Kift Surname

514,102nd
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 635 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
England
Highest density in:
Wales

Kift Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from a nickname. 'the kift,' i.e. the ungainly, the awkward or clumsy.

John Kyft, Somerset, 1 Edward III: Kirby's Quest.

We find similar nicknames, such as Snell (which see) and Crees, in the same register; v.

Read More About This Surname

Kift Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England1911:291,71822,402
Wales1631:18,9852,033
Australia1091:247,66722,912
United States541:6,712,202314,667
South Africa471:1,152,71766,933
Canada371:995,82774,831
Germany121:6,708,788223,026
France101:6,642,272293,169
Thailand61:11,773,058553,295
Scotland11:5,353,81763,002
Norway11:5,142,286129,201
Ukraine11:45,522,696503,646
Netherlands11:16,887,176156,465
Italy11:61,156,688199,583
Belarus11:9,501,059159,228
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland31:1,476,62229,385
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England881:276,99319,333
Wales581:27,0421,534
Scotland11:3,743,21632,299
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States121:4,184,890180,076

Kift Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from a nickname. 'the kift,' i.e. the ungainly, the awkward or clumsy.

John Kyft, Somerset, 1 Edward III: Kirby's Quest.

We find similar nicknames, such as Snell (which see) and Crees, in the same register; v. Crease.

1616. Edward Kyfte, Gloucestershire: Register of the University of Oxford.

1674. Joseph Smart and Mary Herbert, alleged by Richard Kiff: Marriage Alleg. (Canterbury).

1675. Henry Hinton and Elizabeth Corbett, alleged by Richard Kift: ibid.

1703. Married — Joseph Lester and Elizabeth Kift: St. Dionis Backchurch.

A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (1896) by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

(English) Awkward, Clumsy [West. Dialectal English kift]

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

“Awkward” in Old English.

South African Surnames (1965) by Eric Rosenthal

Kift Last Name Facts

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

The surname Kift (Russian: Кифт) is more frequently found in England than any other country or territory. It can also appear as a variant:. For other potential spellings of Kift click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Kift? popularity and diffusion

The last name is the 514,102nd most widespread surname world-wide. It is borne by around 1 in 11,476,450 people. The last name Kift is mostly found in Europe, where 60 percent of Kift reside; 56 percent reside in Northern Europe and 56 percent reside in British Isles.

The last name Kift is most commonly held in England, where it is borne by 191 people, or 1 in 291,718. In England it is most numerous in: Devon, where 34 percent live, Kent, where 11 percent live and Somerset, where 8 percent live. Outside of England this last name exists in 14 countries. It is also found in Wales, where 26 percent live and Australia, where 17 percent live.

Kift Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The incidence of Kift has changed through the years. In England the number of people carrying the Kift last name increased 217 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Wales it increased 281 percent between 1881 and 2014; in The United States it increased 450 percent between 1880 and 2014.

Kift Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those carrying the Kift surname is primarily Anglican (100%) in Ireland.

In The United States those holding the Kift last name are 2.33% more likely to be registered with the Democratic Party than the national average, with 55.56% registered with the party.

The amount Kift earn in different countries varies greatly. In South Africa they earn 178.56% more than the national average, earning R 661,956 per year; in United States they earn 10.21% less than the national average, earning $38,745 USD per year and in Canada they earn 9.83% more than the national average, earning $54,568 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Kieft892,792/
Keift8925/
Khift891/
Kifte891/
Kifft890/
Kiffte808/
Kiefft805/
Keft75152/
Cift7586/
Kiwt751/
Kyft751/
Kuft751/
Keifttz731/
Kaivt677/
Kefte675/
Quift673/
Chift672/
Keaft672/
Kibth671/
Kibht671/
Khuft671/
Kaiwt671/
Kibtt671/
Kefth671/
Kheft671/

Kift Name Transliterations

TransliterationICU LatinPercentage of Incidence
Kift in the Russian language
Кифтkift-

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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 Kift
  • 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