Given name & surname
Kish
“snaring”
Kish is used as a given name and a surname.
Original Hebrewקיש
Meaning & origin
What it means
As a biblical name, Kish means “snaring.”
From biblical name research
Where it comes from
Kish is a biblical name from Hebrew.
From biblical name research
How it developed
From the Hebrew verb qosh (קוש), “to lay bait or a snare.”
From biblical name research
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1971. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
In the Bible
In the Bible, the name Kish appears in 1 Samuel 9:1, Acts 13:21, 1 Chronicles 8:30 and 3 other passages.
- 1 Samuel 9:1
- Acts 13:21
- 1 Chronicles 8:30
- Esther 2:5
- 1 Chronicles 23:21
- 2 Chronicles 29:12
From biblical name research
Kish through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 20
- 5 boys · 15 girls
- Most popular year
- 1977
- 10 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 5 in 1977. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 160 as a first name in 2020; 7,796 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Kish’s family of names
See also 4
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
Similar names
If you love Kish, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Tommi
Tommi is a masculine given name from Biblical Hebrew. It is used in Finnish.
2% boys · 98% girls
Tarshish
“his excellency”
25% boys · 75% girls
Cozbi
“false” · “lying”
25% boys · 75% girls
Mash
“departed” · “drawn out”
33% boys · 67% girls
Kolaiah
“voice of Yah”
44% boys · 56% girls
Iscah
“she will weave a cover” · “she will look out”
20% boys · 80% girls
Qeturah
“resembling incense” · “incense”
22% boys · 78% girls
Perets
Perets is a masculine given name from Biblical Hebrew. It is used in French.
40% boys · 60% girls