Kim Kardashian's Full Family Tree: What Documents Reveal About Her Roots

Uncover expert summaries surrounding Kim Kardashian's Full Family Tree: What Documents Reveal About Her Roots in this special report.

Kim Kardashian’s paternal heritage traces directly to the Caucasus region, specifically an agrarian hamlet named Karakale (now situated in modern-day eastern Turkey, near the border with Armenia). During the late 19th century, Karakale was part of the Russian Empire's Kars Oblast, an area historically inhabited by Armenians, Russians, and regional minority groups.

Genealogical records uncovered by Armenian historical societies and investigative journalists identify her great-great-grandparents, Saghatel "Sam" Kardashian and Harom Krikorian. The couple belonged to the Spiritual Christian Molokan community, an Orthodox-adjacent pacifist sect that faced severe civil and religious pressure from imperial authorities. Warned of impending regional slaughter, community elders urged local families to sell their plots and seek asylum abroad.

Sam and Harom boarded steamships heading west in 1904, docking in the United States and making their way toward southern California. By choosing to emigrate when they did, the couple avoided the catastrophic violence of the 1915 Armenian Genocide, which devastated their ancestral homeland and wiped out neighboring relatives who stayed behind. In Los Angeles, the family set up garbage collection, meatpacking, and wholesale grocery businesses, anchoring a community that allowed future generations to prosper.

Her great-grandfather, Arthur Kardashian, married Helen Arakelian, another second-generation Armenian-American whose family had fled nearby villages during the same era. Their son, Robert Kardashian Sr. (Kim’s father), was born in Los Angeles in 1944. He grew up speaking English while attending Armenian youth groups and community functions, later gaining international prominence as a defense attorney during the 1995 O.J. Simpson murder trial.