What does Kraus mean in German?

Kraus in German means curly, frizzy, or crinkled, particularly referring to curly hair. It comes from Middle High German krus or kraus, which meant curly, wavy, or tangled. As a surname, Kraus was originally a nickname for someone who had curly hair, similar to how the English surname Curley or the surname Krause, Krauss, and Kruse all derive from the same root. The surname Kraus is one of the most common surnames in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, and is particularly prevalent in Bavaria and eastern Germany. In modern German, the adjective kraus still means frizzy or curly, for example krauses Haar means curly or frizzy hair, and krause Petersilie means curly parsley. The word can also mean confused or crumpled in some contexts, like krause Ideen meaning confused ideas, but its primary meaning is curly. As a personal descriptor, it was used in medieval times to distinguish people, so a man named Hans Kraus would be Hans the curly-haired. The name has many spelling variations including Kraus, Krause with an e, Krauss, Kruse, and Krausse, all meaning the same. So Kraus in German means curly, especially curly-haired, and as a surname it denotes someone with curly hair.