Karzai (Pashto: کرزی, romanized: Karzay; pronounced [ˈkɑrzɑːj]) is an Afghan surname. Karzai means the person is from Karz and is assembled through the common construction of adding an Arabic letter "Ya" to the proper noun Karz which is a village. Karzai is pronounced Karzay because of the dialect of Kandahar, while others may pronounce it as Karzi.
. Notable people with the surname include:
- Abdul Ahad Karzai, Afghan politician
- Ahmed Wali Karzai, Afghan politician
- Azizullah Karzai, Afghan diplomat
- Habibullah Karzai, tribal leader
- Hamid Karzai, President of Afghanistan ( 2001–2015 )
- Hashmat Karzai, cousin of President Hamid Karzai, businessman in security and construction, killed by a suicide bomber in July 2014.
- Jamil Karzai, Afghan politician
- Mahmood Karzai, businessman, elder brother of President Hamid Karzai.
- Qayum Karzai, politician, elder brother of President Hamid Karzai.
- Yar Mohammed Karzai, relative of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, accidentally killed in a US raid in Afghanistan 2011.