King is an English surname. It is also an Anglicized form of the German surname Küng (also König, Koenig and other forms), which in many German dialects is pronounced like king. This originally German form is widespread among American

Mennonites Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...

and

Amish The Amish (, also or ; ; ), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, church fellowships with Swiss people, Swiss and Alsace, Alsatian origins. As they ...

Origins and variants

The English name may be related to the

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

word for a tribal leader, ''cyning'', which derives from the

Proto-Germanic Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the linguistic reconstruction, reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic languages, Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages. Proto-Germanic eventually developed from ...

'' kuningaz''. The origins of the King surname date back to the time of the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain.

People

Disambiguation of common names with this surname

Academics

* Georgiana Goddard King (1871–1939), American Hispanist and medievalist * Karen Leigh King (born 1954), American historian of religion and professor * Kenneth King (academic), British historian and Africanist * Lida Shaw King (1868–1932), American classicist and college dean * Ursula King (academic) (born 1938) German theologian and scholar of religion

Arts and music

* Aja Naomi King (born 1985), American actress * Albert King (1923–1992), American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter * Allyn King (1899–1930), American stage and film actress * Alexander King (author) (1899–1965), American author, U.S. humorist, memoirist, and TV personality * Amanda King (filmmaker), Australian filmmaker * B.B. King (1925–2015), American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter * Ben E. King (1938–2015), American singer * Bertie King (1912–1981), Jamaican jazz and mento musician * Betty Jackson King (1928–1994), American musician and composer * Bianca King (born 1985), Filipina actor * Bill King (1927–2005), American radio announcer * Bobby King (musician) (1941–1983), American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter * Brett King (1920–1999), American actor and businessman * Carole King, American singer and songwriter * Clydie King (1943–2019), American R&B singer, member of Ray Charles' backing group The Raelettes * Diana King (born 1970), Jamaican singer * Dennis King (actor), actor * Dorothy King (artist), British painter * Earl King (1934–2003), American blues singer-songwriter * Earline Heath King (1913–2011), American sculptor * Emeline King (born 1957), American industrial designer, author * Emmett King (1865–1953), American actor * Fay King (cartoonist) (1889–1972), American newspaper cartoonist * Freddie King (1934–1976), American blues guitarist * Georgia King, actress * Hannah T. King (1808–1886), British-American writer * Hayward Ellis King (1928–1990), American visual artist and curator * Héctor King, Mexican recording artist * Henry King (director) (1886–1982), American film director * Inge King (1915–2016), German-born Australian sculptor *Jasmina Jazzy King, German-English singer * Jesse King (musician), Nigerian musician * Jessie Marion King, Scottish painter and illustrator * Jean Paul King, American announcer and actor * Jonathan King, British musician and record producer * Jonathan King (film director), New Zealand film director * Kerry King (born 1964), American rock musician * Mabel King (1932–1999), American film, stage, and television actor * Marcia Gygli King (1931–2011), American artist * Margaret King (painter), 18th-century British artist * Michelle King (born 1958), American TV writer and producer * Mollie King (born 1987), British singer * Nika King, American comedian and actress * Pee Wee King (1914–2000), American country music singer * Regina King (born 1971), American actor * Rowena King (born 1970), British actor * Ruby King, German-English singer * Sidney E. King (1906–2002), American painter * Solomon King (1930–2005), American singer * Teddi King (1929–1977), American jazz and pop vocalist * Wayne King (1901–1985), American musician, singer, songwriter and orchestral leader * Wright King (1923–2018), American actor

Military

* Cecil Frederick King (1899–1919), British fighter ace * Elwyn Roy King (1894–1941), Australian World War I fighter ace * Ernest J. King (1878–1956), US Navy fleet admiral, Commander in Chief, United States Fleet, and Chief of Naval Operations during World War II

Politics and government

* Adam King (congressman) (1783–1835), former US Representative from Pennsylvania * Alveda King (born 1951), American politician and minister * Angela King (diplomat) (1938–2007), Jamaican diplomat * Angus King (born 1944), U.S. senator and former governor of Maine * Bruce King (1924–2009), former governor of New Mexico * Carroll F. King (1924–2010), American politician and businessman * Coretta Scott King (1927–2006), American civil rights leader and widow of Martin Luther King Jr. * Dick King (politician) (1934–2018), American politician * Dwayne A. King (born 1939), American politician * Frederick King (politician) (1923–2016), Canadian House of Commons member * Lawrence E. King Jr. (born 1944), American politician and banker * Leslie Lynch King Jr. (1913–2006), birth name of Gerald Ford, former president of the United States * Martin Luther King Jr. (1929–1968), American civil rights leader * Owen King (Wisconsin) (1845–1932), American politician and businessman * Ralph E. King (1902–1974), American physician and Louisiana state senator * Thérèse King (1934–2015), Senegalese politician * Thomas Starr King (1824–1864), American Universalist and Unitarian minister influential in California politics during the American Civil War. * William Lyon Mackenzie King (1874–1950), 10th prime minister of Canada

Science

* Elizabeth O. King (1912–1966), American microbiologist * Jackie King (1945–2025), British-born South African hydrologist * Leonard William King (1869–1919), English archaeologist * Lester Charles King (1907–1989), English geomorphologist * R. Bruce King, American inorganic chemist * Victor L. King (1886–1958), American chemist

Sports

* Adam King (footballer) (born 1995), Scottish footballer * Alex King (basketball) (born 1985), German basketballer * Barry King (decathlete) (1945–2021), British Olympic decathlete, corporate director and author * Barry King (tennis) (born 1985), Irish tennis player * Bernard King (born 1956), American basketball player * Billie Jean King (born 1943), American tennis player * Brandon King (cricketer), Jamaican and West Indies cricket player * Bryan King (baseball) (born 1996), American baseball player * Cathy King, Canadian curler * Collis King, former West Indian cricketer * Dana M. King, American college sports coach * Darian King (born 1992), Barbadian tennis player * D'Eriq King (born 1997), American football player * Desmond King (American football) (born 1994), American football player * D. J. King (born 1984), Canadian professional ice hockey player * Dick King (American football) (1895–1930), American football player * Dolly King (1916–1969), American basketball player * Don King (boxing promoter) (born 1931), American boxing promoter * Don King (photographer) (born 1960), American surfing photographer * Dwight King (born 1989), Canadian professional ice hockey player * Emmit King (1959–2021), American sprinter * Ernie King (1903–1993), English footballer who played for Southampton * Evan King (born 1992), American tennis player * Fay King (American football) (1922–1983), American football player * Frances King (cricketer) (1980–2003), cricketer from New Zealand * Frederick King (cricketer) (1850–1893), English cricketer * Gayl King, Canadian darts player * Gordon King, American football player * Jim King, American baseball player * John King (baseball), American baseball player * John King (racing driver), American NASCAR driver * John King (rugby league), rugby league footballer of the 1940s * Jordan King, British IndyCar driver * Joshua King (footballer, born 1992) (born 1992), Norwegian footballer * Kim King, American college football player * Lamar King (born 1975), American football player * Laurence Eastern "Laurie" King (1908–1992), Australian rules footballer * Ledley King (born 1980), English footballer * Lilly King (born 1997), American swimmer * Louis King (basketball) (born 1999), American basketball player * Marlon King (born 1980), Jamaican footballer * Reggie King (born 1957), American basketball player * Sam King (golfer) (1911–2003), professional golfer * Savannah King (soccer) (born 2005), American soccer player * Savannah King (swimmer) (born 1992), Canadian freestyle swimmer * Seaver King (born 2003), American baseball player * Shaun King (American football), American football player and sports commentator * Shawn King (basketball), (born 1982), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines basketball player * Stacy-Ann King (born 1983) former West Indies Women's Cricketer * Syd King (1873–1933), English footballer and manager * Vania King (born 1989), American tennis player * W. J. King (1864–1934), American college football coach

Writing

* Basil King (1859–1928), Canadian novelist and non-fiction writer * Florence King (1936–2016), American novelist, essayist and columnist * Frances King (philanthropist) (1757–1821), writer and philanthropist * Francis King (1923–2011), British novelist, poet and short story writer * Grace King, American author * Hannah T. King (1808–1886), British-American writer and pioneer * Jessie Margaret King (1862–?), Scottish essayist, journalist and poet * Michelle King (journalist), journalist and women's rights activist *

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...

(born 1947), American horror author

Other

* Beverly Sedgwick King (1876–1935), philatelist of New York City * Deborah G. King (1839–1922) American temperance activist and suffragist * Ginevra King (1898–1980), American socialite * Jean Ledwith King (1924–2021), American activist * Kelly King (born 1948), American businesswoman * Michelle King (educator) (1961–2019), American educator * Richard D. King (1879–1945), American architect *

Rodney King Rodney Glen King (April 2, 1965June 17, 2012) was a Black American victim of police brutality. On March 3, 1991, he was severely beaten by Police officer, officers of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) during his arrest after a high spe ...

(1965–2012), American man beaten by Los Angeles police * Walter Gawen King (1851–1935), British Indian army physician and public health pioneer * Willford I. King, American statistician and economist

Fictional characters

* Amanda King, in the television series ''Scarecrow and Mrs. King'' * Raj King, in the British web series '' Corner Shop Show'' * Tara King, in ''The Avengers'' television series

References

English-language surnames Surnames from nicknames Surnames of English origin {{King-surname