Aamir Khan reveals 'biwiyon ne rakhe naam' as kids got Muslim names despite Hindu mothers

During a recent appearance on Aap Ki Adalat, Bollywood actor Aamir Khan reflected on the names of his children Junaid Khan, Ira Khan, and Azad and clarified that he had no role in naming them, despite public curiosity surrounding the religious and cultural roots of the names.

The conversation took an interesting turn when host Rajat Sharma pointed out that Aamir’s ex-wives Reena and Kiran, as well as his current partner Gauri Spratt, all have names rooted in Hindu traditions. Smiling and blushing, Aamir crossed his fingers as Sharma teased, “All are goddess names. But why are your children’s names Junaid, Ira, and Azad?”

To this, Aamir responded candidly, “Mere bacchon ke naam jo rakhen hain, yeh meri biwion ne rakhen hain. Ismein meri koi dakhal andaazi nahi thi.” He added, “You’re a husband too, so you know how it goes — the wife usually decides the child’s name. Reena named both Junaid and Ira.”

He then explained that Ira is derived from "Irawati," a name associated with the goddess Saraswati. “Reena had picked it from Maneka Gandhi’s Book of Hindu Names,” he said, highlighting its Hindu origins.

Moving on to his youngest son, Aamir explained how Kiran Rao named him Azad. “Azad was named after Maulana Azad, who is from our family. He made many sacrifices for India’s freedom. He worked with Nehru ji, Gandhi ji, Patel ji. Kiran felt we should name our son after him,” Aamir shared.

He added that the name Azad is secular in nature. “Azad is not a Muslim name. Haven’t you heard of Chandrashekhar Azad? It doesn’t belong to one religion.”

Aamir was earlier married to Reena Dutta, with whom he had Junaid and Ira. They separated in 2002. He later married Kiran Rao in 2005, and they welcomed Azad via surrogacy in 2011. The couple divorced in 2021 but continue to co-parent. Aamir is now dating Gauri Spratt, whom he publicly introduced on his 60th birthday.