Origin: Turkish

* As a Slavic and Jewish surname (Polish Karaś, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Czech, Slovak, Serbo-Croatian, Slovene, Upper Sorbian): all from the noun karaś (“crucian carp”). Compare Caras, Karasch, Karras. * As a Hungarian surname, from the name of the river Karaš, itself possibly from Turkish kara (“black”). Also Americanized from Kárász, itself related to the carp sense above. * As a Greek surname, from κάρας (káras, “black”), itself from the Turkish word. Also shortened from names like Καραγεωργίου (Karageorgíou, “Black George”), Καραγιάννης (Karagiánnis, “black John”), etc. Compare Caras, Kara, Karras. * As a German surname, shortened from names like Zacharias, or Ancient Greek μακάριος (makários, “blessed”), Christian saint's name.

Etymology: Wiktionary (CC-BY-SA)