Kulis Family History

Polish (also Kuliś) and Czech (Kuliš): nickname from a derivative of kula ‘ball’ (see Kula). In North America, this surname may also be an altered form of the Polish variant Kulisz. Czech (Kuliš): from a derivative of the personal name Kula.

The homonymous Sorbian cognate Kuliš (in both senses; see also 1 above) is found in Germanized and Americanized forms only (see Kulish). Croatian (Kuliš): nickname from a dialect variant of kuliješ ‘hard-boiled corn mush’.

Alternatively, the Croatian name may derive from a short form of the personal name Mikula or perhaps Kulomir (see Kulic). Altered form of Lithuanian Kulys: descriptive epithet for a lame person from kulys ‘lame’.