Afghan
/ˈæf.ɡæn/noun
A person from Afghanistan or relating to Afghanistan.
Did you know?The name appears in early Persian and Indic sources long before the modern state of Afghanistan existed, showing how ethnic names can survive empires and outlast borders.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient/Medieval Persian
Persian
Afġān / Afġānān
“A name used for a people or tribe in the region”
Classical Arabic
Arabic
Afghān
“A form of the ethnonym used in historical writings”
16th-19th Century
Persian/Urdu
Afghān
“A person identified as Afghan, especially a Pashtun speaker in many historical contexts”
19th Century
English
Afghan
“A person from Afghanistan; later also used as an adjective for the country and its people”
Modern English
English
Afghan
“A person from Afghanistan or relating to Afghanistan”
Explore more surprising origins