Kost
A surname with several possible roots, most likely from a short Germanic nickname or a name shortened from older forms like Kost-/Gost-.
The #9,241 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 87,662 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Kost appears in German and Dutch naming traditions, but its exact origin is not certain. In the historical surname literature it is often treated as a shortened form related to older Germanic names with Kost-/Gost- sounds, rather than as a straightforward modern word surname. In some cases it may also be linked to nicknames or reduced forms of longer given names.
History
The name is attested in German-language surname discussions as an established short form, and it also appears in broader comparative lists of related surnames such as Kost, Kostel, Koster, and Koss. Because the historical sources mostly list it alongside similar forms rather than explaining it directly, its development is best understood as part of a family of short Germanic surnames rather than a single, neatly traceable source. In the United States it remains relatively uncommon.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In one 19th-century surname study, Kost is grouped with many related short forms ending in -st, showing how often old names were clipped down over time.
From the historical record
“Mit Ausstoßung des r: Kasten (als VN. 17. Jh. KB.); Kastein; Kost. Patr. Zss. Kastensen, Mit Rüokangleichung des t: Kassens,”
— Die deutschen Familiennamen