your last name?". Newsday. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
Surname listThis page lists people with the surname Kass. If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link. Categories: