Abdul

Abdul
Pronunciation	[ˈʕɑbdul] (varies between spelling)
Gender	Male
Language(s)	Arabic language
Origin
Meaning	Servant of the
Other names
See also	Abdi

Abdul (also transliterated as Abdal, Abdel, Abdil, Abdol, Abdool, or Abdoul, Arabic: عبد ال‎, ʿAbd al-) is the primary transliteration of the Arabic compound words: Abd (عبد: meaning servant) and al (ال: meaning the). The letter a in al- is unstressed in its native pronunciation, and can be transliterated by any vowel, most often by u.

Abdul's most common use by far, is as part of a male given name, written in English. Understandably, when written in English, Abdul is subject to variable spacing, spelling, and hyphenation.

The meaning of Abdul translates to: Servant of the.

Etymology

Theophoric naming

Essentially there is no Abdul, without the second part when written in Arabic, thus it appears as a component of many Arabic and specifically Muslim names, where it is the opening of a religiously based name, meaning: Servant of God. And the last component of the name, is one of the names of God in Islam, which would form a Muslim Arabic theophoric name.

The name Abdul Masih, (Servant of the Messiah) is an Arabic Christian equivalent.

In addition, Abdul is occasionally, though much more rarely, used in reference to a figure other than God. For example, the Indian name Abdul Mughal, (Servant of the Empire).

Derived theophoric names

Main article: List of Arabic theophoric names

The most common names are listed below

• Abdullah, Servant of Allah
• Abdulaziz, Servant of the Almighty Allah
• Abdulkarim, Servant of the most Generous Allah
• Abdurrahim, Servant of the Merciful Allah
• Abdurrahman, Servant of the Benevolent Allah
• Abdussalam, Servant of the Peaceful Allah
• Abdulqadir, Servant of the Powerful Allah

Arabic grammar

When followed by a sun letter, the l in al assimilates to the initial consonant of the following noun, resulting in a doubled consonant. For example, "Abdul Rahman", would be pronounced: [ˈʕɑbdur ˈrɑħmɑn]. When the definite article is followed by a moon letter, no assimilation takes place.

Therefore Abdul is not always used as the opening part of the name; if the second part starts with a sun letter, it may become forms including Abdun, Abdur, Abdus, or Abdush, the vowel in each name, similarly with Abdul, is also open to differing transliterations.

Independent naming

Abdul does not appear on its own as a male given name when written in Arabic. In different cultures, the theophoric part may appear as a stand alone middle name, or surname, thus confusing people as to whether Abdul is their accepted given name. Often if someone shortens their name, they may equally choose the theophoric part or Abdul. However, Abdul by itself is sometimes used as an independent full given first name outside of Arabic countries.

Given name

• Abdul Thompson Conteh (born 1970), Sierra Leonean footballer
• Abdoul Diakite (born 1986), French-Malian footballer
• Abdul Diallo (born 1985), Burkina Faso footballer
• Abdul "Duke" Fakir (born 1935), American musician
• Abdul Hodge (born 1983), American football linebacker
• Abdul Mohamed, Afghan-English mixed martial artist
• Abdoul Nikiema (born 1993), Burkinabé footballer
• Abdul Salis (born 1979), British actor
• Abdul Vas (born 1981), Venezuelan artist

Surname

• Ban Abdul (born 1981), Iraqi actress
• David Abdul (born 1989), Aruban footballer
• Lida Abdul (born 1973), Persian artist
• Paula Abdul (born 1962), American singer and television personality
• Suhail al-Abdool, Emirati TV and music video director

Fictional characters

• Abdul Alhazred, character created by American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft
• Abdul ibn Shareef, fictional politician on The West Wing

See also

• Abdullah (disambiguation), often confused with having the same meaning as Abdul
• Arabic name
• Turkish name