List of former Buddhists
The following is a list of former Buddhists who no longer identify as such, organized by their current religious affiliation or ideology.
Atheism
| Name | Nationality | Notes | Refs. |
| Adam Carolla | American | Radio, TV, and podcast personality, raised as a Buddhist, now identifies as non-religious and an atheist. |
Hinduism
- Mihirakula – Huna ruler
- Rajasinghe I – Sri Lankan king who conquered Kandy
- Rishabhadatta – Satrap viceroy
- Rudradaman I – Satrap ruler and conqueror of the Satavahanas
Islam
- The Barmakid family – originally the guardians of the great Buddhist shrine near Balkh, upon conversion they became "the greatest family" in the early Abbasid caliphate
- Muhammad ibn Suri – king of the Ghurid dynasty from the 10th-century to 1011
- Mahmud Ghazan – seventh ruler of the Ilkhanate
- Korguz – was a Uyghur governor of Khorasan during the reign of the Mongol ruler Ogedei Khan
- Muhammad Khodabandeh – eighth Ilkhaid dynasty ruler in Iran from 1304 to 1316
- Mubarak Shah – head of the ulus of the Chagatai Khanate
- Donei Kalaminjaa – king of the Maldives
- Tarmashirin – Khan of the Chagatai Khanate following Duwa Timur
- Hussein Ye – Islamic scholar of Chinese Malaysian descent whose lectures are frequently aired on Peace TV