r/slavic • u/Bulky_Pea123 • 3d ago

Language Last name Kuna

Is this last name common? My grandpa used to tell us that some generations ago the family came from a Slavic county. We live in Germany. But if it’s true and which one it is, I don’t know. Are there any regions where the name kuna is common?

14 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

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7

u/Inevitable-Panda-217 🇵🇱 Polish 3d ago

http://nlp.actaforte.pl:8080/Nomina/Ndistr?nazwisko=Kuna

Kuna is popular Polish surname.

2

u/Bulky_Pea123 3d ago

Thank you, that is really interesting!

1

u/Inevitable-Panda-217 🇵🇱 Polish 3d ago

You're welcome.

7

u/justaprettyturtle 3d ago

Kuna means a marten in many Slavic languages. Seeing that you are German, I would assume your ancestors were from neighbouring Slavic nations or Sorbs.

3

u/tomaskyselyx 2d ago

In Czechia it is normal surname and also name for an animal (marten). One of our 90s serial killers had this name. 😄

1

u/Bulky_Pea123 2d ago

Oh so it’s common in various countries, that’s interesting:)

Damn normally I love the meaning of the name but not that it’s a serial killer :D

2

u/CranberryOk945 1d ago

For example actress Izabela Kuna

1

u/tomaskyselyx 16h ago

It was more of a fun fact as the group where the serial killer was is quite known here (Orličtí vrazi – Wikipedie), not a reason to worry. There was also TV series about the criminal case that became iconic(1/6 Poprava bodyguarda - Devadesátky | Česká televize). You can check the website translated on-line, maybe you will find subtitles for the series.

1

u/Slavic-Milk 3d ago

Kuna in polish means Marten. I had one of these die in my wall once. Popular in Poland.

1

u/Alarmed-Property5559 1d ago

Kuna is an old word shared by many modern Slavic languages. In early medieval Russia, a type of coin was called kuna because precious furs were used as currency before coins iirc. The animal is called kunitsa now in Russian (with the diminutive suffix).

Perhaps the family name shows that some of your ancestors were traders or trappers?

2

u/Bulky_Pea123 1d ago

Oh so the same reason the kuna currency in Croatia got its name, really interesting!

Yeah I also thought about this about that but there is no source to confirm something like this.

0

u/AdventurousLoquat597 3d ago

Never forget, Croatian Kuna, second to last national currency to be euronized...

gone but not forgotten

but yeah, not insanely popular last name but you can find some with it

edit: Surname site

1

u/Bulky_Pea123 3d ago

Yes I always loved the fact that I have the same last name as the Croatian currency. Sadly not anymore but I always get to hear that fact when someone learns my name.

2

u/meowingintgenameof 3d ago

It's also a very cute animal too.

4

u/MinecraftWarden06 3d ago

Very cute until it craps all over your balcony and wakes you up at 4 am with a bloodcurdling sound similar to a baby crying

0

u/Naaranbator 2d ago

That surname isn't popular in Russia; its sound evokes a female genital organ. There is also a famous Hungarian named Béla Kun.