Kim Kardashian's Full Ethnic Breakdown: What Her Family Tree Actually Confirms

Your complete guide to Kim Kardashian's Full Ethnic Breakdown: What Her Family Tree Actually Confirms, covering essential background.

The geography of the Kardashian family tree centers on Karakale, a historical village situated in the Kars region near modern-day Gyumri, Armenia. At the turn of the 20th century, the territory sat on the turbulent frontier contested between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire. Kim’s great-great-grandparents, Saghatel "Sam" Kardashian and Harom Arakelian, joined an ethnic and religious migration stream that headed for the United States between 1904 and 1907.

Archival ship manifests show that the family arrived at American ports more than half a decade before the outbreak of World War I. This timing proved pivotal. When the Ottoman government initiated the 1915 Armenian Genocide, hundreds of thousands of ethnic Armenians in neighboring provinces were displaced or killed. By leaving Karakale during the initial wave of borderland unrest, the Kardashian and Arakelian branches survived. They established commercial meat-packing and sanitation businesses across Southern California, laying the financial foundation for future generations.