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Khan (surname)

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For the Mongol (raja) Derivation, see Khan (title).
Not to be confused with Kahn.
Palazzo Ducale in Venice: capital # 16 in the porch (counting as # 0 the one at the corner near the Bridge of Sighs): Human races - A Tartar (Mongolian).

Khan (Urdu: خان) is a surname and title of Central and Western Asian origin, primarily found in Pakistan, Afghanistan and other Central Asian and South Asian countries. It can have one of several connotations, all related to some extent to the title of Khan. The term is used almost universally as a surname, or almost a suffix by people of Pashtun (Pathans) ethnicity living in Afghanistan and Western Pakistan. In this way, it is often a synonym for Pashtun. Khan is most common surname in Pakistan, commonly used by by people of Pakhtun or Rajput orgin.

Use as a title

The surname Khan originates with the Mongolian-Turkic honorific khan. Originally used in the Mongol Empire, and later more widely by Islamic chieftains in South Asia.[1][2] The British Raj continued the Mughal practice of awarding titles such as Khan Bahadur for Muslims and Rai Bahadur for Hindus.

As a title, khan is now mainly used by the Pashtuns. In the South Asian Subcontinent a Pashtun is addressed as Khan Sahib routinely whether he has Khan formally as part of his name or not. Moreover, the term Khawanain is used to refer to the Khans, collectively, as rulers, chiefs etc. of Khanates in the North West Frontier Province of India, and later Pakistan, particularly in Hangu, Hazara, Swat, Dir, Mardan and other districts in contemporary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In the non-Frontier regions of the Subcontinent Khanates did not exist at anytime in history.

Communities using Khan as a surname

The communities that use the surname Khan include the Pashtuns/Afghans, Bengalis, Punjabis, Mughals, Muslim Rajputs, and Turkic people from Central Asia to northern Pakistan; tribes in Pakistan and their descendents in India, Baloch tribes in Balochistan and in Sindh and various Mongol, Turks, and Tatar tribes in central and northern Asia.

The Pashtuns claim that the title of Khan originated from Kahn (sometimes spelled Cahn), a traditionally Jewish name derived from the Hebrew name Cohen or Kohen or Cohn, denoting priestly/noble lineage.

Other usage

Khan is also a last name found in Tatars, a Muslim Turkic speaking group, mostly in Russia. Also been known to be part with Genghis Khan's army. The name Khan has also been used by the Peoples of the Caucasus since the region has a history of Turkic and Mongolic (Mughal) rulers.

It is now a widespread Islamic surname in most countries of Central and South Asia. Khan is the surname of over 80,000 Islamic Britons, mostly British Asian, making it the 80th most common surname in the United Kingdom, and one of only a handful in the 100 most common surnames which are of neither British nor Irish origin.[3]

List of people called Khan

Political or military leaders

Malik Umar Hayat Khan as an Honorary Lieutenant of the 18th King George's Own Lancers, early 20th century watercolour by Major A.C. Lovett (1862–1919)

Actors and entertainers

Shahrukh Khan, Actor, Producer, Philanthropist and Owner of Kolkata Knight Riders.
Salman Khan, Actor, Philanthropist and Producer.
Aamir Khan, Actor, Producer, Director and Writer.

In sports

Imran Khan, a former Pakistani cricketer, philanthropist and Chairmain of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.
Amir Khan, a British (Pakistani Origin) who became the WBA Light-welterweight World Champion.

In science and technology

  • Salman "Sal" Khan, an educator, famous for Khan Academy
  • Abdul Qadeer Khan, an engineer from Pakistan, considered the founder of Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme
  • Fazlur Khan, Bengali-American structural engineer and designer of Chicago's Sears Tower and John Hancock Center
  • M S Khan (1910–1978), a Bengali academic from Bangladesh, "father of the Library and Information Science discipline in Bangladesh"
  • Geoffrey Khan, (b. 1958), professor of Semitic Languages at the University of Cambridge.

Others

Fictional characters

See also

Look up Khan in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

References

  1. ^ Khan entry in Hobson-Jobson: the Anglo-Indian dictionary
  2. ^ As cited in The Baburnama, 2002, W.M. Thackston p273.
  3. ^ "Khan in the UK". Surname.sofeminine.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
  4. ^ "Origin of 'M Khan' Graffiti". Everything2.com. 2001-04-12. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
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