Kanakis Surname

141,820th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 3,141 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
Greece
Highest density in:
Greece

Kanakis Surname User-submission:

Kanakis originated in the Middle Ages. It comes from the word kanaki (classic Greek, kanahe), which refers to the sound of metals and musical instruments. It, in turn, comes from Hindo-European *kan, meaning 'to sound', 'to sing'.

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Kanakis Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Greece2,5061:4,421442
United States4491:807,25862,140
Australia761:355,20729,862
Canada281:1,315,91492,927
Cyprus201:44,2444,510
England141:3,979,861125,553
Germany121:6,708,788223,026
Sweden71:1,406,680102,017
Netherlands71:2,412,45494,797
South Africa51:10,835,541204,227
France31:22,140,907385,998
China21:683,660,78330,601
Italy21:30,578,344160,757
Ireland11:4,708,93929,543
Belgium11:11,496,644167,539
Tanzania11:52,941,613123,716
Spain11:46,752,036156,870
Slovakia11:5,336,450140,422
Russia11:144,123,056881,408
India11:767,065,3821,851,717
Austria11:8,515,435118,036
Czechia11:10,633,469206,023
Curaçao11:157,2471,313

Kanakis (216) may also be a first name.

Kanakis Surname Meaning

User-submitted Reference

Kanakis originated in the Middle Ages. It comes from the word kanaki (classic Greek, kanahe), which refers to the sound of metals and musical instruments. It, in turn, comes from Hindo-European *kan, meaning 'to sound', 'to sing'. It can be compared to the Latin cano, French chanter, Spanish cantar, Gothic hana, German hahn, English hen etc.

It refers to a loved one in the family who would be brought up with caress and pampering.

- peder

Kanakis Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Kanakis Come From? nationality or country of origin

Kanakis (Russian: Канакис) occurs most in Greece. It can be rendered as a variant:. Click here to see other possible spellings of Kanakis.

How Common Is The Last Name Kanakis? popularity and diffusion

This surname is the 141,820th most widespread surname worldwide. It is borne by around 1 in 2,320,136 people. It occurs predominantly in Europe, where 82 percent of Kanakis live; 80 percent live in Southeastern Europe and 80 percent live in Helleno-Europe. It is also the 614,549th most numerous given name worldwide It is held by 216 people.

It is most frequently held in Greece, where it is carried by 2,506 people, or 1 in 4,421. In Greece Kanakis is most common in: Attica, where 49 percent reside, Crete, where 13 percent reside and Central Macedonia, where 11 percent reside. Besides Greece Kanakis is found in 22 countries. It also occurs in The United States, where 14 percent reside and Australia, where 2 percent reside.

Kanakis Last Name Statistics demography

In The United States those holding the Kanakis last name are 0.38% more likely to be registered Democrats than The US average, with 53.61% being registered with the political party.

The amount Kanakis earn in different countries varies significantly. In United States they earn 26.96% more than the national average, earning $54,781 USD per year and in Canada they earn 1.87% less than the national average, earning $48,752 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Kamnakis93139/
Kasnakis9349/
Gkanakis9324/
Kanaskis932/
Kanakisz931/
Gkasnakis8851/
Konakis86103/
Canakis8689/
Kanakes8618/
Koinakis80200/
Kounakis8074/
Kaynakiş8018/
Koenakis8015/
Kanakesh806/
Kaunekis802/
Kanachis801/
Kongakis801/
Kaneckis801/
Kanoskis801/
Khanacis801/
Koumnakis7559/
Gkounakis7517/
Kauneckis7510/
Kamnakesh751/
Canakes7158/
Coinakis6713/
Koneckis676/
Kanokese674/
Kannekes671/
Canekiz5710/
Canaces571/
Cannaces531/
Canaquest501/

Kanakis Name Transliterations

TransliterationICU LatinPercentage of Incidence
Kanakis in the Russian language
Канакисkanakis-

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Kanakis
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis