To which clan did Genghis Khan belong?

Genghis Khan belonged to the Borjigin clan. Born Temüjin, he came from the Khamag Mongol confederation and was the son of Yesügei, a Borjigin leader. The Borjigin line traced its ancestry to Bodonchar Munkhag, a legendary early Mongol ancestor.

The clan was more than a family name: it became the ruling lineage of the Mongol world. After Temüjin united rival steppe groups and was proclaimed Genghis Khan in 1206, Borjigin descendants supplied the Great Khans and many later Mongol rulers. The dynasty also produced the Yuan dynasty in China and ruling houses in Persia, Central Asia, and the Golden Horde.

A common mix-up is confusing clan, tribe, and title. Borjigin identifies Genghis Khan’s ruling clan; Mongol refers more broadly to the people and political confederation he unified; and “Genghis Khan” was his imperial title. His descendants are often called Chinggisids, or Genghisids, because legitimacy was closely tied to descent from him.