1676: gengis khan Jul 17, 2019

There are a number of figures through history whose names are not the same as what they are remembered by. One such example is Genghis (or Chenkis) Khan, whose name was Temüjin. No one knows for sure why this is, but some have suggested that the first part of his name comes from the Mongolian for 'strength' ('ching') or from 'tenggis' meaning 'ocean' (i.e. widespread'), along with a few other explanations. What is more certain is that no one would have said 'Genghis' in the way it's pronounced now. As for a Khan, though it happens to share the same title as a priestly title in Judaism and Islam, the Mongolic 'Khan' meant 'ruler' but does not relate to the other cultures. To add more confusion to the mix, even his real name 'Temüjin' comes from a word meaning 'iron' and would imply that he was a smith, but no evidence of this has come out.
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