Cardashian and Kardashian

Vahe H. Apelian

A single letter distinguishes the two prominent Armenian family names, but both sound alike. There may have been others, much like I, who might have thought that, although spelled differently, the family names are related to each other. They are not. Both come from Armenian inhabited regions. One is a a representative of Western and the other Eastern Armenians. Both have had and continue to have notable roles not only in the life the Armenian American community, but in the Diaspora and in Armenia as well.

I have attached excerpts about their lives from Wikipedia.

Vahan Cardashian (Armenian: Վահան Քարտաշեան), was born in the city of Caesarea (now Kayseri), Ottoman Empire on December 1, 1882 or 1883. Cardashian studied in the local French lyceum and Talas American College. He emigrated to the United States in 1902. He got accepted at Yale University in 1904 and earned a Law degree in 1908. In the same year, he wrote a book entitled The Ottoman Empire of the Twentieth Century.  Cardashian entered the New York State Bar Association in 1909 and began practicing law. In 1913, he was the Fiscal Agent of the Ottoman Empire in the United States. Prior to the Armenian Genocide of 1915, he served as a counselor and statistician to the Ottoman Chamber of Commerce in America. He was a counselor for the Ottoman Embassy in Washington, D.C. and then to the Ottoman Consulate General in New York from 1910 to 1915. He authored several books on the Armenian Question. Some authors claim otherwise, but in his 1934 obituary, it's stated that Cardashian was survived by his sister, mother and brother. 

In early 1919, he founded the American Committee for the Independence of Armenia (ACIA), the predecessor of the Armenian National Committee of America  (ANCA). He continued his efforts until his death in 1934. The ANCA has established an award after Vahan Cardashian and bestows the award yearly on a meritorious person who has distinguished himself serving the Armenian Cause. 

In 2008, the late attorney Vartkes Yeghiayan, who specialized in interntional law, wrote a book titled “Vahan Cardashian: Advocate Extraordinaire For the Armenian Cause”.

Robert George Kardashian (February 22, 1944 – September 30, 2003) was an American attorney and businessman. He gained national recognition as O.J Simpon’s  friend and defense attorney during Simpson's 1995 murder trial. He had four children with his first wife Kris (nee Houghton, later Jenner). Their children are Kourtney,  Khloe and Rob, and Kim, formally Kimberly Noel Kardashin West, who is a notable   media personality, socialite, businesswoman, producer, and actress.  The Kardashians appear on their family reality television series titled "Keeping Up with the Kardashian".

 

 

Robert was born in Los Angeles, California. He has a sister Barbara and a brother Tom Kardashian. His great-grandparents, Saghatel ("Sam") and Harom Kardaschoff, were ethnic Armenian Spiritual Christian immigrants from Karakale (now: Merkezkarakale), Kars Oblast of the Russian Empire  (now Kars Province in Turkey ). The family, known at the time by the surname Kardaschoff, in Russian style, made their way from their home village of Karakale to a new life in America. Their son Tatos, Kim Kardashian's paternal grandfather, anglicized his name to Tom, started a business in garbage collection in Los Angeles, and married another Kars-Karakale immigrant, Hamas Shakarian, Kim's paternal grandmother.