How common is the surname Khan?

76,171 people in the United States had the surname Khan in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 4,053 Americans. It ranked 427th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Khan?

Sal Khan, American educator (born 1976), followed by Chaka Khan.

Where is the surname Khan most common?

Wikidata records people named Khan in the United States, the United Kingdom and Bangladesh and 3 other countries.

How do you pronounce Khan?

Khan is /ˈkɑːn/, one syllable.

Is the surname Khan getting more or less common?

More common. 46,713 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 76,171 in 2010, up 63%.

Is Khan also a first name?

Yes. Khan is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Khan

A surname, carried by 76,171 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈkɑːn/ 1 syllable Soundex K500 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Khan is more common than 99.7% of them.

Origin

As a surname, via Hindustani خان (xān) / ख़ान (xān), from Classical Persian خَان (xān), from Turkic. As a title, a proper noun form of khan.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 76,171 people named Khan in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 4,053 Americans. That is up 63% since 2000, when the Census counted 46,713.

#427

rank among US surnames

76,171

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+63.1%

change since 2000 (was #665)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#418	Cardenas	77,652	3,976
#419	Pacheco	77,642	3,977
#420	Cross	77,557	3,981
#421	Calderon	77,085	4,005
#422	Quinn	76,986	4,010
#423	Moss	76,908	4,014
#424	Swanson	76,897	4,015

Who is named Khan

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

81% of people named Khan identified as Asian and Pacific Islander, 6.9% as white (not Hispanic) and 5.3% as two or more races.

Asian and Pacific Islander 81%
White (not Hispanic) 6.9%
Two or more races 5.3%
Black (not Hispanic) 3.9%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.5%

Compare: most common surnames among Asian and Pacific Islander Americans.

Famous Khans

23 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Sal Khan
American educator (born 1976)
Chaka Khan
American singer (born 1953)
Jiah Khan
British−American Bollywood actress (1988–2013)
Amir Khan
British boxer, born 1986
Fazlur Khan
Bangladeshi architect (1929–1982)
Lina M. Khan
American legal scholar and jurist (born 1989)
Irene Khan
Bangladeshi academic, born 1956
Shahid Khan
American businessman (born 1950)
Rashid Khan
Afghan cricketer, born 1998
Nouman Ali Khan
American Muslim speaker, born 1978
Steve Khan
American musician, born 1947
Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani
Bangladeshi political leader (1880–1976)

Notable Khans come mostly from the United States (10), the United Kingdom (3) and Bangladesh (3).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Khan

Khan has the Soundex code K500, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code K500.

Questions

Where does the surname Khan come from?: As a surname, via Hindustani خان (xān) / ख़ान (xān), from Classical Persian خَان (xān), from Turkic. As a title, a proper noun form of khan.
How common is the surname Khan?: 76,171 people in the United States had the surname Khan in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 4,053 Americans. It ranked 427th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Khan?: In the 2010 Census, 81% of people named Khan identified as Asian and Pacific Islander, and 6.9% as white (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Khan?: Sal Khan, American educator (born 1976), followed by Chaka Khan.
Where is the surname Khan most common?: Wikidata records people named Khan in the United States, the United Kingdom and Bangladesh and 3 other countries.
How do you pronounce Khan?: Khan is /ˈkɑːn/, one syllable.
Is the surname Khan getting more or less common?: More common. 46,713 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 76,171 in 2010, up 63%.
Is Khan also a first name?: Yes. Khan is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.