Kass
A surname with several possible roots, most often treated as a short form or spelling variant related to similar names like Cass.
The #8,655 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 81,334 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The historical sources connect Kass with a cluster of short surnames written Cass, Casse, Kasse, and similar forms in several northwestern European languages. In that tradition, it is usually treated as a variant spelling or shortened form rather than a name with one single, certain meaning. Some forms may ultimately go back to a personal name or nickname, but the excerpts do not give enough evidence to fix one origin confidently.
History
The name appears in 19th-century surname dictionaries as part of a wider group of continental and English short forms. Because the spelling is so brief, it has likely arisen independently in more than one place, which is why modern bearers may not share a single ancestral line. In English-language records, Kass is relatively uncommon and often sits alongside the better-known Cass.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A single extra letter can hide a lot of history: 19th-century onomasticians treated Kass as part of a whole family of very similar short surnames across northern Europe.
From the historical record
“Casburn. A loc. n. See Chase Case. A.S. Casa; D. Casse, Kasse; Dch. Kas, Kass, Caisse ; FI. Cas, Casse, Casy ; p.n. ; De la Case. Hugt. n. Casebow. Fr. Cassabois ; a p.n. (wood-breaker)”
— British Family Names: their origin and meaning (2nd ed.)