 Popular folk etymologies link it to the snow leopard, called "ilbirs" in Kyrgyz and "bars" in many Turkic languages.Another etymology is brought forward by C. E. Bosworth, who mentioned that it was "so named because in ancient times, one of the rulers of Persia had settled in Turkestan and become a ruler there.He was called Pārsi-khwān that is, one who is literate in Persian, and this became contracted to Barskhan."