Kivela Family History
Kivela Name Meaning
Finnish (Kivelä): habitational name from farms so named from kivi ‘stone’ + the locative suffix -lä. Established as a hereditary surname since the 19th century in southern western and northern Finland and also used in the name-changing campaigns of the early 20th century as an ornamental name to replace Swedish surnames formed with sten ‘stone’ such as Stenvall Stenroos and Stenberg .
Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022