Language(s) | Chinese (primarily Cantonese), Dutch, Korean, Khmer, Yiddish |
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Other names | |
Variant form(s) |
Kam is a given name, nickname or surname.
As a given name, Kam may be short for Kameron, which is a variant of Cameron, a given name which originated from a Scottish surname. Another similar shortened form is Cam. [1]
People with the given name or nickname Kam include:
As a Chinese surname, Kam may be a spelling of the pronunciation in different varieties of Chinese of the following surnames, listed based on their Pinyin spelling (which reflects the Mandarin Chinese pronunciation): [2]
The Dutch surname Kam originated in multiple ways. As an occupational surname, it came from both Dutch kam meaning "comb" (referring metonymically to comb makers, wool combers, or fullers), or from Middle Dutch kamme meaning "brewery". As a toponymic surname, it is a reduced form of Van Kam, referring to Chaam (formerly spelled Kam) in North Brabant, near Breda. [4]
The Jewish surname Kam (Yiddish and Hebrew : קם), also spelled Kamm, originated from various German words, including Middle High German kâm "mould" or kam "comb". [5]
As a Korean surname, Kam is the McCune–Reischauer and Yale Romanization spelling of the surname transcribed in the Revised Romanization of Korean as Gam (Korean : 감; Hanja : 甘); it is written using the same character as for the Chinese surname Gān mentioned above. [6] The bearers of this surname in Korea identify with a number of bon-gwan (hometowns of a clan lineage), including Changwon, Masan, Geochang, Buryeong, Changnyeong, Chungju, and Happo, but all of these are branches of the Hoesan Gam (Kam) clan , and claim common descent from Gam Gyu , a Chinese civil official who came to Goryeo in the retinue of Princess Noguk for her marriage to King Gongmin. [7] [8] It was one of eighteen Korean clans founded by Yuan Dynasty officials who accompanied princesses to Korea. [9]
In the Netherlands, there were 157 people with the surname Kam as of 2007, up from 38 in 1947. [10]
The 2000 South Korean census found 5,998 people in 1,910 households with the surname. [6] A study by the National Institute of the Korean Language based on 2007 application data for South Korean passports found that 70% of applicants with this family name spelled it in Latin letters as Kam in their passports, while 20% spelled it Gam. Rarer alternative spellings included Kahm. [11]
The 2010 United States Census found 3,749 people with the surname Kam, making it the 8,749th-most-common name in the country. This represented an increase from 3,358 (8,954th-most-common) in the 2000 Census. In both censuses, slightly more than 70% of the bearers of the surname identified as Asian, and about 15% as White. [12] It was the 404th-most-common surname among respondents to the 2000 Census who identified as Asian. [13]
Surname 甘:
Surname 金:
Other:
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Chin is a surname. As a Chinese surname or Korean surname, it could originate from various Chinese characters, and it is also a surname in other cultures as well.
Kan is a surname of multiple origins.
Hui is a surname. It is the Hanyu Pinyin spelling of two Chinese surnames, as well as a variant spelling of two others.
Koh is a surname in various cultures. Its languages of origin include Chinese, German, and Korean.
Loi is a surname. It has various origins, including as a spelling in Punjabi as Loi, three Chinese surnames, a traditional surname from Sardinia, and a surname in India among Jatt Sikhs. Loi is a common Jatt surname found among Sikhs in Punjab. The surname only belongs to the Jatt caste within Punjab and the Sikh community.
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Thong is a Chinese and Cambodian surname.
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Chew is a Chinese, English or Korean surname.
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Shing is a surname.
Gan is a surname. It may be a Latin-alphabet spelling of four different Chinese surnames, a Korean surname, and a surname in other cultures.
Mo (모) is an uncommon Korean surname. It originated from either of two hanja, which are also used respectively to write the Chinese surnames Móu or Máo. The 2000 South Korean census found a total of 19,834 people and 6,110 households with these surnames. The surname is spelled Mo in all standard methods of romanizing the Korean language. In a study by the National Institute of the Korean Language based on 2007 application data for South Korean passports, all the applicants spelled this surname as Mo. The alternative spelling Moh is occasionally seen.
Dan is a name in various cultures. As a given name it is often short for Daniel. It is also a surname with multiple origins.