The Seven Deadly Trends, Part 5: K Kraze

 

Forgive me for spelling “Kraze” with a K.  

Remember Kwik Mart and Circle K?  Of course there’s still Kmart kicking around.  Just today, I kid you not, I passed by a store called “Bubble K” (??!?@#*&??).  The letter K appears so rarely in the English language (fewer than 1% of English words contain the letter K), that it was used as a marketing tool to grab attention.  So too it is in names, although people are more likely to glaze over and ignore K-anything than take notice at its originality.  

As a testament to its rarity, English scrabble contains only one K and that garners you 5 whopping points.  The only letters that rank higher are J (8), X (8), Q (10) and Z (10).  Ks are used frequently in Greek, Dutch, Hungarian, Icelandic, Norwegian, Swedish, Polish, Russian, and Malaysian.  Yet the K does not originate in any Romance language (i.e. French, Spanish, Italian…), it simply does not exist save for imported words.  

In the 50s and 60s, K denoted strength and masculinity.  Kyle, Keith, Jack, Mike, Chuck, Clark Kent, Captain Kirk.  I propose that K has done an about face, and now connotes quite the contrary:  femininity (or femaleness).  From just plain Kay, to Karen and Kelly, to Kayla and Kaitlyn and Kylie and Kamryn, Ks are no longer distinct.  The letter K is being inserted where a C should be, and being smashed together with other familiar syllables and called a name.   

 

Here’s a smattering of bonafide babes born in 2006 and 2007:

Kadence, Kaely, Kailei, Kaileigh, Kailey, Kaitlin, Kaleigh, Kaley, Kali, Kaliyah, Kamora, Kamryn, Kara, Karla, Karlee, Karlie, Kasey, Katelyn, Katelynn, Katlyn, Katy, Kayden, Kayla, Kaylah, Kaylea, Kaylee, Kaylen, Kaylie, Kaylin, Kaylyn, Kaylynn, Kealy, Keegan, Keely, Keeton, Keira, Kelsea, Kelsey, Kendall, Kendalyn, Kenia, Kenna, Kenzie, Kerrigan, Keyla, Khloe, Kiana, Kiara, Kiera, Kileen, Kiley, Kimberly, Kinley, Kinsey, Korina, Kyla, Kylah, Kylan, Kylee, Kyleigh, Kylie, Kyra, Kyton

& BOYS: Kade, Kaden, Kaeden, Kai, Kaiden, Kale, Kaleb, Kalton, Kamden, Kameron, Kamron, Kane, Karter, Kasen, Kasey, Kason, Keegan, Kelan, Kelton, Keenan, Kellen, Kendall, Kenny, Kenyon, Keshawn, Keven, Kody, Kolby, Kole, Kolton, Konner, Konnor, Korbin, Kyler

What’s the unifying element here?  Kutesiness.  K, L, and Y in random combination also appear to be alive and well.  Yes, once worn on a person, a bunch of letters do become their name.  Yet there are so many delightfully intriguing historical names both that begin with K and that contain K, that I cannot help but want to steer people in that direction.  I propose not to abandon K, but to return to K’s exoticism, the way she was intended to be.  Why not draw from Estonia and India?  

 

Here are my suggestions for genuine K names:

Kadri- Estonian, “pure” (Katherine’s cognate); Turkish, “value”

Kalani- Hawaiian, “the heavens”

Kalina- Bulgarian, “rowan tree”

Kallista- Greek, “most beautiful”

Kalliope- Greek, “beautiful voice”;  Goddess of epic poetry, one of the nine muses

Kamala- Sanskrit, “lotus”

Kamaria- Swahili, “moonlight”

Kaori- Japanese, “fragrant perfume”

Karolina- Polish, “warrior”

Katarina- German, Swedish, Hungarian, Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Lithuanian, “pure”

Katelijne- Dutch, “pure” (cognate of Katherine)

Kassandra- Greek, “shining”,  mythological soothsayer

Kasumi- Japanese, “clear flower”

Kazuko- Japanese, “harmonious child”

Kelila- Hebrew, “laurel crown”

Kerensa- Cornish, “love”

Keturah- Hebrew, “incense”,  Abraham’s second wife

Keziah- Hebrew, “cassia tree”, one of Job’s daughter’s

Khalida- Arabic, “immortal”

Klara- Scandinavian, German, Russian, Ukrainian, Czech, Polish, Slovene, Latvian, “clear, bright”

Kleio- Greek, “glory”,  one of the nine muses, goddess of history and heroic poetry

Klementyna- Polish, “merciful, gentle”

Kristjana- Icelandic, “Christian”

Ksenia- Polish, “hospitality”

Kumiko- Japanese, “beautiful child”

Kyriaki- Greek, “of the Lord”

 

Suggestions for the Little Man in Your Life:

Kai- Hawaiian “sea”; Japanese “forgiveness”; Scandinavian “Earth”, Welsh “keeper of the keys”

Kalidas- Sanskrit, “servant of Kali”

Kasimir- German, “peace” or “destroyer of peace”, depending on the source; I’ll keep looking into this

Kaspar- German, “treasurer”

Keane- English variant of Celtic Cian meaning “ancient”

Kemen- Basque, “courage, vigour”

Kemp- Old English, “champion”

Kermit- Celtic, “free man”

Khalil- Arabic, “friend”

Kichiro- Japanese, “good luck son”

Kieran- Celtic, “little dark one”

Kiyoshi- Japanese, “pure”

Knut- Old Norse, “knot” (silent K, pronounced Noot)

Konrad- German, Scandinavian, Polish “bold counsel”

Konstantin- German, Hungarian, Serbian, Russian, Bulgarian- from the ancient Roman Constantinus, “constant, steadfast”

Kwasi- West African, “born on Sunday”

 

Tucking K away as a surprise later on:  Agnieszka, Aleksandra, Annika, Anouk, Ekaterina, Elke, Franciszka, Marika, Naoki, Oksana, Rebekah, Saskia, Ulrika, Valeska, Vibeke, Viveka, Yuki

Boy K: Akio, Barak, Daisuke, Farouk, Enok, Haakon, Henrik, Iskender, Joakim, Luka, Oskar, Yanick, Whitaker