Arabic name

The tughra (stylized signature) of Mahmud II of the Ottoman Empire. Influenced by Arabic culture, Ottoman rulers had stylized their names in the Arabic way, as depicted in this signature.

Arabic names were historically based on a long naming system; most Arabs did not simply have given/middle/family names, but a full chain of names. This system was mainly in use throughout Arabia and part of the Levant.

Structure of the Arabic name

Ism

The ism (Arabic: اسم‎) is the personal name (e.g. "Kareem" or "Fatimah"). Most names are Arabic words with a meaning, usually signalling the good character of the person. Such words are employed as adjectives and nouns in regular language.

Karīm means "generous"

Maħmūd means "praiseworthy"

Generally, the context and grammar should differentiate between names and adjectives, but Arab newspapers sometimes try to avoid confusion by placing names in brackets or quotation marks.

Muslim Practices

A common form of Muslim Arab names is the combination of ʿAbd for males or ʿAmah for females (both English: servant) followed by an adjective of God. A particularly common masculine example is Abdullah (Arabic: عبد الله‎ / English: servant of God); the feminine counterpart being Amatullah.

This practice creates a possibility of 99 names for each sex, as there are 99 exclusive adjectives for God in Islam.

Notable points:

ʿAbd is not used upon the usage of one of the prophets' names (in Islam)

This practice is not exclusive to Muslims in the Arab world. For example, in Lebanon and Egypt, AbdelMassih (servant of Christ) is commonly used as a Christian last name.

Christian Practices

To an extent, most Christian Arabs have names that are indistinguishable from those of their Muslim counterparts, but they do not usually use specifically Muslim names, such as Muhammad. The following is most common:

• Arabic versions of Christian names (e.g. saints' names: Botros for Peter, although not a translation).
• Names of Greek, Armenian, and Assyrian / Aramaic origin.
• Use of European names, especially French, Greek and, to a lesser extent, Spanish ones (in Morocco). (This has been a centuries-long convention for Christian Arabs, especially in the Levant. For example: George Habash, Charles Helou, Camille Chamoun, etc.
• Names in honor of Jesus Christ.

Abd al-Yasuʿ (masc.) / Amat al-Yasuʿ (fem.) (slave of Jesus)

Abd al-Maseeḥ (masc.) / Amat al-Maseeḥ (fem.) (slave of The Messiah)

Derivations of Maseeḥ (Christ): Masūḥun, Amḥās, Mamsūḥ. The root, M-S-Ḥ, literally means 'to wipe' (as in Masah) as opposed to the Hebrew 'Annoint' (see Mashiah).

Abd al-Ilaah: An equivalent to the common Muslim name Abdullah or Abd-Ar-Raḥmān, meaning slave of God, is also used by Christians.

Laqab

The laqab (Arabic: لقب‎  "cognomen" / "surname") is intended as a description of the person.

The famous Abbasid Caliph Haroun al-Rashid (of A Thousand and One Nights fame). Haroun is the Arabic form for Aaron and "al-Rashid" means "the rightly-guided".

The laqab was very popular in ancient Arab societies, ca 1000 years ago. Today, the Laqab is only used if it is actually a person's birth Surname/Family name.

Nasab

See also: Patronymic#Arabic

The nasab (Arabic: نسب‎) is a patronymic or series of patronymics. It indicates the person's heritage by the word ibn (colloquially bin) (Arabic: ابن‎), which means "son" (bint بنت for "daughter").

Ibn Khaldun (Arabic: ابن خلدون‎) means "son of Khaldun". Khaldun is the father's proper name or, in this particular case, the proper name of a remote ancestor.

Several nasab can follow in a chain to trace a person's ancestry backwards in time, as was important in the tribally based society of the ancient Arabs, both for purposes of identification and for socio-political interactions. Today, however, ibn or bint is no longer used. (Unless it is the official naming style in a country, region, etc.: Adnen bin Abdallah). The plural is 'Abnā for males and Banāt for females. However, Banu or Bani is tribal and encompasses both sexes.

Nisbah

The nisbah (Arabic: نسبة‎) Surname. It could be an everyday name, but is mostly the name of the ancestors' tribe, city, country, or any other term used to show relevance. It follows a family through several generations.

Note: The Laqab and the Nisbah are similar in use, thus, a name rarely contains both.

Example Name

محمد بن سعيد بن عبد العزيز الفلسطيني
Muhammad ibn Saeed ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Filasteeni
muḥammad ibn saʻīdi ibn ʻabdi l-ʻazīzi l-filasṭīnī

Ism - Muhammad (Proper name). Muhammad: praised.

Nasab - Saeed (Father's name). Saeed: happy

Nasab - Abd al-Aziz (Grandfather's name). Abd al-Aziz: Servant of the Magnificient.

Nisbah - al-Filasteenee (The Palestinian). Filasteen: Palestine.

Muhammad, son of Saeed, son of Abdul-Aziz, the Palestinian

This person would simply be referred to as "Muhammad" or by relating him to his first-born son, e.g.:"Abu Kareem" (father of Kareem). To signify respect or to specify which Muhammad one is speaking about, the name could be lengthened to the extent necessary or desired.

Westernization of Arabic naming practices and names

Almost all Arabic-speaking countries (excluding for example Saudi Arabia or Bahrain) have now adopted a Westernized way of naming. This is the case for example in the Levant and Maghreb, as well as some North African countries, where French or English conventions are followed (an effect of European colonization), and it is rapidly gaining ground elsewhere.

Also, many Arabs adapt to Western conventions for practical purposes when travelling or when residing in Western countries, constructing a given name/family name model out of their full Arab name, to fit Western expectations and/or visa applications or other official forms and documents. The reverse side to this is the surprise of many Westerners when asked to supply their first name, father's name, and family name in some Arab visa applications.

The Westernization of an Arab name may require transliteration. Often, one name may be transliterated in several ways (Abdul Rahman, Abdoul Rahman, Abdur Rahman, Abdurahman, Abd al-Rahman, or Abd ar-Rahman), as there is no single accepted Arabic transliteration system. A single individual may try out several ways of transliterating his or her name, producing even greater inconsistency. This has resulted in confusion on the part of governments, security agencies, airlines and other: for example, especially since 9/11, persons with names written similarly to those of suspected terrorists have been detained.

Common mistakes

Non-Arabic speakers often make these mistakes:

• Separating "the X of Y" word combinations (see idafa):
  • With "Abdul": Arabic names may be written "Abdul (something)", but "Abdul" means "servant of the" and is not, by itself, a name. Thus for example, to address Abdul Rahman bin Omar al-Ahmad by his given name, one must say "Abdul Rahman", not merely "Abdul". If he introduces himself as "Abdul Rahman" (which means "the servant of the Merciful"), one must not say "Mr. Rahman" (as "Rahman" is not a family name but part of his (theophoric) personal name); instead it would be Mr. Ahmad, being the family name).
  • People not understanding Arabic sandhi in genitive constructions: Habību-llāh = "beloved (Habīb) of (ul) God (Allāh)"; here a person may in error report the man's name as 'forename "Habib", surname "Ullah"'. Likewise, people may confuse a name such as Jalālu-d-dīn ("The Majesty of the Religion") as being "Jalal Uddin", or "Mr. Uddin", when "Uddin" is not a surname, but the second half of a two-word name (the desinence -u of the construct state nominative, plus the article, appearing as -d-, plus the genitive dīn[i]). To add to the confusion, some immigrants to Western countries have adopted Uddin as a surname, although it is grammatically incorrect in Arabic outside the context of the associated "first name". Even Indian Muslims commit the same error. If a person's name is Abd-ul-Rahim (Servant of the Merciful), his companions may call him as Mr Abdul (Servant of) erroneously which will sound quite odd to a native speaker of Arabic.
• Confusing "`alā'" with "Allah": Some Muslim names include the Arabic word `alā' علاء = "nobility". (Here, ` represents the ayin sound, the voiced pharyngeal fricative, and ' represents the hamza sound, the glottal stop, and L is spelled and pronounced once. In Allāh, L is spelled twice and pronounced separately.) In Arabic pronunciation, `alā and Allāh are clearly different. But Europeans, Iranians, and Indians often cannot pronounce some Arabic sounds as precisely, and tend to pronounce these two names the same. For example, the Muslim male name `Alā'-ad-dīn = "the nobility of the religion" (commonly known to English speakers as Aladdin) is often misspelt as Allah-ad-din. Because these two words are different, there is an Arabic male given name "`Ala' Allah" (Aliullah), meaning "the nobility of God."
• Confusing the "bin" or "ibn" for a middle name: As stated above, "bin" and "ibn" indicate the family chain. Westerns often confuse them for middle names, especially when they're written as "Ben", as it is the case in some countries. For example, Sami Ben Ahmed would be mistakenly addressed as Mr. Ahmed. To correctly address the person, one should use Mr. Ben Ahmed.
• Grammar errors: These can result from differences between Arabic grammar and the grammar of some other languages. Arabic forms noun compounds in the opposite order from Indo-Iranian languages. For example, during the war in Afghanistan in 2002, a BBC team found in Kabul an internal refugee whose name they stated as "Allah Muhammad". This may be a misspelling, as described in the previous paragraph, but if not, by the rules of Arabic grammar, this name means "the Allah who belongs to Muhammad", which is not acceptable as a man's name and is ideologically and logically incorrect; however, by the rules of Iranian and most Indian languages this name means "Muhammad who belongs to Allah", which is acceptable; the Arabic equivalent is "Muhammad Ullah". Most Afghans speak Iranian languages. Such Arabic-and-Iranian or Arabic-and-Indian mixed-language compound names are not uncommon in Afghanistan, Iran, and Tajikistan. Compare the Pakistani/Indian name "Allah Ditta".

Arab family naming convention

In Arabic culture a person's ancestry and his/her family name are very important. An example is explained below.

Assume a man has the name of Saleh ibn Tariq ibn Khalid al-Fulan.

• Saleh is his personal name, and the one that his family and friends would call him by.
• ibn translates as "son of", so Tariq is Saleh's father's name.
• ibn Khalid means that Tariq is the son of Khalid, making Khalid the grandfather of Saleh.
• al-Fulan would be Saleh's family name.

Hence, Saleh ibn Tariq ibn Khalid al-Fulan translates as "Saleh, son of Tariq, son of Khaled; of the family al-Fulan."

The Arabic for "daughter of" is bint. A woman with the name Fatimah bint Tariq bin Khalid al-Fulan translates as "Fatimah, daughter of Tariq, Son of Khaled; of the family al-Fulan."

In this case, ibn and bint are included in the official naming. Most Arab countries today, however, do not use 'ibn' and 'bint' in their naming system. If Saleh was an Egyptian, he would be called Saleh Tariq Khalid al-Fulan and Fatimah would be Fatimah Tariq Khalid al-Fulan.

If Saleh marries a wife (who would keep her own maiden, family, and surnames), their children will take Saleh's family name. Therefore, their son Mohammed would be called Mohammed ibn Saleh ibn Tariq al-Fulan.

All Arab countries however do not use the name to its full length, but conventionally use 2 and 3 word names, and sometimes 4 word names in official or legal matters. Thus the first name is the personal name, the middle name is the father's name and the last name is the family name.

Arabic names and their biblical equivalent

The Arabic names listed below are used in the Arab world, as well as some other Muslim regions, with correspondent Hebrew, English, Syriac and Greek equivalents. They are not necessarily of Arabic origin, although some are. Most are derived from Syriac transliterations of the Hebrew Bible. For more information, see also Iranian, Malay, Pakistani, and Turkish names.

Arabic name	Hebrew name	English name	Syriac name	Greek name
Abur ʻAbur	Éver ʻĒḇer	Eber
Akhimalik Akhimālik	Ahimelech Ahimal'akh	Ahimelech
Alyasaa Alyasaʿ	Elisha Elišaʿ	Elisha
Amos Amūs	Amos ʿĀmōs	Amos
Anas Anas	Annas	Annas
Andraos Andrāwus / ʾIdrīs(?)	-	Andrew	-	Αnδrέας
Enoch Anūḥ / ʾIdrīs(?)	H̱anokh	Enoch
Asaph Asāf	Asaf ʾĀsāf	Asaph
Ayoub Ayyūb	Iyov / Iov Iyyov / Iyyôḇ	Job
Azar Āzar / Tarīḥ	Téraḥ / Thara / Zarah	Terah	Athār
Azaria 'Azarīyā	Azaryah	Azariah
Bartholmaos Barthulmāwus	-	Bartholomew	-	Bαrtholomαῖος
Baraka Baraka Bārack بارك	Barukh Bārûḵ	Baruch
Benyamin Binyāmīn	Binyamin Binyāmîn	Benjamin
Boulus Būlus / Bilus	-	Paul	-	Pαῦlος
Daborah Dabūrāh	Dvora Dəḇôrā	Deborah
Daniel Dānyāl	Daniel Dāniyyêl	Daniel
Dawoud / Davoud Dāwūd / Dāwid	David Davīd /&nbspDāwîḏ	David
Fileeb Fīlīb/ Falbus	-	Philip	-	Phίlippος
Faros Fárus	Péreẓ Páreẓ	Perez
Efraim ʾIfrāym / 'Ufayr	Efraim Efráyim	Ephraim
Habeeb Ḥabīb / Shu'ayb(?)	Chobab Ḥobab	Hobab
Habkeek Habkīk	Ḥavaqquq	Habakkuk
Haja Hajja	Ḥaggay	Haggai
Hannan Hannan	Anna	Anna (Bible)
Haroun Hārūn	Aharon	Aaron
Hawaa Ḥawwāʾ	Chava / Hava Ḥavvah	Eve
Hosa Hūsāʾ	Hoshea Hôšēăʻ	Hosea
Hussein Ḥusayn / Ḥassan	Ḥoshen Khôšēn	Choshen
Hazkiel Ḥazqiyal Yuḥazqīl يحزقيل	Y'khez'qel  Y'ḥez'qel	Ezekiel
Ibrahim ʾIbrāhīm / Abrāhīm(?)	Avraham	Abraham
Elias ʾIlyās Īliyā إيليا	Eliahu / Eliyahu Eliyahu	Elijah	'Eliya	Elίας
Imran ʾImrān	Amrām	Amram
Irmiyaa 'Irmiya	Yirməyāhū	Jeremiah
Eisa / Yasoua ʿĪsā / Yasūʿ	Yeshua Yešuaʿ  *	Jesus	Eeshoʿ	Iēsous
Ishak ʾIsḥāq Yuḏḥāq يضحك	Yitzhak / Yitzchak Yitsḥaq	Isaac
Isaiah Isīyā	Yeshayahu Yəšạʻyā́hû	Isaiah
Ismail ʾIsmāʿīl Yusmāʿīl يسمعائيل	Yishmael Yišmaʿel / Yišmāʿêl	Ishmael
Israail ʾIsrāʿīl Yusrāʿīl يصرائيل	Israel / Yisrael Yisraʾel / Yiśrāʾēl	Israel
Jibril / Gebril Ǧibraīl / Jibraīl Jabriʿīl جابرإيل	Gavriel Gavriʾel	Gabriel
Jad / Gad Ǧād / Jād	Gad	Gad
Jalut / Galut Ǧālūt / Jālūt / Ǧulyāt	Golyāṯ	Goliath
Jasham / Gushaam Jašam / Ǧūšām Ghassān غسان	Geshem	Geshem (Bible)	Gashmu
Kalb Kālb	Kalev	Caleb
Lawi Law'ī	Lēwî	Levi
Leya Lay'a'	Le'a	Leah
Madyan Madyān	Midian	Midian		Mαδiάm
Majdala Majdalā	Migdal	Magdalene (given name)	Magdala
Malikisadiq Māliki-Ṣadiq	malḵ-i ṣédeq	Melchizedek
Maliki Māliki	Mal'akhi	Malachi
Maryam / Miriam Maryam / Mīryām	Miriam / Miryam Miryam	Mary
Methuselah Matisālah	Mətušélaḥ Mətušálaḥ	Methuselah
Matta Mattā	Amittai	Amittai
Matta Mattā / Matatiyā	Matatiahu / Matatyahu Matatyahu	Matthew	Mattai	Ματταthίας / Mατthαῖος
Mikhail Miḫāʾīl / miḵāʼīl / Mikhāʼīl Mankāʼīl منكائيل	Michael / Mikhael Miḵaʾel	Michael
Moussa Mūsā	Moshe Mošé	Moses
Nehemiaa Nahamiyyā	Nekhemyah	Nehemiah
Nouh Nūḥ	Noach / Noah Nóaḥ	Noah
Nouman Nu'mān نعمان	Naa'man	Naaman
Nun Nūn	Noon	Nun (Bible)
Qarun Qarūn	Kórakh Qōraḥ	Korah
Raaheel Rāḥīl راحيل	Rakhél Raḥel	Rachel
Safniyaa Ṣafnīyā	Tzfanya  / Ṣəp̄anyā Tsfanya	Zephaniah
Safurah Ṣaffūrah Aṣfūr عصفور	Tzipora  / Tsippora Ṣippôrā	Zipporah
Sem Sām Ism اسم	Shem	Shem
Samiri Samīri	Zimri	Zimri	Zamri
Samuel Ṣamu’īl / Ṣamawāl Ismu’īl	Shmu'el / Šəmûʼēl Shmu'el	Samuel
Sara Sārah	Sara / Sarah Sarā	Sarah / Sara
Shamson Shamsūn / Shamsan	Shimshon / Šimšôn Shimshon	Samson
Suleiman Sulaymān / Silimān	Shlomo Šlomo	Solomon
Saul Ṭālūt / Sāʼûlā	Sha'ul Šāʼûl	Saul
Tomas Ṭūmās/Tūmā Ṭaū'am توأم	tə'ōm	Thomas (name)	te'oma	Thomᾶς
Obaidullah ʿUbaydallāh / 'Ubaydīyā	Ovadia Ovádyah / Ovádyah	Obadiah
Umar 'Umar	Omri Omri	Omri
Uzair Uzayr	Ezra Ezrá	Ezra
Yaakoub Yaʿqūb	Yaakov Yaʿaqov	Jacob, (James)
Yahia / Yehia / Youhanna Yaḥyā / Yiḥyā / Yūḥannā **	Yochanan / Yohanan Yôḥānnān	John
Yahwah Yāhwāh / Yāhūwah(?) يهوه	YHWH Yahweh / Yāhôveh	Jehovah
Yessa Yassa	Yishay	Jesse
Jethro Yathrun / Shu'ayb(?)	Yitro Yiṯrô	Jethro
Youl Yūl	Yoel	Joel
Younos / Younes Yūni / Yūnus Yamām يمام	Yona / Yonah Yônā	Jonah	Yuna	Ionas
Youssof / Youssef Yūsuf / Yūsif	Yosef	Joseph
Yousa Yūsa'	Yĕhôshúa Yôshúa	Joshua
Zakaria Zakariyyā / Zakarīyā	Zecharia /Zekharia Zeḵaryah	Zachary or Zechariah

• The popular romanization of the Arabized and Hebrew names are written first, then the standardized romanization are written in oblique. Notice that Arabized names may have variants.
• If a literal Arabic translation of a name exists, it will be placed after the final standardized romanization.
• If an Arabic correlation is ambiguous, (?) will be placed following the name in question.

• * Yassou' is the Arab Christian name, while `Īsā is the Muslim version of the name, as used in the Qur'an. There is debate as to which is the better rendition of the Aramaic Yeshua' because both names are of late origin.
• ** Youhanna is the Arab Christian name of John, while Yahya is the Muslim version of the name, as used in the Qur'an. They have completely different triconsonantal roots (e.g. Grace : H-N-N vs Life : H-Y-Y).
• El, the Hebrew word for strength/might or deity, is usually represented as īl in Arabic, although it carry's no meaning in classical and modern Arabic. The only exception is its usage in the archaic Iraqi dialect.

See also

• List of Arabic star names
• List of Arabic theophoric names
• List of traditional Arabic place names
• Iranian name
• Pakistani name
• Turkish name

External links

• Arabic names
• Arabic Nomenclature: A summary guide for beginners. A.F.L. Beeston (Oxford, 1971).
• Period Arabic Names and Naming Practices (2003) by Da'ud ibn Auda (David B. Appleton)
• Automated recognition of Arabic person names