Khodzha

Khodzha is a transliteration of a traditional honorific and surname used in Turkic, Persian, and related Islamic cultures. The form originates from the Persian word khwāja (also rendered khodja, hodža, or khodzhа) meaning master, lord, or learned man. Through Turkish hodža and other intermediaries, it entered several languages and acquired a variety of spellings, including Khodzha, Khodja, Hodja, Khoja, and Khozha.

Historically, the title designated a respected teacher, religious scholar, or Sufi sheikh, and it was sometimes used as a respectful address for elders or leaders within a community. In contemporary usage, Khodzha can appear as a surname or given name, reflecting the old occupational or honorific meaning. In different regions, the term has acquired specific social associations: in Central Asia and the Caucasus it may occur as part of personal names or as an honorific; in South Asia and the diaspora, related forms such as Khoja are common as identifiers within certain Muslim communities and as family names.

The word’s many spellings reflect transliteration from non-Latin scripts and the overlapping influence of Persian, Turkish, Russian, and Arabic language traditions. As a result, Khodzha often appears in historical texts, ethnographic reports, and modern naming practices across Eurasia and beyond.