Greek Names that Start With K

Katherine is one of the oldest, most diverse, and all-around best names: it's powerful, feminine, royal, saintly, classic, popular, and adaptable. Long one of the top girls' names starting with K, Katherine has now been unseated on the popularity list by upstarts Kennedy and Kinsley, but a dip in popularity only adds to its charm.

Friendly mega-popular short form of Katherine that has definitively replaced Kathy, Katie is often given on its own. Going forward, though, Katie is more stylishly clipped itself to the grownup Kate.

Kassiani, also spelled Kasiani or Cassiane, is an ancient Greek name best known as the name of a saint famous as a hymnographer. The Hymn of Kassiani, traditionally sung on Tuesday of Easter Week in the Greek Orthodox Church, is associated with fallen women. The 9th century saint Kassiani was supposed to be in love with the Emperor Theophilos, who rejected her when she proved to be more intelligent than he.

Katerina and its near-identical twin Katarina have a pleasingly lilting European sound, though for some Americans they may be uncomfortably close to Katrina, which will be linked for a long time to the hurricane that devastated New Orleans.

Both Karissa and Carissa are trending downward, along with the other issa names that first rose to popularity in the 1970s. Karissa fell out of the Top 1000 in 2014, two years after Carissa.

Kassia is the k-styled spelling variation of rising star name Cassia, an obscure but attractive botanical choice drawn from the cassia tree, which produces a cinnamon-like spice. The biblical Keziah is related.

Khloe's a variation of the popular Chloe, thanks to reality star Karshadian of the K-named family. Khloe jumped a whopping 101 places into 2009's Top 100 and peaked at 42 in 2010 but has declined in popularity in recent years.

This is the spelling that old-time film star Katharine Hepburn used, and it's still favored by fans wanting to reference her classic strength and beauty. But in general, it's losing ground to Katherine and even Ms. Hepburn's own favorite short form, Kate.

Derived from the Latin Constantinus, this is the Greek form of Constantine or Constans. Conjuring up ideas of endurance and steadiness, Konstantinos has been borne by numerous Greek prime ministers and by film maker Konstantinos Gavras. Kostis, Kostas, and Dino are sometimes used as nicknames.

Kassandra is actually the original form of Cassandra (Greek names do not have Cs), though most will see it as a Kardashianization, which is a shame! As you might expect, the C currently charts higher. Still, Kassandra can lead to all sorts of cute nicknames, such as Kassie, Kass, and Sandy.

Kasiani, also spelled Kassiani or Cassiane, is an ancient Greek name best known as the name of a saint famous as a hymnographer. The Hymn of Kasiani, traditionally sung on Tuesday of Easter Week in the Greek Orthodox Church, is associated with fallen women. The 9th century saint Kasiani was supposed to be in love with the Emperor Theophilos, who rejected her when she proved to be more intelligent than he.

Actress Flockhart popularized the C version, but this works, too.

Intriguing and unusual.

Kostas makes the ancient emperor's name more approachable.

Original form of the more familiar Calliope, the muse of epic poetry.

Kostis is a short form of Konstantinos, the Greek variation of Constantine.

Not as familiar and easy as Christopher, not as unusual and interesting as Christoph or Krzysztof.