Klaus is a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, Dutch and

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

n given name and surname. It originated as a short form of Nikolaus, a German form of the Greek given name

Nicholas Nicholas is a male name, the Anglophone version of an ancient Greek name in use since antiquity, and cognate with the modern Greek , . It originally derived from a combination of two Ancient Greek, Greek words meaning 'victory' and 'people'. In ...

Notable persons whose family name is Klaus

* Billy Klaus (1928–2006), American baseball player * Chris Klaus (born 1973), American entrepreneur * Felix Klaus (born 1992), German football player, son of Fred Klaus * Frank Klaus (1887–1948), German-American boxer, 1913 Middleweight Champion * Fred Klaus (born 1967), German football player and manager, father of Felix Klaus *

Josef Klaus Josef Klaus (15 August 1910 – 25 July 2001) was an Austrian politician of the conservative People's Party (ÖVP). He served as State Governor (''Landeshauptmann'') of Salzburg from 1949 to 1961, as Minister of Finance from 1961 to 1963 and a ...

(1910–2001), Chancellor of Austria 1966–1970 *

Karl Ernst Claus Karl Ernst Claus, also known as Karl Klaus or Carl Claus (; 22 January 1796 – 24 March 1864), was a Russian chemist and naturalist of Baltic German origin. Claus was a professor at Kazan State University and a member of the Russian Academy o ...

(1796–1864), Russian chemist *

Václav Klaus Václav Klaus (; born 19 June 1941) is a Czech economist and politician who served as the second president of the Czech Republic from 2003 to 2013. From July 1992 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in January 1993, he served as the second ...

(born 1941), Czech politician, former President of the Czech Republic * Walter K. Klaus (1912–2012), American politician and farmer

Notable persons whose given name is Klaus

* Brother Klaus, Swiss patron saint * Klaus Augenthaler (born 1957), German football player and manager * Klaus Badelt (born 1967), German composer *

Klaus Barbie Nikolaus Barbie (25 October 1913 – 25 September 1991) was a German officer of the ''Schutzstaffel'' and ''Sicherheitsdienst'' who worked in Vichy France during World War II. He became known as the "Butcher of Lyon" for having personally tortu ...

(1913–1991), German SS-Hauptsturmführer and Holocaust Perpetrator *

Klaus Bargsten Klaus Bargsten (31 October 1911 – 25 October 2000) was the captain and sole survivor of the sunken German submarine . He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Career ''U-521'' under Bargsten's command was sunk on 2 June 19 ...

(1911–2000), German captain and sole survivor of the sunken U-boat U-521 in World War II *

Klaus Berntsen Klaus Berntsen (12 June 1844 – 27 March 1927) was a Danish politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the ...

(1844–1927), Danish politician *

Klaus Dede Klaus Dede (1 June 1935 in Nordenham, Oldenburg – 5 May 2018, Oldenburg) was a German writer and journalist. Life Dede was born 1935 in Nordenham-Blexen. His father was a Lutheran priest. After school Dede studied during the 1950s. Later Ded ...

(1935–2018), German writer *

Klaus Doldinger Klaus Doldinger (; born 12 May 1936) is a German saxophonist known for his work in jazz and as a film music composer. He was the recipient of the 1997's Bavarian Film Awards. He is also a frequent collaborator of German filmmaker Wolfgang Pet ...

(born 1936), German musician *

Klaus Fischer Klaus Fischer (born 27 December 1949) is a German former professional footballer and coach. He was a key player on the West Germany national team that lost the 1982 World Cup final to Italy. As a forward, he was noted for his bicycle kicks, ...

(born 1949), German footballer *

Klaus Flouride Klaus Flouride is the stage name of Geoffrey Lyall (born May 30, 1949), an American musician who is the bassist and backing vocalist for the San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys.Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Ca ...

(born 1949), bassist of the Dead Kennedys *

Klaus Fuchs Klaus Emil Julius Fuchs (29 December 1911 – 28 January 1988) was a German theoretical physicist and atomic spy who supplied information from the American, British, and Canadian Manhattan Project to the Soviet Union during and shortly a ...

(1911–1988), German theoretical physicist and atomic spy *

Klaus Gerhart Klaus Gerhart is an American photographer and the owner of Uber Adventures, the largest canyoneering training provider in the U.S. He was the owner of Pohlmann Press and the owner and curator of the N Gallery art gallery. Life Born Klaus Gerhart ...

(born 1965), outdoorsman and photographer *

Klaus Iohannis Klaus Werner Iohannis (; ; born 13 June 1959) is a Romanian politician, physicist, and former teacher who served as the fifth president of Romania from 2014 until his resignation in 2025. Prior to entering Politics of Romania, national politics, ...

(born 1959), Romanian politician *

Klaus Isekenmeier Klaus Isekenmeier (born 14 April 1975 in Salzkotten, North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more th ...

(born 1975), German decathlete *

Klaus Kinkel Klaus Kinkel (17 December 1936 – 4 March 2019)
Klaus Kinski Klaus Kinski (, born Klaus Günter Karl Nakszynski 18 October 1926 – 23 November 1991) was a German actor. Equally renowned for his intense performance style and notorious for his volatile personality, he appeared in over 130 film roles in a ...

(1926–1991), German actor *

Klaus Köchl Klaus Köchl (born 28 November 1961) is an Austrian politician and member of the National Council. A member of the Social Democratic Party, he has represented Carinthia since October 2019. He was a member of the Carinthian Landtag from April 2 ...

(born 1961), Austrian politician *

Klaus Lage Klaus Lage (born 16 June 1950) is a German musician from Soltau, Lower Saxony. He is known for his 1984 single "1000 und 1 Nacht (Zoom!)". Life Klaus Lage spent his childhood in Soltau before the family moved to Düsseldorf. Whilst living in ...

(born 1950), German musician * Klaus Lanzarini (born 1977), Italian freestyle swimmer * Klaus Laser (1942–2020), German actor *

Klaus Löwitsch Klaus Löwitsch (8 April 1936 – 3 December 2002) was a German actor, best known in Germany for his starring role in the television detective series '' Peter Strohm''. He appeared in several films directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, begin ...

(1936–2002), German actor *

Klaus Mäkelä Klaus Mäkelä (; born 17 January 1996) is a Finnish conductor and cellist. He is the chief conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic, and music director of the Orchestre de Paris. Mäkelä is also artistic partner and chief conductor-designate of th ...

, (born 1996) Finnish conductor and cellist *

Klaus Meine Klaus Meine (; born 25 May 1948) is a German singer, best known as the longtime frontman and primary lyricist of the hard rock band Scorpions. Meine and guitarist Rudolf Schenker are the only two members of the group to appear on every Scorpio ...

(born 1948), lead singer of German hard rock band

Scorpions Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...

* Klaus Mertens (born 1949), German singer *

Klaus Nomi Klaus Sperber (January 24, 1944 – August 6, 1983), known professionally as Klaus Nomi, was a German countertenor noted for his wide vocal range and an unusual, otherworldly stage persona. In the 1970s, Nomi immersed himself in the East Villag ...

(1944–1983), German entertainer *

Klaus Ofczarek Klaus Ofczarek (17 March 1939 – 6 December 2020) was an Austrian tenor opera singer and actor. Filmography *''Tempo'' (1996) *''Inspector Rex'' (1996–2003) *''Stockinger'' (1997) *''Die Neue – Eine Frau mit Kaliber'' (1998) *''Drei Herren'' ...

(1939–2020), Austrian opera singer and actor * Klaus Perwas (born 1971), German basketball coach and former player * Klaus Rogge (born 1979), German rower * Klaus Schilling (1871–1946), German experimenter in Nazi human concentration camp experiments executed for war crimes * Klaus Schulten, computational biophysicist *

Klaus Schulze Klaus Schulze (4 August 1947 – 26 April 2022) was a German electronic music pioneer, composer and musician. He also used the alias Richard Wahnfried and was a member of the Krautrock bands Tangerine Dream, Ash Ra Tempel, and the Cosmic Jokers ...

(1947-2022), German electronic music composer and musician *

Klaus Schwab Klaus Martin Schwab (; born 30 March 1938) is a German mechanical engineer, economist, and founder of the World Economic Forum (WEF). He acted as the WEF's chairman since founding the organisation from 1971 until 2025 when he was replaced by P ...

(born 1938), German professor who founded the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

* Klaus Tennstedt (1926–1998), German conductor *

Klaus Voormann Klaus Otto Wilhelm Voormann (born 29 April 1938) is a German graphic artist, artist, musician, and record producer. Voormann was the bassist for Manfred Mann from 1966 to 1969, and performed as a session musician on a host of recordings, includ ...

(born 1938), artist, musician, and record producer who was associated with the early days of The Beatles *

Klaus Wowereit Klaus Wowereit (born 1 October 1953) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and was the Governing Mayor of Berlin from 21 October 2001 to 11 December 2014. In 2001 state elections his party won a plurality of the votes, 29 ...

(born 1953), German politician

Nickname

Klaus Maria Brandauer Klaus Maria Brandauer (; born Klaus Georg Steng; 22 June, 1943) is an Austrian actor and director. He is also a professor at the Max Reinhardt Seminar. Brandauer is known internationally for his roles in '' Mephisto'' (1981), ''Never Say Never ...

(born 1943), theatrical name of Klaus Georg Steng, Austrian actor

Characters

*Klaus from '' Beyblade: Metal Masters'' *Klaus from ''

Xenoblade Chronicles ''Xenoblade Chronicles'' is a series of action role-playing games developed by Monolith Soft and published by Nintendo. The series began with the original '' Xenoblade Chronicles'' game, published for the Wii in 2010 in Japan, and released in ...

'' and ''

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 ''Xenoblade Chronicles 2'' is a 2017 action role-playing game developed by Monolith Soft and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the third installment in the '' Xenoblade Chronicles'' series and the sixth main entry in the ''X ...

'' *Klaus from ''

Mother 3 is a 2006 role-playing video game developed by Brownie Brown and HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. It is the third and final entry in the Mother (video game series), ''Mother'' series. The game follows Lucas, a ...

'' *Klaus Baudelaire from ''

A Series of Unfortunate Events ''A Series of Unfortunate Events'' is a series of thirteen Children's literature, children's novels written by American author Daniel Handler under the pen name Lemony Snicket. The books follow the turbulent lives of orphaned siblings List of A ...

'' *Klaus Daimler from ''

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou ''The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou'' is a 2004 American adventure comedy-drama film written by Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach and directed by Anderson. It is Anderson's fourth feature-length film and was released in the United States on Decem ...

'' *Klaus Hargreeves from ''

The Umbrella Academy ''The Umbrella Academy'' is an Absurdist fiction, absurdist Superhero fiction, superhero comic book series created by writer Gerard Way and artist Gabriel Bá. It follows a dysfunctional family of adopted superhero siblings with bizarre powers a ...

'' * Klaus Heisler from ''

American Dad! ''American Dad!'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker (producer), Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on February 6, 2005, following Super Bowl XXXIX, with the r ...

'' *Klaus Mikaelson from ''

The Vampire Diaries ''The Vampire Diaries'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural teen drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson (screenwriter), Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the The Vampire Diaries (novel series), book series ...

'' and '' The Originals'' *Klaus von Wolfstadt from '' Maiden Rose'' *Baron Klaus Wulfenbach from ''

Girl Genius ''Girl Genius'' is an ongoing comic book series turned webcomic, written and drawn by Phil Foglio, Phil and Kaja Foglio and published by their company Studio Foglio LLC under the Imprint (trade name), imprint Airship Entertainment. The comic wo ...

'' *Klaus from '' Klaus'' *Klaus from '' Animal Crossing: New Horizons'' *Klaus, the titular character from '' Forklift Driver Klaus – The First Day on the Job''

References

{{Reflist German masculine given names Masculine given names Dutch masculine given names Norwegian masculine given names Swedish masculine given names Danish masculine given names Finnish masculine given names Icelandic masculine given names Surnames from given names

Notable persons whose family name is Klaus

Notable persons whose given name is Klaus

Nickname

Characters

See also

References