An Afghan personal name consists of a given name (Dari: نام, Pashto: نوم) and sometimes a surname at the end. Personal names are generally not divided into first and family names; a single name is recognized as a full personal name, and the addition of further components – such as additional given names, regional, or ethnic family/clan names or patronymics – is often a matter of parents' choice. This structure is shared amongst the different ethnicities of Afghanistan and people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.^[1]

Given names

Traditionally, Afghans only use a first name and lack a last name. This is also the case among Pashtuns in neighbouring Pakistan. Those having only a first name may be distinguished by tribe, place of birth, profession or honorific title.^[1] It is generally those from developing regions who are known by a mononym due to the lack of a legal identification system. They may also have multiple mononyms (i.e. may be called by multiple personal names).

Last names

While most Afghans lack a last name, they are more common among urban populations or the educated or higher class. Last names can represent a father's name, tribal affiliation, or an adjective describing the person. Thus, in some cases, people of the same family may have different last names.^[1] Common forms of last names referring to tribal affiliation are:

• -ai or -i, usually added to the area of origin, for example Karzai (from Karz, Kandahar), Marghai, Kohistani or Hussaini
• -zai or -zoy, meaning "son" in Pashto, for example Ghilzai , Popalzai or Yusufzai.
• -khel / khil (in Pashto), meaning "branch", for example Suleimankhel or Omarkhil
• (containing) -gul, for example Gulbaz

Tribal names are usually patrilineal. The ancestral line of females generally is not included as part of the identity. Afghan women traditionally do not take their husband's surnames when they marry.^[2]

Other known suffixes include:

• -ullah, referring to Allah, for example Rahmatullah or Hafizullah
• -uddin, for example Shamsuddin or Ghawsuddin
• -zada / zadah, meaning "son of" in Persian, for example Khanzada or Shahzada
• -bakhsh, "granted by"
• '-dad, "given by", for example Baridad

Among ethnic Pashtuns, surnames based on location are not common. For most of their history, Pashtuns have lived a rural, transhumant, semi-nomadic life and therefore surnames tied to cities or locations are rare. Some tribes identify with locations, such as the Khostwal and Khost, or the Bannuchis and Bannu in Pakistan.

Surnames may also be derived from honorifics, for example Khan which was adopted via cross-cultural exchanges between Turko-Mongol peoples.

Honorifics

Honorifics are also given to some people, for example Khan which is used for men's names, or Jan used for both men's and women's names.^[1] For example:

• Sharif Khan, Latif Khan, Khalil Jan for males
• Sharifa Jan, Latifa Jan for females

Honorific names can signify certain ranks of notability^[1] such as royal, religious or occupational status.^[3] Below are some examples:

• Agha - sir, mister; a general term of respect
• Khan - served at one time as a title for an honored person
• Mullah - Muslim cleric
• Mawlawi - Muslim cleric
• Ustad - a master craftsperson, lecturer or a person who is the master of a profession
• Ghazi - military-related
• Dagarwal - military-related
• Sayyid and sharif - honorific titles given to men accepted as descendants of Muhammad
• Sardar
• Khwaja - "lord"
• Akhund - Muslim scholar
• Shah - "king"
• Engineer - someone with the said profession

Addressing

Regional differences

Ethnic Pashtuns are more likely to have Pashto names, for example Turyalai Muhammadzai for a male, or Shaperai Isupazai for a female. Speakers of Dari (e.g. the Tajiks) are more likely to have Persian names, for example Bashir Bijan for a male, or Shirin Kuhestani for a female. Ethnic Hazara names tend to contain more Shi'ite related names, like Ali and Hossain.^[1]

Names can also display pronunciation differences germane to the two main accents of Pashto. For example, the girl's name "Zarlakht", as pronounced in the Northern Pashto dialect of Kabul or Peshawar (Pakistan), will be pronounced as "Zarlasht" in the Southern Pashto of Kandahar and Quetta (Pakistan).

Transcription and international usage

Since there is no orthographic standardization, and because there are diverse dialects, there are many discrepancies in transcription of Afghan names into English, especially from Pashto.^[3] The second component of male names (for example the Khan in Gul Khan) is generally treated as a last name in the West, despite Khan originally being a honorific title. In an English-speaking country it would be treated as a last name, with Gul the first name, in this case.^[1]

The lack of standardization means that English renderings can also vary, for example the name مسعود can be variously transcribed as Massoud, Masoud, or Mas'ud. Interposition of spaces can also vary; for example, both Miakhel and Mia Khel have been used as transliterations of the same name.^[1][3]

Afghans who have a "proper" name before the "subordinate" (for example, the Zaman in Mohamad Zaman Naderi) would likely abbreviate the first component when transcribing the full name in English - in this case, for example, M. Zaman Naderi - or adopt it as a middle name, as: Zaman M. Naderi.^[1]

"Pathan" is used as a surname in Pashtun communities living in the Indian subcontinent, because they are known as Pathans or Pashtuns to their neighbouring communities, so they simplify it as a surname rather than their tribal name. Some Tajiks and South Asians have Pashto names, a sign of Pashtun ancestry, or at least patrilineal ancestry. The Dardic Pashayis and Hindkowans do not speak Pashto, but 30-60% of their people live in a Pashtun culture. The assimilated communities may have traces of people with given names derived exclusively from Pashto. "Afghan" is an archaic name, and has been used among Pashtuns in Iran to signify their Pashtun ancestry to other Iranians because they are known as Afghans to Iranians.

See also

• Iranian name
• Culture of Afghanistan
• Pashtun culture

References

External links