Find out how popular the last name Khawaja is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Khawaja.

Khawaja, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Khawaja surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Khawaja in America

Khawaja is the 18648th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Khawaja surname appeared 1,475 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Khawaja.

We can also compare 2010 data for Khawaja to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Khawaja

The surname "KHAWAJA" originated in the Persian and Arabic regions, with the earliest records dating back to the 10th century AD. It is derived from the Persian word "Khwaja," which means "master" or "lord." The name was initially used as a title for respected individuals, particularly scholars and religious leaders.

In the early Islamic era, the term "Khwaja" was commonly used to refer to prominent scholars and Sufi mystics. Some notable individuals who bore this title include Khwaja Shams-ud-Din Muhammad Hafiz-e Shirazi, a renowned Persian poet who lived from 1325 to 1389, and Khwaja Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, a Persian polymath and philosopher who lived from 1201 to 1274.

The surname "KHAWAJA" gained further prominence during the Mughal Empire, which ruled over parts of the Indian subcontinent from the 16th to the 19th century. Many influential figures in the Mughal court and bureaucracy held the title of "Khwaja," and it eventually became a hereditary surname.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname "KHAWAJA" can be found in the "Akbar Nama," a 16th-century historical account of the reign of the Mughal Emperor Akbar. The book mentions several individuals with the surname, including Khawaja Shamsuddin Muhammad Ghazi, a prominent military commander who served under Akbar.

Another notable figure with the surname "KHAWAJA" was Khawaja Ghulam Farid, a Sufi saint and poet who lived in present-day Pakistan during the 18th century. His shrine in Mithan Kot, Punjab, remains an important pilgrimage site for his followers.

In the realm of literature, Khawaja Mir Dard, a renowned Urdu poet and scholar, was born in Delhi in 1721. His works, including the collection "Diwaan-e-Mir Dard," have had a lasting impact on Urdu poetry.

During the British Raj in India, the surname "KHAWAJA" was also associated with influential families and landowners. One such example is Khawaja Salimullah, a wealthy zamindar (landowner) from Bengal, who lived from 1872 to 1915 and played a significant role in the Muslim political and educational movements of his time.

Over the centuries, the surname "KHAWAJA" has spread across various regions, including Central Asia, the Middle East, and parts of South Asia, reflecting the diverse cultural influences and migrations that have shaped these areas.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Khawaja

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Khawaja.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Khawaja was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Khawaja has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Khawaja was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Khawaja, please contact us.

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