From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kass
Origin
Language(s)Czech, Estonian
Meaning Cat (in Estonian)
Region of originEstonia
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, [1] 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. [2] [3] 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. [4]

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

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ Hanks, Patrick (2003). Dictionary of American Family Names. Vol. 1. Oxford University Press. p. 281. ISBN  0199771693.
  3. ^ Guggenheimer, Heinrich Walter; Guggenheimer, Eva H. (1992). Jewish Family Names and Their Origins. New York: KTAV Publishing House. p. 392. ISBN  0881252972.
  4. ^ "How common is your last name?". Newsday. Retrieved 9 July 2020.