AARON KING

Biblical name, borne by the brother of Moses, who was appointed by God to be Moses' spokesman and became the first High Priest of the Israelites (Exodus 4:14–16, 7:1–2). It is of uncertain origin and meaning: most probably, like Moses, of Egyptian rather than Hebrew origin. The traditional derivation from Hebrew har-on ‘mountain of strength’ is no more than a folk etymology. The name has been in regular use from time immemorial as a Jewish name and was taken up by the Nonconformists as a Christian name in the 16th century. Since the late 1990s it has been widely popular.

English and Scottish: nickname from Middle English king, Old English cyning ‘king’ (originally merely a tribal leader, from Old English cyn(n) ‘tribe’, ‘race’ + the Germanic suffix -ing). The word was already used as a byname before the Norman Conquest, and the nickname was common in the Middle Ages, being used to refer to someone who conducted himself in a kingly manner, or one who had played the part of a king in a pageant, or one who had won the title in a tournament. In other cases it may actually have referred to someone who served in the king's household. The American surname has absorbed several European cognates and equivalents with the same meaning, for example German König (see Koenig), Swiss German Küng, French Leroy. It is also found as an Ashkenazic Jewish surname, of ornamental origin.