Girl Names That Start With K: 125 Ideas

Girl names that start with K run from favorites like Katherine, Kaylee, Kinsley and Kylie to rare picks like Kerensa, Kelda and Kielo, and this list of 125 gives a checked origin and meaning for every one.

K is one of the brightest letters for naming a daughter, with a crisp first sound and roots in dozens of languages. No K name is in the girls’ top 10 for 2025, according to the Social Security Administration, yet the letter holds enduring classics, flower and cherry names, Greek muses and Hawaiian names for sea and sky.

We grouped these K names for girls by style: familiar, unique, short, long, vintage, nature, mythology and biblical, international and gender neutral. After that come pronunciation tips, nicknames, sibling and middle name ideas, and a quick initials check.

Key Takeaways

No K name is in the girls’ top 10 for 2025, according to the Social Security Administration.
Familiar K names for girls include Katherine, Kate, Kathleen, Kaylee, Kayla, Kinsley, Khloe, Kylie and Kimberly.
Rare options include Kerensa (love in Cornish), Kelda, Kirrily, Kinborough and Kasimira.
Many K names are forms of Katherine or Christina in other languages, such as Katalin, Kasia, Karin, Kirsten and Kerstin.
Test your favorite with the initials, say it out loud, spelling and nickname checks before you decide.

Table of Contents

Girl Names That Start With K at a Glance

Quick Answer

Standout K names for girls: Katherine, Kate, Kathleen, Kaylee, Kayla, Kinsley, Khloe, Kylie, Kimberly and Kiara (familiar); Kerensa, Kelda, Kirrily and Kassia (rare); Kaia, Kara, Kira and Kiki (short); Kestrel, Kiku, Kielo and Kalina (nature). No K name is in the girls’ top 10 for 2025, according to the Social Security Administration.

Every origin and meaning on this page was checked against the name’s own entry on Behind the Name in October 2026. Where the reference calls a meaning unknown or uncertain, we say so.

These are the best known baby girl names that start with K. For a wider pool, browse our main list of baby girl names, or compare letters with girl names that start with A, girl names that start with C and girl names that start with L.

Name	Origin	Meaning
Katherine	English	From Greek Aikaterine, whose origin is debated; early Christians linked it with the Greek word for “pure”; borne by a semi-legendary 4th-century saint of Alexandria
Kate	English, Croatian	Short form of Katherine, used in England since the Middle Ages; the heroine of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew (1593)
Kathleen	Irish, English	Anglicized form of Caitlín, the Irish form of the name
Kathryn	English	Contracted form of Katherine
Katie	English	Diminutive of Kate
Kaylee	English (modern)	A modern blend of the popular sounds “kay” and “lee”
Kayla	English	A blend of the sounds “kay” and “la”; its use rose after a character on the soap opera Days of Our Lives in 1982
Kinsley	English (modern)	From an English surname taken from a place name meaning “clearing of Cyne”; Cyne was a short form of Old English names with an element meaning “royal”
Khloe	English (modern)	Variant of Chloe, made familiar by Khloé Kardashian
Kylie	English	Arose in Australia, where it is said to mean “boomerang” in the Nyungar language; can also be seen as a feminine form of Kyle
Kimberly	English	From the South African city of Kimberley, named after Lord Kimberley; used as a given name since the mid-20th century
Kiara	English (modern)	Variant of Ciara or Chiara; known from the 1988 song by the duo Kiara and a character in The Lion King II (1998)
Keira	English (modern)	Variant of Ciara, whose root comes from the Old Irish word for “black”; made familiar by the actress Keira Knightley
Kailani	Hawaiian, English (modern), Spanish (Latin American, modern)	Hawaiian kai, “ocean, sea”, plus lani, “sky, heaven”
Kehlani	English (modern)	Variant of Kailani or Kalani; made familiar by the singer Kehlani
Kendra	English	Feminine form of Ken or Kendrick
Karina	Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Polish, German, Russian, English, Spanish and more	Elaborated form of Karin, the Swedish short form of Katherine
Katrina	Scottish, English	Anglicized form of the Scottish Gaelic name Caitrìona

Familiar and classic K girl names with origins and meanings.

Look closely and you will see that K names for girls come in a few big families. Knowing them helps when you like a sound but want a different length, spelling or style:

The Katherine family: Katherine, Kathryn, Katharine, Katherina, Kate, Katie, Kathleen, Katrina, Karen, Karin, Kitty and Kathy all go back to the Greek Aikaterine. Behind the Name calls that origin debated: early Christians tied it to the Greek word for pure, but older theories exist. The family also includes Katarina, Katalin, Katarzyna, Kasia, Kaarina, Kaisa, Kajsa, Kaia and Katell further down this page.
The Christina family: Kristina, Kristine, Kirsten, Kerstin, Kristín, Kirsty and Kia are forms or pet forms of Christina, the feminine form of Christian.
The Ciara family: Keira, Kiara and Kira are listed as variants of the Irish name Ciara, from an Old Irish word for black. Kyra is a variant of Kira (and sometimes a feminine form of Cyrus).
The kay sound names: Kaylee and Kayla are modern English blends built from the popular sounds kay, lee and la, so their meaning is the sound itself rather than an old word.

Unique and Rare Girl Names That Start With K

If you want unique girl names that start with K, look past the Kay and Kat sounds to names with long histories and very little current use. Behind the Name marks most of these as rare, archaic or medieval in English, and none are common in the United States today.

Name	Origin	Meaning
Kelda	English (rare)	Possibly from Old Norse kildr, “spring” (a source of water); the reference marks the origin as uncertain
Kerensa	Cornish	“Love” in Cornish
Kirrily	English (Australian)	Possibly an elaboration of Kiri or Kira; noticed in Australia in the 1970s through the actress Kirrily Nolan
Kimbra	English (rare)	Diminutive of Kimberly
Kelia	English (rare)	Meaning unknown; perhaps an invented name
Kassia	English (rare)	Variant of Cassia, the feminine form of the Roman name Cassius
Kinborough	Medieval English	Middle English form of the Anglo-Saxon name Cyneburg
Kasimira	German (archaic)	Feminine form of Kasimir, from Slavic roots meaning “to proclaim” and “peace”

Unique and rare K names for girls.

Kerensa is one of the prettiest finds in the letter: a Cornish name whose meaning is simply love. Kinborough is a true medieval English name, the Middle English form of the Anglo-Saxon Cyneburg. Kelda is a lovely sound with an honest caveat, since the reference says it is only possibly from an Old Norse word for a spring of water. Kelia is the one name on this page with no known meaning at all: the reference says the meaning is unknown and it may be invented, so be wary of any meaning you see for it elsewhere.

Many of the rarest K names also sit in the mythology and nature tables below, among them Kára, Koronis, Kyllikki, Kantuta and Kielo. For more uncommon picks across every letter, see our unique girl names guide. To check how common any name really is, the Social Security Administration’s Popularity of a Name search lets you look up a name by sex and a range of years.

Short K Names for Girls (3 to 4 Letters)

Short K names for girls are crisp and bright: the hard K at the front gives even a three letter name a confident start. Most of them began as pet forms or short forms of longer names, which makes them handy if you want to honor a Katherine or a Kristina without using the full name.

Name	Origin	Meaning
Kaia	Norwegian, Estonian	Diminutive of Katarina or Katariina
Kara	English	Variant of Cara, which likely comes from an Italian word for “beloved” or an Irish word for “companion”
Kira	English	Variant of Ciara
Kyra	English	Variant of Kira; sometimes a feminine form of Cyrus
Kaya	English (modern)	Possibly from the Scandinavian name Kaia, or an invented name built from sounds found in names like Maya
Kyla	English	Feminine form of Kyle (a Scottish surname from the Gaelic word for a narrow strait), or a blend of “ky” and “la”
Kiki	English, Greek, German, Dutch	Pet form of names that start with or contain a K sound
Kat	English	Diminutive of Katherine
Kay	English	Short form of Katherine and other names that begin with K
Kia	Swedish	Diminutive of Kristina
Kiri	Māori	“Skin of a tree or fruit” in Māori; made famous by the opera singer Kiri Te Kanawa

Short girl names starting with K.

Kiri stands out as the short name with a meaning of its own: Māori for the skin of a tree or fruit. Kara has two possible roots, an Italian word for beloved or an Irish word for companion, through its parent name Cara. Kaya is a good example of an honest entry: the reference says it may come from the Scandinavian Kaia or may simply be invented. Other short K names appear elsewhere on this page, including Kate, Kai, Kim, Kit, Kris, Kiku, Kára, Keren and Kasih in their own tables.

Long, Elegant and Vintage K Names

Longer K names give a child a formal option and a built-in set of nicknames. Several are the Latin, German or Scandinavian forms of names you already know.

Name	Origin	Meaning
Katharine	English, German	English variant of Katherine and German variant of Katharina; borne by the actress Katharine Hepburn
Katherina	English (rare), German	Latinized form of Katherine; the headstrong heroine of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew
Katarina	Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Sorbian	Form of Katherine in several languages
Karolina	Polish, Swedish, Hungarian, German, Ukrainian and many more	Feminine form of Carolus, the Latin form of Karl (Charles)
Kassandra	Greek mythology, Ancient Greek, English (modern)	Greek form of Cassandra, possibly “to excel” plus “man”; the Trojan princess of myth whose prophecies no one believed
Kristina	Swedish, Norwegian, Russian, German, English and many more	Form of Christina, the feminine form of Christian, used in many languages

Long and elegant K girl names.

The next group sounds like a grandmother’s or great-grandmother’s name, which is exactly what some parents love about them. Kitty and Kathy began as pet forms of Katherine, and Karen started as a Danish short form before it spread through the English-speaking world after the 1930s. Vintage names like these often come back into style a generation or two later.

Name	Origin	Meaning
Kitty	English	Diminutive of Katherine
Kathy	English	Diminutive of Katherine
Karen	Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, English, German	Danish short form of Katherine; common in English-speaking countries after the 1930s
Kizzy	English	Pet form of the biblical name Keziah; known again from a character in Roots (1977)
Kristine	Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Georgian, English, German	Scandinavian and Georgian form of Christina; English and German variant of Christine
Karla	German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Czech, Croatian, English	Feminine form of Karl, Karel or Karlo

Vintage K names for girls.

Karen deserves a plain note: the reference mentions that the name has recently picked up a slang meaning in English. That is worth knowing before you choose it, though the name itself has a long and ordinary history. Kizzy, a pet form of the biblical Keziah, came back into view through a character in Roots in 1977.

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Nature K Names: Flowers, Fruit, Birds and Sky

Many pretty girl names that start with K come straight from the natural world, often from languages other than English. Every meaning below is the one the name’s own entry gives, not a guess based on how the name sounds.

Name	Origin	Meaning
Kestrel	English (rare)	From the small bird of prey; the word goes back to Old French crecelle, “rattle”, for the bird’s cry
Kiku	Japanese	From 菊, “chrysanthemum”; other kanji with the same sound are possible
Kielo	Finnish	“Lily of the valley” in Finnish
Kukka	Finnish	“Flower” in Finnish
Kiraz	Turkish	“Cherry” in Turkish, a word that came from Greek
Kirsikka	Finnish	“Cherry” in Finnish
Kalina	Bulgarian, Macedonian, Polish	“Viburnum tree”
Kalyna	Ukrainian (rare)	From the Ukrainian word for the guelder rose shrub
Kardelen	Turkish	The snowdrop flower
Kantuta	Aymara	The cantua flower (Cantua buxifolia) in Aymara
Kasumi	Japanese	From a Japanese word for “mist”; other kanji combinations are possible
Killa	Quechua	“Moon” in Quechua
Kumsal	Turkish	“Beach” in Turkish
Kapka	Bulgarian	“Droplet” in Bulgarian
Kelebek	Turkish (rare)	“Butterfly” in Turkish

Nature inspired K names for girls.

Flowers lead the way: Kiku is the Japanese chrysanthemum, Kielo is the Finnish lily of the valley, Kardelen is the Turkish snowdrop, Kantuta is the cantua flower in Aymara, and Kukka is simply Finnish for flower. Fruit and trees follow, with two cherry names (Kiraz in Turkish, Kirsikka in Finnish) and two names tied to the viburnum family (Kalina and Kalyna). Kestrel is the only bird here, a small bird of prey whose name goes back to an Old French word for rattle. For the sky and sea, look at Killa (moon in Quechua), Kasumi (mist in Japanese), Kumsal (beach in Turkish) and Kapka (droplet in Bulgarian). Nature also runs through other tables on this page: Kailani joins ocean and sky, Kaede means maple, Kai means sea and Keshet means rainbow.

Mythology, Literature and Biblical K Names

K holds a surprising number of names from myth and story. Greek mythology supplies the most, partly because many Greek names were later spelled with C in Latin and English (Kalliope and Calliope, Kirke and Circe, Kassiopeia and Cassiopeia). Finnish, German, Norse, Japanese and Hindu traditions appear here too. Where the reference calls an origin uncertain, as it does for Kassiopeia, we print exactly that.

Name	Origin	Meaning
Kalliope	Greek mythology	From Greek kallos, “beauty”, and ops, “voice”; one of the nine Muses, linked with epic poetry
Kallisto	Greek mythology, Ancient Greek	“Most beautiful” in Greek; a nymph turned into a bear by Hera and placed among the stars as the Great Bear
Kassiopeia	Greek mythology	Greek form of Cassiopeia, whose origin is uncertain; the queen of myth, mother of Andromeda, who became a northern constellation
Kirke	Greek mythology	Greek form of Circe, possibly from a Greek word for “hawk”; the sorceress of Homer’s Odyssey
Koronis	Greek mythology	From Greek korone, “crow”; borne by several figures of myth, including the mother of Asklepios
Kyllikki	Finnish, Finnish mythology	From Finnish words for “abundance” and “enough”; a character in the Kalevala, the Finnish epic
Kriemhild	German (rare), Germanic mythology	From Old German grimo, “mask”, and hilt, “battle”; a central figure of the medieval German epic the Nibelungenlied
Kára	Norse mythology	Probably from Old Norse kárr, “curly, curved”; a valkyrie in Norse legend
Kaguya	Literature	Roughly “bright, shining” in Japanese; the moon princess of the classic folktale The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter
Kalyani	Hinduism, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, Marathi, Hindi	“Beautiful, lovely, auspicious” in Sanskrit; another name of the goddess Parvati
Keturah	Biblical	From Hebrew, “incense”; in the Old Testament, Abraham’s wife after the death of Sarah
Keziah	Biblical	From the Hebrew word for the cassia (cinnamon) tree; in the Old Testament, a daughter of Job

K names from mythology, literature and the Bible.

Kalliope and Kallisto both carry the Greek root for beauty: a beautiful voice for the Muse and most beautiful for the nymph who became the Great Bear. Kaguya, the shining moon princess of a classic Japanese folktale, is a gentle choice for a family that loves stories about the night sky. Kyllikki comes from the Kalevala, the Finnish epic, and Kriemhild from the Nibelungenlied, the medieval German epic. Some of these figures have dramatic stories, so read the full tale before you choose one as a namesake.

Biblical girl names that start with K are few. Keturah, Abraham’s wife after the death of Sarah, and Keziah, a daughter of Job, are the two main ones, both from the Old Testament. Keziah’s own meaning connects to the cassia tree, the same plant behind Kassia in the rare names table. For many more, see our same-day guide to biblical girl names.

International K Names by Language

Origins below use the reference’s own usage labels. Northern and eastern Europe is especially rich in K names because languages such as Finnish, Polish, Hungarian, Swedish and Icelandic write the K sound with a K where English often uses C. That is why so many forms of Katherine and Christina land in this table.

Name	Origin	Meaning
Kaarina	Finnish	Finnish form of Katherine
Kaisa	Finnish, Estonian	Finnish and Estonian diminutive of Katherine
Katalin	Hungarian, Basque	Hungarian and Basque form of Katherine
Katarzyna	Polish	Polish form of Katherine
Kasia	Polish	Diminutive of Katarzyna
Katell	Breton	Breton form of Katherine
Kajsa	Swedish	Swedish diminutive of Katarina
Karin	Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, Finnish and more	Swedish short form of Katherine
Kerstin	Swedish, German	Swedish form of Christina
Kirsten	Danish, Norwegian, English	Danish and Norwegian form of Christina
Kristín	Icelandic	Icelandic form of Christina
Kinga	Polish, Hungarian	Diminutive of the German name Kunigunde, from Old German words for “clan, family” and “war”
Kerttu	Finnish	Finnish form of Gertrude, from Old German words for “spear” and “strength”
Kyriaki	Greek	Feminine form of Kyriakos, from Greek kyrios, “lord”
Ksenia	Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian	Form of Xenia, from Greek xenos, “stranger, guest”, with the sense of hospitality
Keeva	Irish	Anglicized form of Caoimhe, from Irish caomh, “cherished, gentle”
Keelin	Irish	Anglicized form of Caoilfhionn, from Old Irish cáel, “slender”, and finn, “white, blessed”
Kirsty	Scottish	Diminutive of Kirsteen or Kirstin
Kenna	Scottish	Feminine form of Kenneth

Finnish, Polish, Hungarian, Basque, Breton, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Greek, Russian, Irish and Scottish K names.

The next table gathers K names from Hawaiian, Hebrew, Arabic, Hindi, Japanese and Malay and Indonesian. If one of these names comes from a culture outside your own family, learn how it is said and used before you commit.

Name	Origin	Meaning
Kalea	Hawaiian	“Joy, happiness” in Hawaiian
Kanani	Hawaiian	“The beauty”: Hawaiian ka, “the”, plus nani, “beauty, glory”
Keilani	Hawaiian	“Glorious heaven”: kei, “glorious, dignified”, plus lani, “heaven, sky”
Kiana	Hawaiian, English	Hawaiian form of Diana; more widely known from the late 1980s
Keren	Hebrew	Said to mean “horn” or “ray of light”
Kineret	Hebrew	From Lake Kinneret (the Sea of Galilee), from Hebrew kinnor, “harp”, for the lake’s shape
Khadija	Arabic, Urdu, Bengali	“Premature child” in Arabic; the first wife of the Prophet Muhammad
Kanza	Arabic	“Treasure” in Arabic
Karima	Arabic	Feminine form of Karim, from an Arabic root meaning “generous, noble”
Khushi	Hindi	“Happiness” in Hindi, from Persian
Kalpana	Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Nepali	From the Sanskrit for “imagination, fantasy”
Karishma	Hindi	“Miracle” in Hindi
Kaori	Japanese	From the Japanese word for a pleasant scent, “fragrance”; other kanji combinations are possible
Kotone	Japanese	Koto, a harp-like stringed instrument, plus ne, “sound”
Kasih	Indonesian, Malay	“Love” in Malay and Indonesian

Hawaiian, Hebrew, Arabic, Hindi, Japanese, Malay and Indonesian K names.

Print accents and special letters exactly as the name is spelled (Kristín, Kára, Khloé in its famous bearer’s spelling). U.S. paperwork does not always carry accents, so decide ahead of time whether you are comfortable seeing the name written without them. Japanese names such as Kaori, Kasumi and Kotone can also be written with different kanji, and the meaning depends on the characters chosen.

Gender Neutral K Names

Behind the Name lists each of these as both feminine and masculine. Most began as surnames or place names (Kennedy, Kendall, Kelsey, Kelly, Kerry, Kirby) or as short forms (Kim, Kit, Kris, Kenzie), while others are Hawaiian, Japanese or Hebrew words (Kai, Kalani, Kaede, Keshet). You will find more in our gender neutral names guide, and boy-leaning K names in boy names that start with K.

Name	Origin	Meaning
Kennedy	English, Irish	From an Irish surname, Ó Cinnéidigh; sometimes given in honor of President John F. Kennedy
Kendall	English	From an English surname from Kendale in northwest England, usually read as “valley of the River Kent”; more common for girls after 1993
Kelsey	English	From an English surname taken from town names in Lincolnshire; perhaps “Cenel’s island”, with Cenel meaning “fierce”
Kelly	Irish, English	Anglicized form of the Irish name Ceallach or the surname Ó Ceallaigh; mostly masculine before 1940
Kenzie	English	Short form of Mackenzie, a Scottish surname from the Gaelic given name Coinneach
Kerry	English	From the Irish county Ciarraí, “the people of Ciar”
Kamryn	English (modern)	Variant of Cameron, typically used for girls
Kim	English, Dutch, German	Now usually a short form of Kimberly, though it was used first; the title character of Rudyard Kipling’s Kim (1901)
Kit	English	Diminutive of Christopher or Katherine
Kris	English, Flemish, Danish	Short form of Kristian, Kristoffer and other names that begin with Kris
Kirby	English	From an English surname, from an Old Norse place name meaning “church settlement”
Kai	Hawaiian	“Sea” in Hawaiian
Kalani	Hawaiian	“The heavens”: ka, “the”, plus lani, “heaven, sky”
Kaede	Japanese	“Maple” in Japanese
Keshet	Hebrew	“Rainbow” in Hebrew

Gender neutral names that start with K.

A few of these have a clear story of moving toward girls. Kendall became more common for girls after a soap opera character appeared in 1993, Kelly rose for girls in the 1940s and 1950s, and the reference describes Kamryn as a spelling of Cameron typically used for girls.

Why K Names Are Loved: Sound, Spelling and Nicknames

A few plain reasons parents keep coming back to names that start with K:

The hard K sound is bright and clear, so K names rarely blur, whether short (Kai, Kit) or long (Karolina, Kassandra).
The letter is full of meanings parents enjoy: love (Kerensa, Kasih), joy (Kalea), happiness (Khushi), treasure (Kanza), miracle (Karishma) and beauty (Kanani).
K crosses languages easily. Finnish, Polish, Hungarian, Swedish, Greek, Hawaiian and Japanese all supply K names, so many families can find one with roots in their own heritage.
K names give you a modern spin on classics: Khloe for Chloe, Kassandra for Cassandra, Kara for Cara.

Spelling and sound are the usual surprises. Keira, Kira, Kiara and Kyra look almost the same but are said differently, and names from Swedish, Polish, Finnish or Arabic may not sound the way English readers expect. This table uses the pronunciation printed on each name’s Behind the Name entry (in the International Phonetic Alphabet), with a plain English hint.

Name	Pronunciation (IPA)	Quick hint
Kiara	/ki.ˈɑɹ.ə/ (English)	Three syllables, kee-AR-uh
Keira, Kira	/ˈkɪɹ.ə/ (English)	Rhymes with the start of mirror plus uh
Kyra	/ˈkɪɹ.ə/ or /ˈkaɪ.ɹə/ (English)	Either KEER-uh or KY-ruh
Kassia	/ˈkæ.ʃə/ or /ˈkæs.i.ə/ (English)	KASH-uh or KASS-ee-uh
Keturah	/kə.ˈtuː.ɹə/ (English)	Stress on the middle syllable
Keziah	/kə.ˈzaɪ.ə/ (English)	Middle syllable rhymes with eye
Keeva	/ˈki.və/ (English)	KEE-vuh
Keelin	/ˈki.lɪn/ (English)	KEE-lin
Kasia	/ˈka.ɕa/ (Polish)	Close to KAH-sha
Katarzyna	/ˌka.ta.ˈʐɨ.na/ (Polish)	The rz sounds close to the s in measure
Kerstin	/ˈɕæʂ.tɪn/ (Swedish)	In Swedish the K here is a soft hushing sound, not a hard K
Kyllikki	/ˈkyl.lik.ki/ (Finnish)	The y is a rounded vowel, like German ü
Kalea	/ka.ˈle.a/ (Hawaiian)	Three syllables, stress on le
Keilani	/kej.ˈla.ni/ (Hawaiian)	Stress on la
Kineret	/ki.ˈne.ʁet/ (Hebrew)	Stress on the middle syllable
Khadija	/xa.ˈdiː.d͡ʒa/ (Arabic)	The kh is a breathy sound, as in Scottish loch
Kotone	/ko̞.to̞.ne̞/ (Japanese)	Three even syllables, ko-to-ne
Kirrily	/ˈkɪɹ.ə.liː/ (Australian English)	KEER-uh-lee

How to say less familiar K names, per Behind the Name.

Nicknames are the other big draw. Each nickname below is listed as a diminutive or short form on the reference.

Full name	Nickname ideas
Katherine, Kathryn, Katharine	Kat, Kate, Katie, Kathy, Kay, Kit, Kitty
Kimberly	Kim, Kimber, Kimmie, Kimbra
Kassandra	Kassie, Kassy, Cassie
Kristina, Kristine	Kris, Krista, Kristi, Kiki, Tina (and Stina in Swedish)
Katarina	Kajsa, Kaja (Swedish); Kaia, Kari (Norwegian)
Katalin	Kata, Kati, Katinka (Hungarian)
Katarzyna	Kasia (Polish)
Karolina	Lina, Ina
Katrina	Trina
Kirsten, Kyriaki	Kiki
Ksenia	Ksyusha (Russian)
Kyllikki	Kylli (Finnish)
Kirsikka	Kirsi (Finnish)
Kamryn	Kam, Cam
Kiana	Di

Nickname ideas for K names, each listed as a short or pet form on Behind the Name.

And here is the reverse: K names on this page that began as nicknames or short forms of other names, according to their entries. These are useful if you want a fresh name that still honors a relative.

K name	Began as a pet or short form of
Kate, Kat, Kay, Kitty, Kathy, Katie	Katherine
Karen, Karin, Kaisa	Katherine (Danish, Swedish, Finnish and Estonian use)
Kaia, Kajsa	Katarina
Kasia	Katarzyna
Kia	Kristina
Kizzy	Keziah
Kinga	Kunigunde
Kenzie	Mackenzie
Kimbra, Kim	Kimberly
Kirsty	Kirsteen or Kirstin

K names that grew out of longer names, per Behind the Name.

Sibling, Twin and Middle Name Ideas

These pairings are ideas, not rules. Sister or twin sets that share a letter work best when the names differ in length, ending or style:

Kiku and Kaede (chrysanthemum and maple, both Japanese)
Kielo and Kukka (lily of the valley and flower, both Finnish)
Kiraz and Kardelen (cherry and snowdrop, both Turkish)
Kalea and Kanani (joy and beauty, both Hawaiian)
Kalliope and Kallisto (two Greek names built on beauty)
Keturah and Keziah (two Old Testament names)
Keeva and Keelin (both Irish)
Kaarina and Kaisa (both Finnish forms of Katherine)
Kate and Kit (both short forms of Katherine)
Killa and Kasumi (moon and mist)

If you want a set that matches without sounding alike, pair a short name with a long one (Kai and Karolina) or a classic with a nature name (Katherine and Kestrel). For a brother, look at the gender neutral K names above or our same-day list of boy names that start with J. More letter pages for girls: E, J, M and S.

For middle names, contrast helps. A short middle balances a long first name, and a longer middle gives a short first name some weight. Double K combinations such as Kate Kalina, Kaia Kerensa, Kira Katharine or Kit Kalliope have a pleasing rhythm. Watch for a first name that ends in the sound the next one starts with: Kara Keira runs together, while Kara Kestrel keeps each name clear.

The Initials Check and Other Quick Tests

Before you settle on girl names that start with K, run each finalist through four quick tests:

Initials: write out first, middle and last initials. Some K combinations spell words or abbreviations you may not want on a monogram or a backpack, so swap the middle name if you spot a problem.
Say it out loud: call the full name across a room. A K first name followed by a surname that also starts with a hard C or K sound (Kate Collins, Kira Kelly) can sound like a tongue twister, which some families love and others do not.
Spelling: many K names have close twins (Kaylee, Kayleigh and Kailey; Kristina and Christina; Khloe and Chloe; Keira, Kira and Kiera). Decide whether you mind spelling it out for years.
Nicknames: check the tables above. If you dislike the obvious short form, assume someone will use it anyway: a Katherine will hear Kate and Katie.

One more check is optional: popularity. No K name is in the girls’ top 10 for 2025, according to the Social Security Administration, so even the most familiar K names are less common than the very top choices. The SSA’s Popularity of a Name search will show how any name has changed over time.

If you are torn between two finalists, use each one for a few days in the sentences you will say most: calling her for dinner, introducing her to a neighbor, spelling it on the phone. The name that still feels easy at the end of the week is usually the one.

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The Bottom Line

The letter K covers every style a parent might want: familiar names like Katherine, Kate, Kaylee and Kinsley, rare finds like Kerensa and Kinborough, nature names like Kestrel, Kiku and Kielo, names from myth and story like Kalliope and Kaguya, and names from Finnish, Polish, Irish, Hawaiian, Hebrew, Arabic, Hindi, Japanese and more. Shortlist three to five, check the meaning, test the initials and the sound, and say each one out loud for a week.

Then give yourself permission to stop looking. A name you have checked, said aloud and still love after a week is a good name.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the most popular girl names that start with K?

No K name is in the girls’ top 10 for 2025, according to the Social Security Administration. Familiar K names include Katherine, Kate, Kathleen, Kaylee, Kayla, Kinsley, Khloe, Kylie, Kimberly and Kiara. You can check how common any name is, year by year, with the Popularity of a Name search on the SSA baby names website.

What are unique K names for girls?

Rare K names include Kerensa, which means love in Cornish, plus Kelda, Kirrily, Kimbra, Kassia, Kasimira and the medieval English Kinborough. From myth and story come Kalliope, Koronis, Kyllikki and Kaguya. Nature lovers might like Kielo, Kantuta or Kardelen. Behind the Name marks several of these as rare, archaic or medieval in English.

What are pretty and cute girl names that start with K?

Taste is personal, but meaning can help. Kalea means joy in Hawaiian, Kanani means the beauty, Kerensa and Kasih both mean love, Khushi means happiness and Kanza means treasure. Kiku, Kielo and Kardelen are flower names, Kiraz and Kirsikka both mean cherry, and Killa means moon in Quechua.

What are short K names for girls?

Short K names include Kaia, Kara, Kira, Kyra, Kaya, Kyla, Kiki, Kat, Kay, Kia and Kiri, plus Kate, Kit, Kim and Kai. Many began as short forms: Kat, Kay and Kitty come from Katherine, Kia from Kristina, and Kaia from Katarina. Kiri has its own meaning, the skin of a tree or fruit in Māori.

What are biblical girl names that start with K?

The main ones are Keturah, Abraham’s wife after the death of Sarah, and Keziah, a daughter of Job, both in the Old Testament. Keturah comes from a Hebrew word for incense, and Keziah from the Hebrew word for the cassia tree. Kizzy began as a pet form of Keziah and is listed on its own.

Which K names work for both girls and boys?

Behind the Name lists Kennedy, Kendall, Kelsey, Kelly, Kenzie, Kerry, Kamryn, Kim, Kit, Kris, Kirby, Kai, Kalani, Kaede and Keshet as both feminine and masculine. Kendall became more common for girls after 1993, and the reference says Kamryn, a spelling of Cameron, is typically used for girls.

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