Király is a Hungarian surname, meaning ''king'' (female Királyné/Királynő). The name is predominantly found in communities across

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

, followed by

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

, and Switzerland in terms of frequency per million of citizens. Origins of the surname include the Slavonic word of the late 1600s meaning "king". It is also a middle high German word, used as a term of endearment, for curly headed individuals. This pronunciation of Király differs by region. For example, the American pronunciation of Kiraly is "KEER-ah-lee," and the Hungarian pronunciation is kiraːj.

Pronunciation

This pronunciation of Kiraly differs by region. The American pronunciation of Kiraly is "Keer-ah-lee." The accent falls on the first syllable. The Hungarian pronunciation is / kiraːj/, used by Gábor Király.

Kiralys in the United States

Small pockets of Kiraly families exist around the world, primarily in Hungary, but most in the United States are found in Cleveland, Ohio, the state of Connecticut, and in Arlington, Virginia. And some are also in the far west region of Texas.

Notable people

Notable people with the name include: * Annamária Király (born 1985), Hungarian handball player * Béla Király (1912–2009), Hungarian general and politician * Botond Király (born 1994), Hungarian footballer * Don Kiraly (born 1953), American linguist *

Ede Király Ede Király (23 February 1926 – 10 August 2009) was a Hungarian figure skater. As a competitor in men's singles, he was a three-time World medalist (silver in 1949 and 1950, bronze in 1948), the 1950 European champion, and a six-time Hu ...

(1926–2009), Hungarian figure skater * Gábor Király (born 1976), Hungarian footballer *

Hajnalka Kiraly Hajnalka Kiraly-Picot (born March 2, 1971 in Veszprém) is a Hungarian-born French épée fencer. With Hungary she was three-time team World champion (1993, 1997, and 2002) and 2001 team European champion. With France, she won the team bronze m ...

(born 1971), Hungarian-born French épée fencer *

Karch Kiraly Charles Frederick "Karch" Kiraly () (born November 3, 1960) is an American volleyball player, coach and broadcast announcer. In the 1980s he was a central part of the United States men's national volleyball team, U.S National Team that won gold ...

(born 1960), American volleyball player and coach *

Linda Király Linda Király (born 28 February 1983) is a Hungarian-American singer and songwriter. She sings both in English and in Hungarian. She is the older sister of singer Viktor Király. Biography Linda Király is the second eldest of four children o ...

(born 1983), American-Hungarian singer-songwriter * Lucy Kiraly (born 1950), Australian fashion model and television presenter * Mónika Király (born 1983), Hungarian road cyclist *

Pál Király Pál Király (1880–1965) was a Hungarian engineer and weapons designer. Work & designs He is best known for development of lever-delayed blowback firearms, and being employed by the Danuvia company in the 1930s and 1940s to design and prod ...

(1880–1965), Hungarian engineer and weapons designer *

Pál Király (athlete) Pál Király (7 November 1896 – 4 January 1969) was a Hungarian long-distance runner. He competed in the 10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the a ...

(1896–1969), Hungarian long-distance runner *

Viktor Király Dov Viktor Király (born March 29, 1984) is a Hungarian American, Hungarian-American singer and songwriter. In 2006, he was part of the Hungarian band Twinz with his twin brother Benjamin. In 2008, he became the fourth winner of the Hungarian mu ...

(born 1984), Hungarian–American pop singer * Zoltán Király (born 1948), Hungarian journalist, educator, and politician

Pronunciation

Kiralys in the United States

Notable people

See also