Why is my last name 'Khan' if I am not a Pashtun?

[FreekiN]

I have always wondered why my last name is Khan even though there is not a single person in my family that is Pashtun.

Every time I ask my mom, she says we are straight up 'Punjabi.' But that doesn't answer my question. I ask my dad and he says pretty much says the same thing.

So I did a little backtracking of my family history up to some time before the partition.

I came up with this:
My mothers side of the family is almost completely from Amritsar in British India and my fathers side is scattered from several parts of the British Indian side of Punjab and from Rajasthan.

Does this answer my question? I have no freekin idea.

Is there anything else I should get to know of that can answer my question?

 

[Hyde]

Freekin i have a friend who is from Lahore and his name is Sohail Khan. He is pure punjabi and perhaps never been to Peshawar or Pakhtoonkhwa

I guess many peoples just keep their name as Khan and they have nothing to do with Pathans. You could be decendants of Khans by generations but if you are sure your forefathers were all Punjabi's and rajisthanis it could be that your fore-fathers just chose this name for no reason

 

[forcetrip]

Have you answered anyone about why you have some random chicks avatar when you are a dude?

 

[FreekiN]

Have you answered anyone about why you have some random chicks avatar when you are a dude?

Umm... that is my girl...

._.

 

[Hammy007]

Have you answered anyone about why you have some random chicks avatar when you are a dude?

confused abt his gender, maybe oriented in defining more as a chick

plzz tk it as a jk hehe

 

[Hyde]

hey peoples don't say bad to FreekiN........... don't ever dare to say anything bad to him

Woh mera behno jaisa Bhai hai























(joking) woh meray bhai jaisa hai

 

[FreekiN]

Freekin i have a friend who is from Lahore and his name is Sohail Khan. He is pure punjabi and perhaps never been to Peshawar or Pakhtoonkhwa

I guess many peoples just keep their name as Khan and they have nothing to do with Pathans. You could be decendants of Khans by generations but if you are sure your forefathers were all Punjabi's and rajisthanis it could be that your fore-fathers just chose this name for no reason

Yup, I have absolutely no family in Khyber or Peshawar.
(Except an uncle in Abbotobad, but his family is stationed there because he is a Colonel.)

Perhaps they just thought it was a cool last name. Hmm... well i think its a cool last name at least.

 

[qsaark]

I have always wondered why my last name is Khan even though there is not a single person in my family that is Pashtun.

Every time I ask my mom, she says we are straight up 'Punjabi.' But that doesn't answer my question. I ask my dad and he says pretty much says the same thing.

So I did a little backtracking of my family history up to some time before the partition.

I came up with this:
My mothers side of the family is almost completely from Amritsar in British India and my fathers side is scattered from several parts of the British Indian side of Punjab and from Rajasthan.

Does this answer my question? I have no freekin idea.

Is there anything else I should get to know of that can answer my question?

The word 'Khan' has nothing to do with Pathan/Pashtun per se. This word is used in ancient times by the proto-Mongolian Rourans, and after the Mongolian conquest, this word spreaded in many cultures from the Central Asia to the Russia, to the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Initially the word 'Khagan' or 'Khaqan' was used as a title exclusively for the Mongol emperors but later it was also used for the high Mongol officials, and commanders as most if not all of them were also from the ruling 'Mogul' or 'Mughal' clan. Till the middle of the sixth century, the word was still known to be used for the 'King of the Turks' meaning 'Tatars' and later 'Temurids', and in the Persian literature it was referred as 'Kagan'. Following the conquest of Persia by Ameer Temur, the word 'Khan' was also adopted by the Persians and the noblemen were awarded with the title Khan by the imperial courts.

Now coming to the actual question as to why Punjabis have Khan as their surname...First of all, the central Asian conquerors who came to attack on Indian subcontinent passed through the land of the five rivers (Punjab), hence these central Asians established outposts in Punjab, married in the Muslim Punjabis who had converted from Sikhs or Hindus, and its likely that many Punjabi officials loyal to these conquerors were awarded with the title 'Khan'. Later from 1524 to 1752 Punjab was part of the Mughal Empire and between 1584 to 1598, Lahore served as the capital of the Mughal empire during the time of King Akbar and Jahangir. Hence many prominent Muslim Punjabis would have been given the title of 'Khan' for their services to the empire which would run into their families and your family could be one of them.

 

[Forrest Griffin]

Nobody in my family has the same last name. On my mother's or father's side. They didn't start this tradition till they moved to Europe and North America. Its probably the same with yours, and Khan just happened to be a last name that one of your family members chose.

 

[A.Rahman]

Umm... that is my girl...

you do know that having "girl" in Islam is forbidden.

 

[Awesome]

Khan used to be a Title in the old days meaning ruler. Hence Genghis Khan, Halagu Khan for oriental looking Mongols. It is not exclusive to the Pashtuns.

 

[FreekiN]

Odd.

.........."That's my indian girl" is not permanent, marry her or several hotty chicks? still confusions?

According to Pakistan defence facebook, Mustafa Khan
"Mustafa Khan: FreekiN here, Pakistan Zindabad!"


Relationship status: SINGLE ....probably hiding from his parents...Shame!

Hope you realize it.

lol, my mom and dad have a facebook.

Creepy, but true.

... wait a minute... how'd you find out my name? hmm, i might have typed it somewhere that i cant remember.

you do know that having "girl" in Islam is forbidden.

Umm, yeah I do. You have a problem?

 

[FreekiN]

The word 'Khan' has nothing to do with Pathan/Pashtun per se. This word is used in ancient times by the proto-Mongolian Rourans, and after the Mongolian conquest, this word spreaded in many cultures from the Central Asia to the Russia, to the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Initially the word 'Khagan' or 'Khaqan' was used as a title exclusively for the Mongol emperors but later it was also used for the high Mongol officials, and commanders as most if not all of them were also from the ruling 'Mogul' or 'Mughal' clan. Till the middle of the sixth century, the word was still known to be used for the 'King of the Turks' meaning 'Tatars' and later 'Temurids', and in the Persian literature it was referred as 'Kagan'. Following the conquest of Persia by Ameer Temur, the word 'Khan' was also adopted by the Persians and the noblemen were awarded with the title Khan by the imperial courts.

Now coming to the actual question as to why Punjabis have Khan as their surname...First of all, the central Asian conquerors who came to attack on Indian subcontinent passed through the land of the five rivers (Punjab), hence these central Asians established outposts in Punjab, married in the Muslim Punjabis who had converted from Sikhs or Hindus, and its likely that many Punjabi officials loyal to these conquerors were awarded with the title 'Khan'. Later from 1524 to 1752 Punjab was part of the Mughal Empire and between 1584 to 1598, Lahore served as the capital of the Mughal empire during the time of King Akbar and Jahangir. Hence many prominent Muslim Punjabis would have been given the title of 'Khan' for their services to the empire which would run into their families and your family could be one of them.

I had always wondered whether my ancestors were local Indians who converted to Islam or were they among the soldiers or something that belonged to the conquerors...

Thanks, it cleared up alot.

 

[Forrest Griffin]

Odd.

.........."That's my indian girl" is not permanent, marry her or several hotty chicks? still confusions?

According to Pakistan defence facebook, Mustafa Khan
"Mustafa Khan: FreekiN here, Pakistan Zindabad!"


Relationship status: SINGLE ....probably hiding from his parents...Shame!

Hope you realize it.

Your 19? You look like your 30.

 

[Luftwaffe]

Freekin its not bad to change it to Kahn..

Oliver kahn spinoff of Khan lol.