Khan (surname)

Alternative Spellings
Xan (Chinese), Han (Turkish)

Meaning/Origin
The family name is deried from a title meaning ruler, and having an origin in Mongol and Turkish history and language. It was a title used by rulers and nobility (sometimes spelled as xan, han). A ruler with the title of "Khan" controled a khanate. See Khan in Wikipedia.

See also below.

Cultural Context
As a family name, Khan can have one of several connotations, all related to some extent to the root described under "Meaning" above:


 * The term is used almost universally as a surname, or almost a suffix by people of Pashthoon (Wikipedia) (Pathans) ethnicity living in Afghanistan, India and bordering areas of Pakistan. In this way, it is often a synonym for Pashthoon/Pathan.
 * It is also a family name for people that were bestowed the title of Khan or Khan Bahadur either by the Raj British Raj (Wikipedia).

Surnames