What does it indicate if some's surname is "king"?

Question:

What does it indicate if some's surname is "king"?

does it mean that one of that persons ancestors were from the royal family?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Not necessarily. I've traced a few Dutch lines, for instance, where the surname used in the US was King, but the surname in the Netherlands was de Koenig. They were servants to the nobility at some point during the adoption of surnames and were distinguished as "Caspars de Koenig", meaning Jasper who works for the Crown.

There are several other scenarios where a spelling is adopted from something foreign to something familiar, such as Jung becoming Young. King is a very easy word for people to spell, so it would not be uncommon for it to be adopted from a more difficult or ethnic name.

BTW, just in case you're not sure, the royal families of Europe all had very particular family names and would never have allowed a lesser to royal to usurp the title of "king" away from the crown. The Germans were the House of Hanover. Henry VIII was from the House of Tudor, most of the later French were from the House of Bourbon. The modern British royals use the surname Montbatten-Windsor and belong to the House of Windsor. So "King" as a surname is usually not linked to a royal heritage.