The name is derived from the Slovak common noun kmeť meaning ‘guide, a participant in a procession, courtier, a peasant with a homestead; lay juror; an old, experienced, respectable man, an elder’ and may refer to the connection with the father or another ancestor by that name or an occupation. Note: The common variant, Kmec is also among the 200 most common family names. Other variants: Kmecz, Kmety, Kmetty, Kmeth, Kmetz.