kúnos

Kúnos is a Hungarian surname and, less commonly, a given name. It appears primarily in Hungary and among Hungarian communities abroad. In onomastic terms, it is most often encountered as a last name. The accent marks reflect Hungarian pronunciation, with the stress typically on the first syllable. The name is recognized in scholarly and ethnographic contexts due to the work of notable linguists who bore it.

The etymology is uncertain; it likely derives from kun, the Hungarian term for the Cumans, with the suffix -os indicating association or descent, effectively meaning "of the Cumans" or "Cuman-born". Variants include Kunó (without the diacritic on u) and Kunos in non-diacritic spellings. The name is distinct from similar-sounding surnames in other languages.

Lajos Kúnos (a prominent 19th–20th century Hungarian linguist and ethnographer) is the most widely cited bearer. He specialized in Romani and Turkic languages and contributed to the study and standardization of Romani orthography. Other individuals with the surname have been active in Hungarian literature, music, or local history, though none has achieved comparable international recognition.