Ke (Chinese: 柯; pinyin: Kē) is a Chinese surname. It originally appeared on the Hundred Family Surnames. As of 2006 was no longer one of the top 100 most common surnames. A 2013 study found that it was the 145th most common surname, shared by 1.06 million people or 0.080% of the population, with the province most being Hubei. It is also spelled as Quah, Qua, Kua, Kuah, Kwa, Ke, Ker, Ko, Kok, Or or O in English.
It is O in Cantonese. (Jyutping: o1)
Origin
There are several origins of this last name:
- the descendants of Duke Ke Lu (柯盧) of the State of Wu during the Spring and Autumn period;
 - the descendants of a tribe in Northern Wei Dynasty whose surname was originally Keba (柯拔) but was simplified to Ke;
 - the descendants of the Qiang tribe or the Xianbei tribe with the last name Ke.
 
One website lists it as originating from the town of Han in Zhejiang Province[1] while another states it originated in Jiyang Prefecture (located in present-day Dingtao County, Shandong Province) during the Jin Dynasty (266–420).[2]
Prominent people with the family name 柯
- Cua Yi Lam, baptized as Domingo Lamco, patrilineal ancestor of Jose Rizal, Philippine national hero
 - Ke Mengde, a Song Dynasty poet
 - Ke Jiusi (柯九思), a Yuan Dynasty officer
 - Ke Qian, a Ming Dynasty scholar
 - Ke Weizhen, a Qing Dynasty poet
 - Blackie Ko Shou Liang (柯受良), modern director, actor, stuntman
 - Alan Ke You Lun (柯有綸) a Taiwanese singer and actor; son of Blackie Ko Shou Liang
 - Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘), Taiwanese politician
 - Danny Quah Professor of economics, London School of Economics
 - Kwa Geok Choo, the wife of Singapore's first prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew
 - Ko Chen-tung (柯震東), a Taiwanese actor and singer
 - Ko Chia-yen (柯佳嬿), a Taiwanese actress
 - Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), mayor of Taipei
 - Ke Jie (柯洁), a Chinese World Go Champion
 - Quah Chow Cheung (柯昭璋), a Hong Kongese commissioner
 - Simon Ko, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of China
 - Quah Kim Lye, a Singaporean footballer
 - Quah Kim Song (柯金松), a Singaporean footballer
 - Quah Ting Wen (柯婷文), a Singaporean swimmer
 - Quah Zheng Wen (柯政文), a Singaporean swimmer
 - Quah Jing Wen (柯敬文), a Singaporean swimmer
 - Ke Qingshi (柯庆施), senior Chinese politician
 - Quah Nian King (柯年庆), prominent entrepreneur Malaysia and Singapore
 
Prominent people with the family name Kha
Kha is a Vietnamese variant of the family name Ke (柯)
- Kha Mỹ Vân, a Vietnamese model