Afghan name

An Afghan personal name consists of a given name (Template:Lang-prs, Template:Lang-ps) 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.

Given names

Traditionally, Afghans only use a first name and lack a last name. Those that only have a first name can be distinguished by tribe, place of birth, profession or honorific title.

Males

Male names are normally compounded, for example Ahmad Khan in which two words make up one single given name.

Males often have Islamic names derived from Arabic that are popular throughout the Muslim world, whereas females more commonly have names from local Pashto or Persian origin.

Male first names very often have two parts, usually the "proper" name and the "subordinate" name. For example:

• The full name Mohammad Zaman, which consists of the subordinate name Mohammad and the proper name Zaman.
• The full name Ghulam Hazrat, which consists of the subordinate name Hazrat and the proper name Ghulam.

This is not always the case, for example where both parts are combined as one, for example:

• The full name Abdul Ali
• The full name Din Mohammad

In rare cases, a male first name only has a single part, for example the full name Farid, or the full name Homayoun.

Females

Female first names on the other hand tend to be a single component, for example Fereyba, Laila, or Roya. But in rarer instances they could be two parts, for example Gol Khanom.

The table below shows a list of popular female names of Pashto or Persian origin, referring to beauty and nature.

Term	Translation
wazmakai	breeze
nurani	shiny
zarghun / zarghuna	green
torpekai	brunette
nasrin	jonquil
freshta	angel
kawtara	pigeon
spogmay / spozhmay	moon

Last names

See also: Category:Surnames of Afghan origin and Category:Pashto-language surnames

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. This means that in some cases people of the same family may have differing last names. 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 or Popalzai
• -khel / khil, meaning "branch", for example Suleimankhel or Omarkhil
• (containing) -gul, for example Gulbaz

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.

Afghan women traditionally do not take their husband's surnames when they marry.

Honorifics

See also: Category:Titles in Afghanistan

Honorifics are also used on some people, for example Khan which is used for men's names, or Jan used for both men's and women's. For example:

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

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

• Agha, Sir, mister. It is 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, militarily related.
• Dagarwal, militarily related.
• Sayyid and sharif, honorific titles that given to men accepted as descendants of Muhammad
• Sardar
• Khwaja, "lord"
• Akhund, Muslim scholar
• Shah, "king"
• Engineer, someone with the said profession

Addressing

Titles and honorifics

Some honorifics are used in addressing people in place of their actual given name, such as Mullah or Doctor. Also patronymic names are sometimes used in addressing people, for example dokhtare Golbibi meaning "daughter of Golbibi". It can also be used for the person's father's title, for example bache rayis meaning "son of the President".

Nicknames

Nicknames are used by some people to address to someone, of which the most common are those related to beauty, nature or a brave animal. Examples include:

• ezmaray, meaning "lion"
• sheragha, meaning "master of the lion"
• golagha, meaning "master of the flower"
• setara (Dari) or storay (Pashto), meaning "star"
• ghotay meaning "plant"

Diminutives

Often used for close friends of children, these are often shorter forms of given names with an -o suffix, for example:

• Najmudin > Najo
• Khalil > Khalo

Another suffix is -ak or -gak, strictly only used in addressing. For example bachagak meaning "little boy", or dokhtarak meaning little girl.

Kinship names

Kinship names

Term	Translation
mādar, bobo, nana	mother
padar, bāba, āgha	father
berādar	brother
amshira, khwar	sister
zan, khānom	wife
shāwar, shuy	husband
lala, kākā	elder brother
apa, khowar, amshira	elder sister
māmā, khalu	uncle (maternal)
kākā, amu	uncle (paternal)
khāla	aunt (maternal)
ama	aunt (paternal)

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.

Transcription

Since there is no orghographic standardization, along with diverse dialects, there are many discepancies in transcription of Afghan names into English, especially in Pashto. 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.

The lack of standardization mean that English renderings can also vary, for example the name مسعود can be variously transcribed as Massoud, Masoud, Mas'ud or Massoud. Spacing can also vary, so for example both Miakhel and Mia Khel have been used in English for the same name.

Afghans who have a "proper" name before the "subordinate" (for example, the Zaman in Mohamad Zaman Naderi) would likely decide to abbreviate the first component when transcribing his full name in English, in this case for example: M. Zaman Naderi.

See also

• Pashtun name
• Iranian name
• Pakistani name