Klein
A German and Dutch surname meaning “small” or “little,” often originally a nickname for a short person or the younger/smaller member of a family.
The #392 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 3,790 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Klein comes from Middle and Old High German words meaning “small,” and it is also found in Dutch with the same sense. In surname use, it usually began as a nickname for a little person, a younger family member, or someone distinguished from another bearer of the same name. Older sources also note related spellings and forms such as Kline and Klyne.
History
The surname is very common in German-speaking areas and spread widely through migration to North America and other countries. 19th-century surname books repeatedly gloss it simply as “little” or “small.” It has also been used as a building block in some German naming patterns, such as forms meaning “young [father’s name]” or “little [father’s name].”
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Several older surname dictionaries compare Klein directly with surnames like Little and Petit, showing how often “small” was used independently as a family name across Europe.
From the historical record
“O.H.Ger. kemo] KLEIN (Ger.) Little, Small; Neat, Nice [O.H.Ger. kleini, nice, neat, clean, pure = Dut. klein, small = Eng. clean] Often Anglicized as Kline, KLUGE (Ger.) Wise, Prudent, Clever [Ger. Mug, wise, etc. ; M.H.Ger. kluog, kluoc, fine, nice, wise, brave, etc. = Dut. kloek, brave, sagacious] '”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)Notable people named Klein
- Felix Klein (1849–1925)
- Naomi Klein (b. 1970)
- Carole King (b. 1942)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.