'barkhan' originates from Russian, specifically the word 'бархан', where the Russian term was borrowed from Kazakh 'barqan' meaning 'sand dune'.

'barkhan' changed from Kazakh 'barqan' into Russian 'бархан' and entered English (via Russian) in the 19th century as 'barkhan' (also seen as 'barchan').

Initially, it meant 'sand dune' (specifically the crescent-shaped dune) and this core meaning has remained essentially unchanged in English.