Khalil or Khaleel (

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

: خليل) means ''friend'' and is a common male first name in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

, the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

, the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

and among Muslims in

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

and as such is also a common

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

. It is also used amongst

Turkic peoples Turkic peoples are a collection of diverse ethnic groups of West Asia, West, Central Asia, Central, East Asia, East, and North Asia as well as parts of Europe, who speak Turkic languages.. "Turkic peoples, any of various peoples whose members ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and

African Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...

Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...

is given the title Khalīl-ullah (Arabic: خَلِیْل‌ ٱلله, romanized: Ḫalīl Allāḥ, lit. 'Friend of God') in

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

. The female counterpart of this name is Khalila or Khaleela.

In other languages

The following names can be interpreted as ''Khalil'': *

: Khalil, Khaleel, Halil, Khelil, Kalil( Ar: خليل) *

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

: Khalil ( He: חליל) *

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

: Khalil ( Fa: خلیل) * Azerbaijani: Xəlilخليل *

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish language ** Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) **Central Kurdish (Sorani) **Southern Kurdish ** Laki Kurdish *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern ...

: Xelîl * Turkish:

Halil Halil is a common Turkish, Albanian and Bosnian male given name. It is equivalent to the Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken ...

* Somali: Khaliil *

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

: Kholil (খলিল), Khalil (খালিল), Khaleel (খালীল)

Persons with the given name

Khaleel

* Khaleel Mamoon (1948-2024), Urdu poet * Khaleel-Ur-Rehman Azmi (1927–1978), Urdu poet

Al-Khalil

Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi Abu ‘Abd ar-Raḥmān al-Khalīl ibn Aḥmad ibn ‘Amr ibn Tammām al-Farāhīdī al-Azdī al-Yaḥmadī (; 718 – 786 CE), known as al-Farāhīdī, or al-Khalīl, was an Arab philologist, lexicographer and leading grammarian of Basra in ...

(718-786), 8th-century Muslim scholar best known as the author of ''Kitab al-'Ayn''

Khalil

* Khalil bey Khasmammadov (1873-1945), Azerbaijani politician *

Khalil (actor) Khalil (1903–1941) was an Cinema of India, Indian cinema actor of silent and talkie films. He achieved stardom with silent films like ''Gul-E-Bakavali'' (1924), ''Kulin Kanta'' (1925), and ''Lanka Ni Laadi'' (1925) which was a major success c ...

(1903–1941), Indian actor *

Khalil (singer) Khalil Amir Sharieff (born November 22, 1994) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, and rapper from Sacramento, California. At the age of 15, he was discovered by record executive Kawan Prather and signed to Island Def Jam in 2010. He rel ...

(born 1994), American singer * Khalil Abou Hamad (1936–1992), Lebanese lawyer and politician * Khalil Ahmad (basketball) (born 1996), American basketball player * Khalil Ahmad (politician) (1956-2024), Pakistani politician * Khalil Ahmed (1936–1997), Pakistani composer * Khalil Azmi (born 1964), Moroccan footballer * Khalil Barnes (born 2005), American football player * Khalil Bass (born 1990), American football player * Khalil Davis (born 1996), American football player * Khalil Dorsey (born 1998), American football player *

Khalil Fong Khalil Fong Tai-Tung (; 14 July 1983 – 21 February 2025) was a Hong Kong singer-songwriter, musician and producer. Fong was notable for introducing a more sophisticated R&B and soul sound to the Chinese music market, drawing inspiration f ...

(1983-2025), Hong Kong singer and songwriter *

Kahlil Gibran Gibran Khalil Gibran (January 6, 1883 – April 10, 1931), usually referred to in English as Kahlil Gibran, was a Lebanese-American writer, poet and Visual arts, visual artist; he was also considered a philosopher, although he himself reject ...

(1883–1931), Lebanese-American artist, poet and writer *

Khalil Greene Khalil Thabit Greene (born October 21, 1979) is an American former professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals. Despite playing in fewer than five full seasons for t ...

(born 1979), American baseball player * Khalil Haqqani (1966-2024), Afghan politician *

Khalil Herbert Khalil Herbert (born April 21, 1998) is an American professional football running back and return specialist for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Kansas Jayhawks and Virginia Tech H ...

(born 1998), American football player * Khalil al-Hibri, Lebanese politician *

Khalil ibn Ishaq al-Jundi Khalil ibn Ishaq al-Jundi (died ), also known as ''Sidi'' Khalil, was an Egyptian jurisprudent in Maliki Islamic law who taught in Medina and Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governor ...

(died 1365), Egyptian jurisprudent * Khalil Jacobs (born 2003), American football player * Khalil Mobasher Kashani (born 1951), Iranian Shia Cleric * Khalil Kain (born 1964), American actor * Khalil Khalil (born 1941), Lebanese barrister and diplomat * Khalil Khamis (footballer, born 1992) (born 1992), Emirati footballer * Khalil Khamis (footballer, born 1995) (born 1995), Lebanese footballer * Khalil Mack (born 1991), American football player * Khalil Makkawi (born 1930), Lebanese diplomat. * Khalil Maleki (1903–1969), Iranian politician *

Khalil Mamut Khalil Mamut is a Uyghur refugee, imprisoned for seven years at the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba. The US Department of Defense estimated that Mamut was born in Kashgar, Xinjiang, China, in 1977 and assigned him the Guant ...

(born 1977), Uyghur refugee * Khalil el-Moumni (1941–2020), Moroccan imam * Khalil Paden (born 1989), American football player *

Khalil Ramos Khalil Joseph Nepomuceno Ramos (; born January 22, 1996) is a Filipino actor and singer. He is currently an exclusive actor of GMA Network. In July 2011, Ramos won second place on ''Pilipinas Got Talent'', a reality talent show in ABS-CBN and ...

(born 1996), Filipino actor * Khalil Rashow (born 1952), Yazidi-Kurdish academic * Khalil Rountree Jr., (born 1990), American mixed martial artist *

Khalil al-Sakakini Khalil Sakakini (; 23 January 1878 – 13 August 1953) was a Palestinian teacher, scholar, poet, and Arab nationalist. Biography Sakakini was born into a Palestinian Christian Orthodox family in Jerusalem in the Ottoman Empire on 23 Januar ...

(1878–1953), Palestinian academic *

Khalil Shakir Khalil Shakir (born February 3, 2000) is an American professional football wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Boise State Broncos and was selected by the Bills in the fif ...

(born 2000), American football player * Khalil Taleghani (1912–1992), Iranian engineer and politician * Khalil Tate (born 1998), American football player *Khalil Tatem (born 1997), Filipino-Canadian rapper known professionally as Killy *

Khalil-ur-Rehman Qamar Khalil-ur-Rehman Qamar () is a Pakistani screenwriter, director, Urdu poet, lyricist and occasional actor and producer known for writing such dramas as '' Pyarey Afzal'' (2013), '' Sadqay Tumhare'' (2014) and most recently the top-rated '' Mer ...

(born 1962), Pakistani Writer * Khalil Wheeler-Weaver (born 1996), American serial killer * Khalil Yosef Danker (born 1984), Israeli actor, singer, and model

Khelil

* Khelil Bouhageb (1863-1942), Tunisian politician and reformer

Persons with the surname

Khaleel

*Bob Khaleel, American hip hop artist, better known by his stage name Bronx Style Bob (born 1965) * Ibrahim Khaleel (born 1982), Indian cricketer

Khalil

Ahmed Khalil Ahmed Khalil Sebait Mubarak Al-Junaibi (; born 8 June 1991) is an UAE, Emirati Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Al Bataeh Club, Al Bataeh and United Arab Emirates national football tea ...

(born 1991), Emirati footballer * Amir Khalil (born 1964), Egyptian veterinarian and director of project development, known as the war vet *

Christel Khalil Christel Adnana Mina Khalil (born November 30, 1987) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Lily Winters in ''The Young and the Restless'', which earned her a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Seri ...

(born 1987), American actress of Pakistani and African descent *

Faisal Khalil Faisal Khalil Sebait Mubarak Al-Junaibi (; born 4 December 1982) is an Emirati footballer who formerly played as a centre forward formerly for the UAE national football team. Club career Al Ahli 2009–10 Faisal did not play this season beca ...

(born 1982), Emirati footballer *

Joseph Abu Khalil Joseph Abu Khalil (1925–2019) was a Lebanese politician from the Kataeb Party. He served in various posts in the party and edited its official newspaper, '' Al Amal'', for a long time. Biography Being a native of Beit ed-Dine, Mount Lebanon, ...

(1925–2019), Lebanese politician and journalist *Mahmoud Khalil (born 1995), see Detention of Mahmoud Khalil * Mohammad Omer Khalil (born 1936), Sudanese-born artist * Mustafa Khalil (1920–2008), Egyptian politician and Prime Minister of Egypt *

Peter Khalil Peter Khalil (born 23 March 1973) is an Australian politician. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has served in the House of Representatives since the 2016 Australian federal election, 2016 federal election, representing the ...

(born 1973), Australian politician * Raafat Khalil (born 2004), Egyptian footballer *

Rabih Abou-Khalil Rabih Abou-Khalil (, born August 17, 1957) is an oud player and composer born in Lebanon, who combines elements of Arabic music with jazz, classical music, and other styles. He grew up in Beirut and moved to Munich, Germany, during the Lebanese ...

(born 1957), Lebanese oud player and composer

Khelil

* Chakib Khelil (born 1939), Algerian politician, minister * Rima Khelil (born 1989), Algerian team handball player

Fictional characters

*Khalil, a character debuted in '' Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie'' and appearing in the

VeggieTales ''VeggieTales'' is an American Christian media, Christian Computer animated, CGI-animated series and multimedia franchise created by Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki under Big Idea Entertainment. The series stars Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumb ...

series *Inayat Khalil, a villain in '' K.G.F: Chapter 2'' *Prince Khalil, a character in ''

The Princess Diaries ''The Princess Diaries'' is a series of epistolary young adult novels written by Meg Cabot, and is also the title of the first volume, published in 2000. The series spent 48 weeks on the New York Times Children's Series Best Sellers List. The ...

'' *Khalil Flemming, a Season 1 contestant in '' Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman'' *Khalil Harris, fictional character in '' The Hate U Give'' *Khalil Payne, alter-ego name Painkiller, a main character in

Black Lightning Black Lightning (Jefferson Michael "Jeff" Pierce) is a superhero who appears in American comic book published by DC Comics. The character, created by writer Jenny Blake Isabella with artist Trevor Von Eeden, first appeared in ''Black Lightning'' ...

*Khalil Utbah, a character appearing in the anime series ''

Inazuma Eleven is an association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football ...

Locations

Hebron Hebron (; , or ; , ) is a Palestinian city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Hebron is capital of the Hebron Governorate, the largest Governorates of Palestine, governorate in the West Bank. With a population of 201,063 in ...

or الخليل al-Khalīl / خَلِيل الرَّحْمَن Khalīl al-Raḥmān is a city in the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

. The name al-Khalīl derives from the Qur'anic epithet for

, Khalil al-Rahman (إبراهيم خليل الرحمن) "Beloved of the Merciful" or "Friend of God". The name "Hebron" appears to trace back to two

northwest Semitic languages Northwest Semitic is a division of the Semitic languages comprising the indigenous languages of the Levant. It emerged from Proto-Semitic in the Early Bronze Age. It is first attested in proper names identified as Amorite in the Middle Bronze ...

, which coalesce in the form ḥbr, having reflexes in

and

Amorite The Amorites () were an ancient Northwest Semitic-speaking Bronze Age people from the Levant. Initially appearing in Sumerian records c. 2500 BC, they expanded and ruled most of the Levant, Mesopotamia and parts of Egypt from the 21st century BC ...

, with a basic sense of 'unite' and connoting a range of meanings from "colleague" to "friend". Arabic Al-Khalil thus precisely translates the ancient Hebrew toponym Ḥebron, understood as ḥaḇer (friend).

References

{{Given name, type=both Arabic-language masculine given names Bosniak masculine given names Masculine given names

In other languages

Persons with the given name

Khaleel

Al-Khalil

Khalil

Khelil

Persons with the surname

Khaleel

Khalil

Khelil

Fictional characters

Locations

See also

References