Khalil
A surname taken from the Arabic personal name Khalil, meaning “friend” or “intimate companion.”
The #5,024 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 44,214 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Khalil comes from the Arabic personal name Khalīl (خليل), which means “friend,” “close friend,” or “intimate companion.” The name is especially important in Islamic tradition because it is an epithet of Abraham, known as Khalīl Allāh, “the Friend of God.” As a surname, it usually began as a family name inherited from an ancestor’s given name rather than from a place or occupation.
History
The surname is found across Arabic-speaking communities and among Muslim families more broadly, especially in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia. In English-language records it is usually a transliteration of the same Arabic name rather than a separate surname with a different origin. Different spellings may reflect local pronunciation or variant transliteration systems.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because Ibrahim/Abraham is called Khalīl Allāh, the name has a strong religious resonance beyond its everyday meaning of “friend.”