Kučera
A Czech surname likely first used for someone known for a curly head of hair.
The #8,168 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 76,083 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Kučera is a West Slavic surname built on the common word for a curl or tuft of hair. In Czech and Slovak, it was originally a nickname for a person with curly hair or an unruly forelock, later becoming hereditary as surnames stabilized. The name is usually explained from the descriptive word rather than from a place or occupation.
History
The surname is especially associated with Czech and Slovak naming traditions and is found in central Europe and later in immigrant communities abroad, including the United States. Its spelling often loses the Czech diacritic in English-language records, so Kučera commonly appears as Kucera. The name is well established as a hereditary surname by the modern period.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same root behind Kučera is why Slavic languages have several similar surnames linked to hair texture or a distinctive tuft of hair.