Kite
Likely a nickname surname from the bird kite, perhaps used for someone thought swift, sharp-eyed, or hawk-like.
The #6,258 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 56,578 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is generally explained from the bird name kite, the raptor. Old English had a related word, often given in older sources as glida, for a kite-like bird of prey. In surname use, it most likely began as a nickname, like other surnames taken from birds of prey, and may have suggested a person’s appearance, habits, or temper.
History
Nineteenth-century surname writers treated Kite alongside other bird-based surnames such as Hawk, Falcon, and Eagle. Some older records and related forms point to medieval nicknames based on the bird name rather than to any place-name origin. The surname is not especially common, but it has persisted in England and later in the English-speaking world.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Early surname collections often grouped Kite with bird nicknames because birds of prey were a productive source of English surnames.
From the historical record
“KlTCHIN. KITCHING. See Kitchen. KITE. The bird— like Eagle, Falcon, Ilawk, Sec. KITSON. The sou of Kitt, i.e. Christo- pher. KITT. A ' nurse-name' of Christopher. KITTER^V] ASTER. An obvious cor- ruption of Kidderminster, the town in Wor- cestershire. The pedigree of K. of Mcriden CO. Warwick, given in B.L.G.…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom