The name comes from the four senior partners: Eugene Kleiner (emeritus), Tom Perkins (emeritus), Frank Caufield (emeritus), and Brook Byers.
The firm was founded in 1972 as Kleiner Perkins. At that point, the founders of most VC firms had financial backgrounds. Kleiner Perkins's founders were distinguished by their industry experience -- Kleiner as a founder of Fairchild Semiconductor and Perkins as one of the leaders of HP's early computer division.
General Partners include: