Khan is a surname of Turkic and Mongolian origin, used as a title in various global regions, and today most commonly found in parts of the Indian subcontinent, Iran, Eastern Europe, Uzbekistan and Russia.
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Khan () is a surname of Turkic and Mongolian origin, used as a title in various global regions, and today most commonly found in parts of the Indian subcontinent, Iran, Eastern Europe, Uzbekistan and Russia.
It is derived from the historic title khan, referring to military chief or royalty. It originated as a hereditary title among nomadic tribes in the Central and Eastern Eurasian Steppe during antiquity and was popularized by Afghan dynasties in the rest of Asia as well as in Eastern Europe during the medieval period.
The surname Khan is extremely common among Muslims in South Asia, including among those of Pashtun, Gujjar, Rajput and Mongolic descent. Khan as a last name is also used by the Maithil Brahmin, Bengali Hindus, and Kashmiri Hindus, native to the Kashmir Valley of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. In the Caribbean, the surname is largely carried by Muslims of Indo-Caribbean descent.
As of 2014, Khan is one of the most common surnames worldwide, shared by over 22 million people in Asia and 23 million people worldwide. It is the surname of over 108,674 British Asians, making it the 12th-most common surname in the United Kingdom.
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Notable people
Bahlul Khan Lodi (1401–1489) was the chief of the Pashtun Lodi tribe. Founder of the Lodi dynasty from the Delhi Sultanate upon the abdication of the last claimant from the previous Sayyid rule. Bahlul became sultan of the dynasty on 19 April 1451 (855 AH).
Khushal Khan Khattak (1613–1689; Pashto: خوشال خان خټک), also known as Khushal Baba (Pashto: خوشال بابا), was a Pashtun poet, chief, and warrior.
Mirwais Khan Hotak, revolted against Safavid Iran and established the Hotak dynasty.
Azad Khan Afghan rose to power between 1752 and 1757, and controlled part of the Azerbaijan region up to Urmia city, northwestern and northern Persia, and parts of southwestern Turkmenistan and eastern Kurdistan.
Kalu Khan Yousafzai, Afghan warrior hero who annihilated the Mughal army at the Malandari Pass devastating the Emperor Akbar the Great
Mohammad Khatirjama Khan, leader of the Pathan tribe, gained control over north Indian territory of today's Uttar Pradesh in the 20th century, formed his capital in the area known as Barwaliya.
Scholars, intellectuals and academics
Ahmed Raza Khan (1856–1921), Sunni Islamic scholar of south Asia
Dilwar Khan (1937–2013), Bengali poet
Gul Khan Nasir (1914–1983), poet, historian and politician from Pakistan
Geoffrey Khan (born 1958), professor of Semitic languages at the University of Cambridge
Muhammad Mojlum Khan, non-fiction writer best known for The Muslim 100
Muhammad Siddiq Khan (1910–1978), Bengali academic from Bangladesh, "father of the Library and Information Science discipline in Bangladesh"
M. A. Muqtedar Khan, Indian American Islamic philosopher, Sufi and academic
Rukhsana Khan, Pakistani-Canadian children's writer and storyteller
Salman "Sal" Khan, Bengali-American educator, known for the online Khan Academy
Sirajul Hossain Khan, editor of Pakistan Times and the Eastern News Agency
Wahiduddin Khan, Islamic scholar and peace activist
Wasiullah Khan, Pakistani-American educator and founder of East–West University in Chicago
Yasmin Khan (b. 1977), associate professor of history, Kellogg College, Oxford
Politicians and rulers
Abdul Majid Khan, former MP for Habiganj-2, Bangladesh
Abdul Majid Khan Tarin (1877–1939), senior political figure of the North-West Frontier Province, British India
Abu'l-Khayr Khan, founder of Turko-Mongol Shaybanid Dynasty of Uzbekistan
Akram Khan (born 1970), Indian politician
Ahmad Khan, British politician, former Conservative MP
Ahmad Khan Bangash, Nawab of Farrukhabad who commanded an Afghan division in the Third Battle of Panipat
Ali Haidar Khan , soldier who singlehandedly stormed multiple hidden German forts which allowed his unit to safely cross the Senio River
Ali Haider Khan (1896–1963), Nawab of Longla, Minister of Power (Assam Province)
Alivardi Khan (1671–1756), Nawab of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa
Ali Amjad Khan (1871–1905), Nawab of Longla, Magistrate
Amanullah Khan, Sovereign of Afghanistan 1919–1929
Amir Khan (Pindari) (1768–1834), Pindari leader in the early 19th century, later the Nawab of Tonk
Arif Mohammad Khan, Indian politician and current governor of Kerala
Asaf Khan, Wazir (Prime Minister) of Emperor Jahangir and Shahjahan
Actors and entertainers
Aamir Khan, Indian actor, film producer and director
Abdul Karim Khan, Indian classical vocalist
Abdul Wahid Khan, Indian musician, mentor of many singers like Muhammad Rafi and Ram Narayan
Adil Khan, Norwegian actor of Pashtun and Punjabi descent
Adnan Sami Khan, Indian singer, playback singer and music composer
Aiman Khan, Pakistani film and television actress, sister of actress Minal Khan
Akram Khan (dancer), British dancer of Bangladeshi descent
Anik Khan, Bangladesh-born American rapper
Ali Akbar Khan, Bangladesh Bengali sarod player
Alvira Khan Agnihotri, Indian film producer and fashion designer (Salman Khan's sister and Salim Khan's daughter)
Amar Khan, Pakistani director, writer and television actress
Amjad Khan, Indian actor and director
Arbaaz Khan, Indian actor, director and film producer (Salman Khan's brother)
Asad Amanat Ali Khan (1955–2007), Pakistani vocalist
Ayesha Sultana Khan (Sharmila Tagore), actress, model, Central Board of Film Certification chairperson (mother of Saif Ali Khan)
Sportspeople
Khan, former ring name of retired American professional wrestler Dave Bautista
Akram Khan (cricketer), former captain of the Bangladeshi Cricket Team
Amir Khan (British boxer), British boxer of Pakistani descent
Awal Khan, Pakistani-born Omani cricketer
Mohsin Khan, former Pakistani cricketer
Moin Khan, former Pakistani cricketer
Muhammad Essa Khan, former Pakistani footballer
Athar Ali Khan, Bangladeshi former cricketer, selector and cricket commentator
Carla Khan, Pakistani professional squash player
Hajra Khan, Pakistani footballer
Imad Khan, South African rugby union player
Imran Khan, Former Prime Minister of Pakistan, politician and former cricketer and captain of the Pakistan cricket team
Kaleemullah Khan, Pakistani footballer
Jahangir Khan, former Pakistani professional squash player and World No. 1
Jansher Khan, former Pakistani professional squash player and World No. 1
Abdul Qadeer Khan, Pakistani metallurgist, considered the founder of Pakistan's gas-centrifuge programme
Akhtar Hameed Khan Pakistani social scientist and development practitioner
Fazlur Khan, Bengali-American structural engineer and designer of Chicago's Sears Tower and John Hancock Center
Ishfaq Ahmad Khan, Pakistani scientist in particle and nuclear physics
Munir Ahmad Khan, Pakistani nuclear engineer, credited as the father of Pakistan's Atomic Project
Mohammad Islam Khan (1957–2010), Indian glycobiologist, scientist at the National Chemical Laboratory
Naeem Ahmad Khan (1928–2013), Pakistani nuclear physicist and university professor of physics
Shaukat Hameed Khan, Pakistani nuclear physicist
Mohammad Ajmal Khan, physician in Delhi, India, one of the founders of the Jamia Millia Islamia University
Muhammad Siddiq Khan (1910–1978), librarian of the Central Library of the University of Dhaka and the founder of the university's Department of Library Science
Iqrar Ahmad Khan, Pakistani agricultural scientist, professor of horticulture at the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad in Pakistan
Razib Khan, Bengali-American geneticist
Other professions
Abul Kashem Khan (1905–1991), jurist, political leader, and industrialist from Bangladesh
Alan Khan (born 1971), South African radio presenter
Amjad Khan (1940–1992), Indian film producer
Baseera Khan, American artist
Chantal Khan Da Silva, Canadian journalist born to a Pakistani-Brazilian family; currently residing in the United Kingdom. An NBC News reporter and editor.
Fazal Khan, Pakistani lawyer and Pashtun human rights activist
Gauri Khan (born 1970), Indian interior designer and film producer (wife of Indian star Shahrukh Khan)
Hakim Khan descendent of Shershah Suri and chief commander of Rana Pratap's army
Inayat Khan, (1882–1927), founder of Universal Sufism and the Sufi Order International
Irene Khan (born 1956), Bangladeshi lawyer, former Secretary General of Amnesty International
Kiran Rao Khan (born 1973), Indian director, film producer and screenwriter (wife of Indian star Aamir Khan)
The (unknown) 'M Khan', the subject of many gag routines on The Mary Whitehouse Experience because of long-standing graffiti visible from a major London road
Mansoor Ali Khan (born 1979), Pakistani journalist and television anchor
Mirza Abu Taleb Khan (1752–1805/6), Indian tax-collector and travel-writer
Fictional characters
Achmed Khan and Amir Khan, playable characters and brothers who love rock music in the Backyard Sports franchise
Ahmed Khan / Codename: Pakistan, a superhero in the comic book series The Ambassadors and Big Game
Haman Khan, a prominent Gundam villain in Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam and the principal antagonist in its sequel Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ; and her father Maharaja Khan
Kamal Khan, the main villain in the James Bond film Octopussy
Kamala Khan, the fourth character to assume the identity of the Marvel Comics superheroine Ms. Marvel
Khan, Primus of House Aico, a game character from Paladins
Khan, character from the web series Corner Shop Show
Khan, one of the villains in the Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars computer game
Khan, a Chinese-American detective from the Khan! 1975 US television series
Manga Khan, a DC Comics character
Rizwan Khan, main character in the 2010 Bollywood film My Name Is Khan
Dark Khan, the main antagonist of the crossover video game Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe who is the merging between Shao Khan and DC Comics villain Darkseid
Shadow Khan, the group of villains in the animated series Jackie Chan Adventures
Article from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0), where it is maintained by volunteer editors.
Asif Nawaz Khan Janjua (1937–1993), former Chief Of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army
Ataur Rahman Khan (1907–1991), Bengali activist politician, later Chief Minister of East Pakistan
Ayub Khan (field marshal), Pakistan Army's only Field Marshall and president of Pakistan
Ayub Khan (Emir of Afghanistan), former emir of Afghanistan during the Second Anglo-Afghan War
Bahlul Khan (died 1488), founder of the Lodi dynasty
Bairam Khan (1501–1561), Mughal commander, mentor and guardian of Akbar the Great
Bilge Kul Qadir Khan, first ruler of Kara-Khanid empire
Bismillah Khan Mohammadi, politician in Afghanistan
Mohammad Sidique Khan (1974–2005), London train suicide bomber
Nawab Muhammad Hayat Khan (1833–1901) British-Indian administrator and aristocrat
Nick Khan Iranian American President of WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment
Noor Inayat Khan (1914–1944), British spy in occupied France
Oghuz Khan, legendary forefather of the Turkic people
Peter Khan (born Afghan-Khan), Australian member of the Universal House of Justice of the Bahá'í Faith
Shahid Khan, co-owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL) and Fulham F.C. of the EFL Championship, Founder, co-owner of the All Elite Wrestling (AEW) promotion.
Shahal Khan, American Businessman and founder of Burkhan Family Office.nawab Malik Ameer Muhammad Khan he belongs to kalghan Awan tribe
Sussanne Khan (born 1975), Indian interior fashion designer and entrepreneur
Syed Ahmed Khan (1817–1898), Islamic scholar
Tariq Ali Khan (born 1943), British-Pakistani writer, intellectual and socialist
Tasmin Lucia Khan (born 1980), British Bangladeshi journalist and news presenter for BBC News
Tony Khan (born 1982), American businessman; co-owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Fulham F.C. along with his father Shahid, and CEO, President of All Elite Wrestling and Ring of Honor Wrestling.
Vilayat Inayat Khan (1916–2004), former head of the Sufi Order International
Usman Khan (1991–2019), Islamic terrorist and perpetrator of the 2019 London Bridge stabbing
Zia Inayat Khan, the Pir of the Sufi Order International
Shiwan Khan, a recurring enemy of The Shadow
The Mandarin, archenemy of Iron Man, whose real name is Khan, also from Marvel Comics, including the film Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
Khan Noonien Singh, an antagonist in the Star Trek franchise and the titular character of the 1982 film The Wrath of Khan
Mr Khan, British Pakistani character on the British TV show Citizen Khan
Shere Khan, a treacherous tiger who is the arch-enemy of the feral boy Mowgli in Rudyard Kipling's novels The Jungle Book (1894) and The Second Jungle Book. (1895) He made appearances in the 1942, 1967, 1994, 1997, 1998, 2003, 2016, and 2018 films. He has also appeared on the TV series such as the 1989, 1998, and 2010 versions; as well as the 1990s cartoon series TaleSpin and Jungle Cubs.
Kobra Khan, a cobra-themed Snake-Man from the He-Man franchise such as the 1980 and 2002 TV series.
Khan, a firm but fair chimpanzee leader in the 2017 video game Planet of the Apes: Last Frontier.
Khan, a significant recurring character in the Metro video game series (Metro 2033, Last Light, Exodus)
Yasmin "Yaz" Khan, a companion of the Thirteenth Doctor on the science fiction series Doctor Who.
Minhkhoa "Khoa" Khan, also known as Ghost-Maker is a character that appears in DC Comics. He is a vigilante and was an old friend of Bruce Wayne.
