Hotak is an Afghan royal family name.
The Hotaki (plural) started long ago as a rich and well known political family. The first king to take power and name the country Afghanistan, was Mirwais Khan Hotak (1673-1715). After his death many different Hotakis took the power of the throne. But, the dynasty was lost because of betrayal and fights for power. The Hotaki tribe still exists today. Many of them are still in politics, but there are only some direct descendants of Mirwais. In fact only three elder ones are still alive. Only one remains in Afghanistan, Bismillah. Bismillah, currently living in Afghanistan and once was working for the Afghani police. He then resigned when American troops invaded Afghanistan. Bismillah is missing in action, the Afghani government refused to give addresses, names, or ages of his children. The other two are located in United States (Virginia and Connecticut). According to the government, Abdul Q. Hotak is a direct descendant of Mirwais Khan Hotak, the first king of Afghanistan. Abdul is the only Hotak still working for the government of Afghanistan as a dipolmat. Abdul is currently living in Connecticut, and according to the census bureau, Abdul has seven children. The line of descent will only pass through these seven children (since there is no information on Bismillahs' life) after Abdul passes away (Khuda na kaw Sta, God-forbid). The Hotak name will pass through his children. According to the census, Abdul has three boys that will carry the hotak name. The oldest Mirwais, the middle Omar Farqoo, and the youngest Omar Mukhtar. These are the only people that will pass the Hotak name throughout the generations to come. But, as for the Hotak family in Virgina, the name has already faded away. Shagul Hotak, related to Abdul and Bismillah, married Amin-Arsala. After this the name of the Hotaks in her family became a recessive name. Shagul has one son, who has married an American women. The children are currently living in Virginia.