# Where does the name "Ku Klux Klan" come from? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 2, 2005, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-the-name-ku-klux-klan-come-from/315357 "2005-08-02T21:28:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-the-name-ku-klux-klan-come-from/315357/1 "2005-08-02T21:28:54Z")
It certainly doesn’t sound like english. What language do the words originate from, and what (if any) is the literal translation? For that matter, when exactly _did_ this group get together? Sometime after the Civil War I know, but who founded it, and why did / do they parade around in those ridiculous white sheet costumes (apart from masking their identities that is)? ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-the-name-ku-klux-klan-come-from/315357/2 "2005-08-02T21:41:29Z")
Wikipedia’s [entry](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ku_Klux_Klan) is quite thorough about the origins and evolution of the Klan, along with an [answers.com](http://www.answers.com/topic/ku-klux-klan) article. In sum, it was founded by several Confederate veterans immediately after the Civil War, the name is based on the Greek word κυκλος, or “circle”, and the robes have various explanations, ranging from representing the avenging spirits of Confederate ghosts to simple anonyminity and intimidation. It doesn’t look like the name has a literal translation, though. ---
**Author:** ![Loopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loopus/32/15343_2.png) [@Loopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopus)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-the-name-ku-klux-klan-come-from/315357/3 "2005-08-02T21:42:35Z")
Cecil addressed the question in [Why does the Ku Klux Klan burn crosses?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4_196.html) > [@](#): > > Where does the name Ku Klux Klan come from? It seems the men who founded the original Klan were tossing out ideas for a name when somebody came up with _kukloi_, plural of the Greek _kuklos_, circle. Somebody else had the bright idea of twisting _kuklos_ into Ku Klux. Klan was added later for alliteration, and they spelled it with a K rather than a C so as not to confuse the rank and file. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-the-name-ku-klux-klan-come-from/315357/4 "2005-08-02T21:50:07Z")
[http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q="ku+klux+klan"+history&btnG=Google+Search](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22ku+klux+klan%22+history&btnG=Google+Search) There is limitless information available on the history of the KKK. Precisely where the name comes from seems to be one of those things that has never been precisely detemrined. Some suggest that it is a corruption of the Greek “kyclos” meaing circle. Some suggest that it is meant to be onamoatipoeia for the sound of a rifle being cocked and fired. I’ve heard everal other less plausible origins as well. Even the KKK itself doesn’t seem to know for sure. The OED has “said to be made out of Gr. kylklos circle + klan”, so even it reticient about attributing a specific etymology with to support the suggestion. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-the-name-ku-klux-klan-come-from/315357/5 "2005-08-02T22:16:44Z")
So the Circle K is actually… Oh My God. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-the-name-ku-klux-klan-come-from/315357/6 "2005-08-02T22:25:19Z")
Because Karl’s Kwazy Kwiminals sounded funny. ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-the-name-ku-klux-klan-come-from/315357/7 "2005-08-02T22:32:16Z")
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle messed me up as a kid with his story _The Five Orange Pips_. In it, if I remember right, Sherlock Holmes explains that the name comes from the sound of a rifle being cocked. I knew that was lame when I read it, but I was impressionable, and hey, it was [Sherlock Holmes who said it](http://sherlock-holmes.classic-literature.co.uk/the-five-orange-pips/ebook-page-08.asp). 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-the-name-ku-klux-klan-come-from/315357/8 "2005-08-03T01:31:04Z")
> [@Art Vandelay](#): > > It certainly doesn’t sound like english. What language do the words originate from, and what (if any) is the literal translation? For that matter, when exactly _did_ this group get together? Sometime after the Civil War I know, but who founded it, and why did / do they parade around in those ridiculous white sheet costumes (apart from masking their identities that is)? They are all descendants from [this satanic creature](http://www.chicagohistory.org/kfo/gif/kukla.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-the-name-ku-klux-klan-come-from/315357/9 "2005-08-03T01:37:31Z")
> [@ouryL](#): > > They are all descendants from [this satanic creature](http://www.chicagohistory.org/kfo/gif/kukla.jpg). OK, I get how Kukla and Fran figure into it, but what about Ollie? ---
**Author:** ![lhovis73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecd19e/32.png) [@lhovis73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lhovis73)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-the-name-ku-klux-klan-come-from/315357/10 "2005-08-03T01:42:42Z")
> [@PoorYorick](#): > > Sherlock Holmes explains that the name comes from the sound of a rifle being cocked. I think I’ve spread this misinformation myself, believing it to be historical fact (or believing that the Klan, at least, thought that a rifle being cocked sounded like Ku Klux)…but I didn’t know that it came from a Sherlock Holmes story…live and learn… ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-the-name-ku-klux-klan-come-from/315357/11 "2005-08-03T02:16:34Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > OK, I get how Kukla and Fran figure into it, but what about Ollie? He was the first Grand Dragon, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Balle\_M](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/13edae/32.png) [@Balle\_M](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balle_M)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-the-name-ku-klux-klan-come-from/315357/12 "2005-08-03T02:44:26Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > [http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q="ku+klux+klan"+history&btnG=Google+Search](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22ku+klux+klan%22+history&btnG=Google+Search) > > There is limitless information available on the history of the KKK. > Precisely where the name comes from seems to be one of those things that has never been precisely detemrined. Some suggest that it is a corruption of the Greek “kyclos” meaing circle. Some suggest that it is meant to be onamoatipoeia for the sound of a rifle being cocked and fired. I’ve heard everal other less plausible origins as well. Even the KKK itself doesn’t seem to know for sure. The OED has “said to be made out of Gr. kylklos circle + klan”, so even it reticient about attributing a specific etymology with to support the suggestion. Have you ever had the privilege(?) of meeting an Honest-To-Og Ku Kluxer? Those peckerheads get stymied by zip codes, let alone etymology. FWIW I heard the rifle-cocking story, too. ---
**Author:** ![Triskadecamus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-the-name-ku-klux-klan-come-from/315357/13 "2005-08-03T02:51:29Z")
I gotta say, the only real free range Kluxers I ever met did not speak Greek. English was a serious challenge for them, as well. Tris ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-the-name-ku-klux-klan-come-from/315357/14 "2005-08-03T03:15:16Z")
> [@ouryL](#): > > He was the first Grand Dragon, of course. :smack: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-the-name-ku-klux-klan-come-from/315357/15 "2005-08-03T04:37:04Z")
> [@Triskadecamus](#): > > I gotta say, the only real free range Kluxers I ever met did not speak Greek. English was a serious challenge for them, as well. The original Klan was composed of former college guys–_think of it as the first college Greeks alumni_–(probably disenchanted landholders who longed for the income generated by their now lost slaves). What may have started out as a group of high-spirited pranksters soon became a terrorist outfit, expanding well beyond their original college boy roots. Finally, they were suppressed due to their increasing lawlessness. In the early 20th century, the name was resurrected for commercial reasons and the new group became an enormous, politically motivated “fraternal” organization (with a tendency to spin off groups of thugs). When the larger fraternal group was finally laughed out of existence in Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Iowa, and other places in the 1930s, the thugs were the only ones left and, following the civil rights movements of the 1960s, the KKK’s appeal was limited to the lower stratum of “white” society. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-the-name-ku-klux-klan-come-from/315357/16 "2005-08-03T06:43:04Z")
I didn’t think it was appropriate to call members of a legal organisation peckerheads in GQ. (Not that I dispute the assessment, but, you know, in the interests of fairness…) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-the-name-ku-klux-klan-come-from/315357/17 "2005-08-03T12:39:22Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > I didn’t think it was appropriate to call members of a legal organisation peckerheads in GQ. (Not that I dispute the assessment, but, you know, in the interests of fairness…) Well, you see… Their hoods are triagular so they somewhat resemble a bird’s beak, or ‘pecker’. I got nothin’. ---
**Author:** ![Balle\_M](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/13edae/32.png) [@Balle\_M](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balle_M)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-the-name-ku-klux-klan-come-from/315357/18 "2005-08-03T12:43:34Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > I didn’t think it was appropriate to call members of a legal organisation peckerheads in GQ. (Not that I dispute the assessment, but, you know, in the interests of fairness…) I’ll be more than happy to apologize to any Dopers who identify themselves as Klansmen. Anyone? Hello? ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-the-name-ku-klux-klan-come-from/315357/19 "2005-08-03T13:49:57Z")
> [@lhovis73](#): > > I think I’ve spread this misinformation myself, believing it to be historical fact (or believing that the Klan, at least, thought that a rifle being cocked sounded like Ku Klux)…but I didn’t know that it came from a Sherlock Holmes story…live and learn… The rifle explanation actually predates 1891 and “The Five Orange Pips”. In his notes to it in the OUP edition of _The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes_, Richard Lancelyn Green suggested that Doyle based the “American Encyclopedia” entry about the Klan that Holmes consults on that in Alvin J. Johnson’s _New Universal Cyclopaedia_ of 1875-7 and quotes this explanation of the name from it. Green goes on to mention the “circle” alternative.