Given name & surname
Klein
“a man of small stature”
Klein is used as a given name and a surname. One German interpretation is “a man of small stature.”
Original GermanKleine
Meaning & origin
What it means
One German interpretation is “a man of small stature.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is German.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1984. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Klein through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 370
- 370 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2013
- 25 babies
- 2025
- 17
- #5,506 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +6%
- Steady
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 17 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 5,506 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 5.6% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 25 in 2013. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 423 as a first name in 2020; 79,552 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.
Klein’s family of names
In German usage, Klein has a later derivative in KLEINBERG. Klein has a related form in Kline. Klein has a related form in Kleine.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Klein has relatives in 5 languages. Lines run from its German roots to each of them.
Germanwhere Klein comes from · 9 names
Nicknames & forms 10
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Kleinevariant · German
- Kleinlevariant · German
- Kleinzvariant · German
- Kleintvariant · German
- Kleinleinvariant · German
- Kleinertzvariant · German
- Kleinertvariant · German
- Kleinervariant · German
Show 2 moreShow fewer
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 6
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Klein, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Ebben
Ebben is a surname from German.
>99% boys
Kush
Kush is a surname from German.
>99% boys
Kail
“a mighty warrior”
>99% boys
Kahlo
Kahlo is a surname from German.
91% boys · 9% girls
Ripp
“powerful” · “bright, famous”
>99% boys
Kohl
“cabbage”
>99% boys
Heyden
Heyden is a surname from German.
>99% boys
Brix
Brix is a surname from German.
99% boys · 1% girls