Frequency: (150)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
1. Czech: nickname from kavka ‘jackdaw’.
2. Jewish (Ashkenazic): from Polish kawa ‘coffee’, probably an ornamental name but possibly a metonymic occupational name for a coffee merchant.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
