Borjigin

Meaning

Proper Noun

• The clan which Genghis Khan was a member of

Origin

• From Mongolian ᠪᠣᠷᠵᠢᠭᠢᠨ. According to Rashid al-Din Hamadani, in his Jāmi‘ al-Tawārīkh, and later Abu al-Ghazi Bahadur, in his Genealogy of the Turks, this name meant 'having eyes of the color اشهل (ašhal) ~ شهلا (šahlā)', i.e. 'dark blue eyes', which Genghis Khan and his brothers reputedly all had.
• However, according to Igor de Rachewiltz, "The etymology of the name Borjigin is uncertain. The unreliable interpretation given by Rašīd (borjigin = 'man with dark blue eyes') accounts, through a further misunderstanding, also for the imaginary grey (, boro), or cat's eyes of Činggis Qan, regularly ascribed to the conqueror by modern authors."