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Arabic names have historically been based on a long naming system. Many people from the Arabic-speaking and also non-Arab Muslim countries have not had given/middle/family names but rather a chain of names. This system remains in use throughout the Arab and Muslim worlds.
The ism (اسم) is the given name, first name, or personal name; e.g. "Ahmad" or "Fatima". Most Arabic names have meaning as ordinary adjectives and nouns, and are often aspirational of character. For example, Muhammad means 'Praiseworthy' and Ali means 'Exalted' or 'High'.
The syntactic context will generally differentiate the name from the noun/adjective. However Arabic newspapers will occasionally place names in brackets, or quotation marks, to avoid confusion.
In fact, the name Muhammad is so popular throughout parts of Africa, Arabia, the Middle East, South Asia and Southeast Asia, that it is often represented by the abbreviation "Md.", "Mohd.", "Muhd.", or just "M.". In India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, due to its almost ubiquitous use as a first name, a person will often be referred to by their second name:
The nasab (Arabic: نسب, lit. 'lineage') is a patronymic or matronymic, or a series thereof. It indicates the person's heritage by the word ibn (ابن "son of", colloquially bin) or ibnat ("daughter of", also بنت bint, abbreviated bte.).
Ibn Khaldun (ابن خلدون) means "son of Khaldun". Khaldun is the father's personal name or, in this particular case, the name of a remote male ancestor.
ʿAmmār ibn Sumayya means "ʿAmmār son of Sumayya". Sumayya is the personal name of ʿAmmār's mother, the same person can also be identified by his father's personal name "ʿAmmār ibn Yasir". In later Islamic periods the nasab was an important tool in determining a child's father by means of describing paternity in a social (i.e. to whom was the mother legally married during the conception of the child), not a biological sense, because the father's biological identity can be grounds for speculation. In early Islamic contexts this function is not yet well established. This stems from a legal principle introduced by Islam regarding the legal status of children (they can only arise from marriage) and changes to waiting periods relating to divorce to establish an undisputed legal father for any child. This function only developing with Islam means that one can find many Companions of the Prophet bearing a maternal nasab, as the naming conventions reflected in their names still stem from pre-Islamic attitudes and beliefs.[1]
Several nasab names can follow in a chain to trace a person's ancestry backwards in time, as was important in the tribal society of medieval 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.
The laqab (لقب), pl. alqāb (ألقاب), can be translated to English as agnomen; cognomen; nickname; title, honorific; last name, surname, family name.[2] The laqab is typically descriptive of the person.
An example is the name of the Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid, which uses the definite article al-. Harun is the Arabic version of the name Aaron and al-Rasheed means "the Rightly-Guided".
Another common form of laqab is that of compounds ending with al-Dīn (lit. 'of the faith' or 'of the religion'), al-Dawla ('of the State'), al-Mulk ('of the Kingdom'), or al-Islām ('of Islam').[3] Examples include Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn, Shams al-Dīn, Nūr al-Dīn, Izz al-Din, Nāṣir al-Dawla, Niẓām al-Mulk, Sayf al-Islām.
In ancient Arab societies, use of a laqab was common, but today is restricted to the surname, or family name, of birth.
The nisbah (نسبة) surname could be an everyday name, but is mostly the name of the ancestral tribe, clan, family, profession, town, city, country, or any other term used to show relevance. It follows a family through several generations. A demonym example is الحلبي al-Halabi, meaning that the person is originally from Aleppo or a descendant of people from Aleppo. For a profession example, الخياط al-khayyat meaning "the tailor".
The laqab and nisbah are similar in use, but they could be used simultaneously. For example: Sayf Al-Dīn Al-Halabi.
A kunya (Arabic: كنية, kunyah)[4] is a teknonym in Arabic names. It is a component of an Arabic name, a type of epithet, in theory referring to the bearer's first-born son or daughter. By extension, it may also have hypothetical or metaphorical references, e.g. in a nom de guerre or a nickname, without literally referring to a son or a daughter.[5] For example, Sabri Khalil al-Banna was known as Abu Nidal, "father of struggle".
Use of a kunya implies a familiar but respectful setting.
A kunya is expressed by the use of abū (father) or umm (mother) in a genitive construction, i.e. "father of" or "mother of" as an honorific in place of or alongside given names in the Arab world.
A kunya may also be a nickname expressing the attachment of an individual to a certain thing, as in Abu Bakr, "father of the camel foal", given because of this person's kindness towards camels.
A common name-form among Arab Muslims is the prefix ʿAbd ("Worshipper", fem. Amah) combined with the word for God (Allah), Abdullah (عبد الله "Worshipper of God"), or with one of the epithets of God.
As a mark of deference, ʿAbd is usually not conjoined with the prophet's names.[6] Nonetheless, such names are accepted in some areas. Its use is not exclusive to Muslims and throughout all Arab countries, the name Abdel-Massih, "Servant of Christ", is a common Christian last name.
Converts to Islam may often continue using the native non-Arabic non-Islamic names that are without any polytheistic connotation, or association.
Generally, Arab Christians have names indistinguishable from Muslims, with the exception of some explicitly Islamic names, e.g. Muhammad. Some common Christian names are:
Some people, especially in the Arabian Peninsula, when descendant of a famous ancestor, start their last name with Āl "family, clan" (آل), like the House of Saud ﺁل سعود Āl Suʻūd or Al ash-Sheikh ("family of the sheikh"). Āl is distinct from the definite article (ال). If a reliably-sourced version of the Arabic spelling includes آل (as a separate graphic word), then this is not a case of the definite article, so Al (capitalised and followed by a space, not a hyphen) should be used. Ahl, which has a similar meaning, is sometimes used and should be used if the Arabic spelling is أهل.
Dynasty membership alone does not necessarily imply that the dynastic آل is used – e.g. Bashar al-Assad.
Arabic | Meaning | Transliteration | Example |
---|---|---|---|
ال | 'the' | al- | Maytham al-Tammar |
آل | 'family'/'clan of' | Al | Bandar bin Abdulaziz Al Saud |
أهل | 'tribe'/'people of' | Ahl | Ahl al-Bayt |
محمد بن سلمان بن أمین الفارسي
Muḥammad ibn Salmān ibn Amīn al-Fārisī
"Muḥammad, son of Salmān, son of Amīn, the Persian"
This person would simply be referred to as "Muḥammad" or by his kunya, which relates him to his first-born son, e.g. Abū Karīm "father of Karīm". To signify respect or to specify which Muḥammad one is speaking about, the name could be lengthened to the extent necessary or desired.
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Non-Arabic speakers often make these mistakes:
Conventionally, in Arab culture, as in many parts of the world, a person's ancestry and family name are very important. An example is explained below.
Assume a man is called Saleh ibn Tariq ibn Khalid al-Fulan.
Hence, Saleh ibn Tariq ibn Khalid al-Fulan translates as "Saleh, son of Tariq, son of Khalid; who is of the family of al-Fulan."
The Arabic for "daughter of" is bint. A woman with the name Fatimah bint Tariq ibn Khalid al-Rashid translates as "Fatimah, daughter of Tariq, son of Khalid; who is of the family al-Rashid."
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 were an Egyptian, he would be called Saleh Tariq Khalid al-Fulan and Fatimah would be Fatimah Tariq Khalid al-Rashid.
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.
However, not all Arab countries use the name in its full length, but conventionally use two- and three-word names, and sometimes four-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 father's family name.
The Arabic names listed below are used in the Arab world with correspondent Hebrew, English, Syriac and Greek equivalents in many cases. Most are derived from Syriac transliterations of the Hebrew Bible.
Arabic name | Hebrew name | English name | Syriac name | Greek name |
---|---|---|---|---|
ʿĀbir /ʾĪbir عابر / إيبر | Éver ʻĒḇer עֵבֶר |
Eber | ܥܵܒ݂ܵܪ ʿĀḇār | |
Alyasaʿ اليسع |
Elisha Elišaʿ אֱלִישָׁע |
Elisha | ܐܹܠܝܼܫܲܥ Ēlīšaʿ | Ἐλισσαῖος |
ʿĀmūs عاموس | Amos ʿĀmōs עָמוֹס |
Amos | ܥܵܡܘܿܣ ʿĀmōs | Ἀμώς |
Andrāwus أندراوس | Andrew | ܐܲܢܕܪܹܐܘܿܣ Andrēōs | Ἀνδρέας | |
ʾĀsif آصف | Asaph ʾĀsaf אָסָף |
Asaph | ܐܵܣܵܦ ʾĀsāp | |
ʾAyyūb أيّوب | Iyov / Iov Iyyov / Iyyôḇ איוב |
Job | ܐܝܼܘܿܒ݂ Īyōḇ | Ἰώβ |
ʾĀzar Āzar / Taraḥ آزر / تارح |
Téraḥ / Tharakh תֶּרַח / תָּרַח | Terah | ܬܲܪܚ Tar(ə)ḥ | Θάρα |
Azarīyā أزريا | Azaryah עֲזַרְיָהוּ | Azariah | ܥܲܙܲܪܝܵܐ Azar(ə)yā | |
Barthulmāwus بَرثُولَماوُس |
bar-Tôlmay בר-תולמי | Bartholomew | ܒܲܪ ܬܘܼܠܡܲܝ Bar-Tūlmay | Βαρθολομαῖος |
Baraka Bārak بارك |
Barukh Bārûḵ בָּרוּךְ |
Baruch | ܒܵܪܘܿܟ݂ Bārōḵ | Βαρούχ |
Binyāmīn بنيامين | Binyamin Binyāmîn בִּנְיָמִין |
Benjamin | ܒܸܢܝܵܡܹܝܢ Benyāmēn | Βενιαμίν |
Būlus بولس | Paul | ܦܲܘܠܘܿܣ Pawlōs | Παῦλος | |
Butrus بطرس | Peter | ܦܸܛܪܘܿܣ Peṭrōs | Πέτρος | |
Dabūrāh دبوراه | Dvora Dəḇôrā דְּבוֹרָה |
Deborah | ܕܒ݂ܘܿܪܵܐ D(ə)ḇōrā | Δεββώρα |
Dānyāl دانيال | Daniel Dāniyyêl דָּנִיֵּאל |
Daniel | ܕܵܢܝܼܐܹܝܠ Dānīyyēl | Δανιήλ |
Dāwud / Dāwūd / Dāʾūd داود / داوُود / داؤود | David Davīd דָּוִד |
David | ܕܵܘܝܼܕ݂ Dāwīḏ | Δαυίδ, Δαβίδ |
Fīlīb/Fīlībus فيليب / فيليبوس | Philip | ܦܝܼܠܝܼܦܘܿܣ Pīlīpōs | Φίλιππος | |
Fāris فارص | Péreẓ Pāreẓ פֶּרֶץ / פָּרֶץ |
Perez | ܦܲܪܨ Parṣ | |
ʾIfrāym إفرايم | Efraim Efráyim אֶפְרַיִם/אֶפְרָיִם |
Ephraim | ܐܲܦܪܹܝܡ Ap̄rēm | Ἐφραίμ |
Ḥūbāb حُوبَابَ | Chobab Ḥovav חֹבָב |
Hobab | ||
Ḥabaqūq حبقوق | Ḥavaqquq חֲבַקּוּק | Habakkuk | Ἀββακούμ | |
Ḥajjai حجاي | Ḥaggay חַגַּי | Haggai | Ἁγγαῖος | |
Ānnāh آنّاه |
Ḥannāh חַנָּה | Anna (Bible) | Ἄννα | |
Hārūn هارون | Aharon אהרן | Aaron | Ἀαρών | |
Ḥawwāʾ حواء | Chava / Hava Ḥavvah חַוָּה |
Eve | ܚܘܐ Hwuh*/Khwuh* | Εὔα |
Hūshaʾ هوشع | Hoshea Hôšēăʻ הושע |
Hosea | Ὡσηέ | |
Ḥassan حسن | Choshen ẖošen חֹשֶׁן |
Hassan | ||
Ḥazqiyāl حزقيال |
Y'khez'qel Y'ḥez'qel יְחֶזְקֵאל |
Ezekiel | Ἰεζεκιήλ | |
ʾIbrāhīm إبراهيم | Avraham אַבְרָהָם | Abraham | Ἀβραάμ | |
Idrees / Akhnookh Idrīs / Akhnūkh أخنوخ / إدريس |
H̱anokh חֲנוֹךְ | Enoch / Idris | Ἑνώχ | |
ʾIlyās / ʾIlyāsīn / Īliyā إلياس / إل ياسين / إيليا |
Eliahu / Eliyahu Eliyahu אֱלִיָּהוּ |
Elijah | 'Eliya | Ἠλίας |
ʾImrān عمرام / عمران | Amrām עַמְרָם | Amram | Ἀμράμ | |
ʾIrmiyā إرميا | Yirməyāhū יִרְמְיָהוּ | Jeremiah | Ἱερεμίας | |
ʿĪsā / Yasūʿ عيسى / يسوع |
Yeshua Yešuaʿ יֵשׁוּעַ / יֵשׁוּ |
Jesus | Eeshoʿ | Ἰησοῦς |
Ǧūšiyā جوشيا |
Yôšiyyāhû יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ | Josiah | Ιωσιας | |
ʾIsḥāq إسحاق |
Yitzhak / Yitzchak Yitsḥaq יִצְחָק |
Isaac | Ἰσαάκ | |
ʾIshʻiyāʾ إشعيا | Yeshayahu Yəšạʻyā́hû יְשַׁעְיָהוּ |
Isaiah | Ἠσαΐας | |
Ismail ʾIsmāʿīl إسماعيل |
Yishmael Yišmaʿel / Yišmāʿêl יִשְׁמָעֵאל |
Ishmael | Ἰσμαήλ | |
ʾIsrāʾīl إِسرائيل |
Israel / Yisrael Yisraʾel / Yiśrāʾēl ישראל |
Israel | Ἰσραήλ | |
Ǧibrīl / Gibril / Ǧibra'īl جِبْريل / جَبْرائيل | Gavriel Gavriʾel גַבְרִיאֵל |
Gabriel | Γαβριήλ | |
Ǧād / Jād جاد | Gad גָּד | Gad | Γάδ | |
Ǧālūt / Jālūt / Julyāt جالوت / جليات | Golyāṯ גָּלְיָת | Goliath | Γολιάθ | |
Ǧašam / Ǧūšām جشم / جوشام |
Geshem גֶשֶׁם | Geshem (Bible) | Gashmu | |
Ǧūrğ / Ǧirğis / Ǧurğ / Ǧurayğ جيرجس | George (given name) | Γεώργιος | ||
Kilāb / Kalb كلاب/ كلب | Kalev כָּלֵב | Caleb | ||
Lāwī لاوي | Lēvî לֵּוִי | Levi | Λευΐ | |
Layā'ليا | Leah לֵאָה | Leah | Λεία | |
Madyān مدين | Midian מִדְיָן | Midian | Μαδιάμ | |
Majdalā مجدلية | Migdal | Magdalene | Magdala | Μαγδαληνή |
Māliki-Ṣādiq ملكي صادق | malki-ṣédeq מַלְכִּי־צֶדֶֿק | Melchizedek | Μελχισεδέκ | |
Malākhī ملاخي | Mal'akhi מַלְאָכִי | Malachi | Μαλαχίας | |
Maryam / Miriam مريم | Miriam / Miryam Miryam מרים |
Mary | ܡܪܝܡ | Μαρία |
Mattūshalakh مَتُّوشَلَخَ | Mətušélaḥ Mətušálaḥ מְתֿוּשָלַח |
Methuselah | Μαθουσάλας | |
Mattā | Amittai אֲמִתַּי | Amittai | ||
Mattā / Matatiyā متى / متتيا | Matitiahu / Matityahu Matityahu מַתִּתְיָהוּ |
Matthew | Mattai | Ματθαῖος |
Mikāʼīl / Mikaal / Mikhāʼīl ميكائيل / ميكال / ميخائيل |
Michael / Mikhael Miḵaʾel מִיכָאֵל |
Michael | Μιχαήλ | |
Mūsā موسى | Moshe Mošé מֹשֶׁה |
Moses | Μωυσῆς | |
Nahamiyyā نحميا | Neḥemyah נְחֶמְיָה | Nehemiah | Νεεμίας | |
Nūḥ نُوح | Noach / Noah Nóaḥ נוֹחַ |
Noah | Νῶε | |
Qarūn / Qūraḥ قارون / قورح | Kórakh Qōraḥ קֹרַח |
Korah | ||
Rāḥīl راحيل | Rakhél Raḥel רָחֵל |
Rachel | Ραχήλ | |
Ṣafnīyā صفنيا | Tzfanya / Ṣəp̄anyā Tsfanya צְפַנְיָה |
Zephaniah | Σωφονίας | |
Ṣaffūrah صفورة |
Tzipora / Tsippora Ṣippôrā צִפוֹרָה |
Zipporah | Σεπφώρα | |
Sām سام |
Shem שֵם | Shem | Σήμ | |
Sāmirī سامري | Zimri זִמְרִי | Zimri | Zamri | |
Samuel Ṣamu’īl / Ṣamawāl صموئيل / صموال |
Shmu'el / Šəmûʼēl Shmu'el שְׁמוּאֶל |
Samuel | Σαμουήλ | |
Sārah سارة | Sara / Sarah Sarā שָׂרָה |
Sarah / Sara | Σάρα | |
Shamshūn شمشون | Shimshon / Šimšôn Shimshon שִׁמְשׁוֹן |
Samson | Σαμψών | |
Suleiman Sulaymān / سليمان |
Shlomo Šlomo שְׁלֹמֹה |
Solomon | Σολομών | |
Saul Ṭālūt / Šāwul طالوت / شاول |
Sha'ul Šāʼûl שָׁאוּל |
Saul | Σαούλ | |
Ṭūmās/Tūmā طوماس / توما |
Thomas (name) | Te'oma | Θωμᾶς | |
Obaidullah ʻUbaydallāh / ʻUbaydiyyā عبيد الله / عبيدييا |
Ovadia ʻOvádyah / ʻOvádyah עבדיה |
Obadiah | Ὁβαδίας, Ἀβδιού | |
ʻAmri عمري | Omri ʻOmri עמרי |
Omri | ||
ʻUzāir عُزَيْرٌ | Ezra Ezrá עזרא |
Ezra | ||
Yaʿqūb يَعْقُوب | Yaakov Yaʿaqov יַעֲקֹב |
Jacob, (James) | Ἰακώβ | |
Yaḥyā / Yūḥannā** يحيى / يوحنا | Yochanan / Yohanan Yôḥānnān יוחנן |
John | Ἰωάννης | |
Yahwah يهوه |
YHWH Yahweh יְהֹוָה |
Jehovah | ܝܗܘܗ, ܝܗ, ܞ YH, YHWH | |
Yessa Yashshā يَسَّى |
Yishay יִשַׁי | Jesse | Ἰεσσαί | |
Yathrun (?) Yathrun / Shu'ayb / شعيب |
Yitro Yiṯrô יִתְרוֹ |
Jethro | ||
You'il Yūʾīl يوئيل |
Yoel יואל) | Joel | Ἰωήλ | |
Younos / Younes / Yūnus/Yūnān يونس /يونان. |
Yona / Yonah Yônā יוֹנָה |
Jonah | Yuna | Ἰωνάς |
Youssof / Youssef Yūsuf / يوسف |
Yosef יוֹסֵף | Joseph | ܝܲܘܣܸܦ Yawsep̄ | Ἰωσήφ |
Youshaʿ Yūshaʿ / Yashūʿ يُوشَعُ / يَشُوعُ |
Yĕhôshúa Yôshúa יְהוֹשֻׁעַ |
Joshua | Ἰησοῦς | |
Zakaria Zakariyyā / Zakarīyā زَكَرِيَّا |
Zecharia /Zekharia Zeḵaryah זְכַרְיָה |
Zachary or Zechariah | Ζαχαρίας |
According to the Chicago Manual of Style, Arabic names are indexed by their surnames. Names may be alphabetized under Abu, Abd and ibn, while names are not alphabetized under al- and el- and are instead alphabetized under the following element.[7]
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