Some common Pakistani male forenames include Mohammed, Omar, Ahmed and Ali, while popular female names are Malak, Nour, Fatima and Sara. Surnames include Chaudhry, Ibrahim and Masood. The most common names often have Arabic, Turkish or Persian origins, and Islamic meanings, because Pakistan has a Muslim majority.
It is difficult to accurately rank the most common names in Pakistan, because there is a wide variety of spellings of names and relatively poor census records. For example, there are many alternative spellings of the popular name Mohammed.
Pakistani surnames often draw emphasis from tribal or ancestral names, which vary greatly by region. Pakistanis from Kashmir often have surnames such as Mir and Khawaja, while the Pashtun have surnames such as Malik and Afridi.
