His name means “inspired of God”

The Islamic Republic of Iran was founded by Ayatollah Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini, who also serves as its supreme leader. He is the only head of state in the Muslim world with political and religious authority.

According to his birth certificate, the birthdate of Ruhollah Mousavi is September 24 in 1902. He was born into a Shi'ite family of scholars from the sleepy Iranian town of Khomein. Later in life, his last name comes from the village of Khomein, Mousavi adopted his village's name as his last name "Khomeini", where he was born, roughly 200 miles south of Tehran, the capital of Iran. That is the reason why his new name became known as "Ruhollah Khomeini" domestically and abroad. In the 1930s, he rose to prominence as a scholar there and adopted the name Khomayn, the name of his hometown (also spelled Khomeyn or Khomen).

In addition, the word "Ayatollah," which means "sign of God," refers to him as a scholar of religion in the Shia Muslim faith. Despite having religious undertones, his first name, Ruhollah, is common so his name means “inspired by God”. Therefore, it is considered as one of the 10 Interesting Facts about Ayatollah Khomeini that many readers do not know.