King Name Origin, Meaning and Family History

King Name Meaning: Of English and Scottish origin, Taken from the Old English cyning/cyng meaning ‘tribal leader’. This name was often given to a man of kingly qualities or appearance. A man who worked within the royal household may also have been given this name. The Scottish name taken from the Gaelic ceann meaning ‘Leader or Head’.

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Surname Distribution

Census frequency by county

Name Concentrations Within England and Wales

King Surname Statistics


Top Professions for the King family

Profession Census Frequency
School 7,799
Farm Labourer 851
Private Means 682
General Labourer 642
General Servant (domestic) 532
Labourer 513
Dressmaker 389
None 386
Domestic Servant 328
Farmer 311
Clerk 307
Coal Miner Hewer 277
At School 251
House Painter 248
Laundress 237
Carpenter 232
House Keeper 207
At Home 204
General Servant Domestic 201
Bricklayer 199
Cook (domestic) 198
Dress Maker 196
Shop Assistant 192
Scholar 191
Housekeeper 187

King Surname Variants Ranking

Rank Surname Match Census Frequency
1 King 100% 451,625
2 Kinge 80% 583
3 Konig 60% 337
4 Kengie 50% 122
5 Kingh 80% 102

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The surname King is the most popular version of all its varients

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