Arabic Names

The religion of Islam, which began in the Arabian peninsula, is shared by many countries of the Near East. Several African states also have large Muslim populations who use Arabic names, especially in the north of the continent. Due to the influence of Islam, names are very similar throughout the Arab world. Unlike the English naming system, they are taken direct from a living language so are chosen for their meanings above everything else. Arabic is the main language of eighteen countries (about 180 million people) and is the sixth most commonly spoken language worldwide.

Three types of names are in general usage: names from Arabic nouns or adjectives, names of people from the Koran or religious names indicating a connection with God or Allah. There are occasional borrowings from Turkish or Persian but most names are vocabulary words. A number of pre-Islamic names (many associated with leading religious figures) survive and Judaism and Christianity are both recognised with many Biblical stories appearing in the Koran so equivalents of Biblical names are also found. Particularly common boys' names are the ninety-nine attributes of Allah preceded by Abd-al or Abdel (possession, or servant, of).

Patronymics are commonly used as surnames, preceded by 'ibn' or 'bin' son of, or 'bint' daughter of. Words indicating origin or occupation with the prefix -al also occur, as do honorifics which usually end in 'din' or 'dawlah'. Sometimes the name could be changed, for instance after becoming a parent, when the father might become 'Abu Hasan' or 'father of Hasan' and the mother, 'Umm Ahmad' although the use of a daughter's name would be more usual.

Male

Abbas	Abbud	Abd al-Haqq	Abd-al-Allah	Abd-al-Ati	Abd-al-Aziz
Abd-al-Fattah	Abd-al-Hadi	Abd-al-Hakim	Abd-al-Halim	Abd-al-Hamid	Abd-al-Jawwad
Abd-al-Karim	Abd-al-Latif	Abd-al-Malik	Abd-al-Mu'ti	Abd-al-Qadir	Abd-al-Rahim
Abd-al-Rahman	Abd-al-Raziq	Abd-al-Razzaq	Abd-al-Salam	Abd-al-Wahab	Abdullah
Abir	Abu	Abu Firuz	Abu Zeid	Abu-Bakr	Adel
Adil	Adnan	Ahmad	Ahmed	Akbar	Akil
Akram	Al Nedjari	Aladdin	Al-Afdil	Al-Kamil	Al-Nasr
Ala	Ali	Amal	Ameer	Amin	Amir
Amjad	Amr	Anwar	Aref	Arif	As'ad
Asad	Asadel	Asghar	Ashraf	Asim	Aslam
Aslan	Aswad	Atif	Ayame	Ayman	Ayub
Aziz	Azizah	Azizudeen	Badr	Baha	Baha'uddin
Bahjat	Bakr	Basim	Bassam	Bouid	Coman
Dabir	Dawud	Dekel	Diya	Ebi	Ebrahim
Ehsan	El-Feda	Elgizouli?	El-Samhudi	Elsueki?	Emad
Esmaeel	Fadi	Fadil	Fadl	Fahd	Faiz
Fakhr-al-din	Fakhri	Farag	Faraj	Farid	Faris
Faruq	Fathi	Fawzi	Fayiz	Faysal	Fihr
Fikri	Fu'ad	Gadi	Ghalib	Ghassan	Ghayth
Habib	Hadi	Hafiz	Haidar	Hakeem	Hakim
Halim	Hamad	Hamal	Hamdi	Hamed	Hamet
Hamid	Hamza	Hani	Hanif	Harith	Haroun
Hasan	Hashim	Hasim	Hassan	Hatim	Haytham
Hedayat	Hesam	Heydar	Hibah	Hikmat	Hilel
Hisein	Hisham	Hosni	Hossein	Husain	Husam
Husayn	Huseyn	Husni	Hussain	Ibrahim	Ihab
Ihsan	Imam	Isam	Ishaq	Ismail	Ismat
Izz-al-Din	Jabir	Jabr	Jafar	Jakeem	Jalal
Jalil	Jamal	Jamil	Javad	Jawdat	Jericho
Jhanda	Jinan	Kadar	Kadin	Kadir	Kalil
Kamal	Kamil	Karam	Kardal	Kareem	Karif
Karim	Kasib	Khalid	Khalifa	Khalil	Khayrat
Khayri	Magdi	Mahfooza	Mahir	Mahmood	Mahmud
Maimun	Majdi	Majduddin	Majid	Makram	Malik
Mamduh	Ma'mun	Manal	Manar	Mangal	Mansoor
Mansur	Marid	Massoud	Mas'ud	Masud	Masudi
Maulana	Mazin	Mehdi	Miteb	Mohammad	Mohammed
Mohsen	Mojtaba	Morteza	Mubarak	Muhammad	Muhannad
Muhsin	Muhyiduddin	Mukhtar	Mun'im	Munir	Mus'ad
Musa	Mushtaq	Mustafa	Mu'tasim	Mu'tazz	Muzzammil
Nabil	Nader	Nadim	Nadir	Naeem	Nahim
Na'il	Na'im	Naji	Najib	Namdar	Nasawi
Naser	Nasir	Nasr	Nasser	Nizar	Numair
Nur	Nusair	Omar	Owais	Qamar	Qasim
Qusay	Rabi	Ra'd	Radwan	Ra'fat	Rafi
Rafiq	Raghid	Rahim	Raisul	Rajab	Ramadan
Ramzy	Rashad	Rashid	Ra'uf	Reyham	Reza
Rida	Rigel	Riyad	Rushdi	Ruzbihan	Sabah
Sabir	Sabri	Sa'd	Sadegh	Sadiq	Sa'id
Sajid	Sakhr	Salah	Salih	Salim	Salman
Sami	Samir	Sarwat	Sattar	Sayyid	Seif
Selim	Sha'ban	Shadi	Shafiq	Shahriar	Shakir
Shamit	Sharif	Shaukat	Sherin	Shokat	Shukri
Sina	Soheil	Suhayl	Sulayman	Taha	Taher
Tahir	Talal	Talib	Tamir	Tariq	Tawfiq
Thabit	Umar	Usama	Usamah	Usman	Uthman
Vafa	Wafa	Wagih	Wahib	Wa'il	Wajih
Walid	Wasim	Xavier	Yaghoub	Yahya	Ya'qub
Yardan	Yasar	Yasin	Yasir	Yazid	Youness
Yousef	Yusri	Yusuf	Zahir	Zahur	Zaid
Zaki	Zayd	Zayn	Zia	Ziyad

Female

Abdah	Abia	Abida	Abir	Abla	Adara
Adila	Afaf	Afra	Ahlam	A'isha	A'ishah
Ain	Aisha	Akram	Ali	Alima	Alya
Amal	Amani	Amimah	Amina	Aminah	Amira
Amna	Ara	Arub	Arwa	Ashraf	Asiya
Asma	Atifeh	Atikah	Awatif	Ayda	Aziza
Azza	Azzah	Badr	Bahiga	Bahija	Bahira
Bahiyya	Banah	Banujah	Barika	Basimah	Basma
Biba	Bibi	Bilqis	Budur	Busayna	Buthayna
Cala	Cantara	Dahah	Daifa	Dalal	Dalia
Dananir	Dima	Du'a	Duha	Duqaq	Ehteram
Elaheh	Elham	Elmira	Emine	Fadia	Fadila
Fadl	Faizah	Fakhriyya	Farah	Fardoos	Farida
Faridah	Fatemeh	Fathiyya	Fatima	Fatimah	Fatin
Fatma	Fawz	Fawziyya	Fayruz	Fayza	Fidda
Fikriyya	Fizza	Fukayna	Ghada	Ghadir	Ghaniyah
Ghaythah	Ghufran	Hababah	Habiba	Habibah	Habibeh
Hadil	Hadya	Hafsa	Hafsah	Hagir	Haideh
Hajar	Hala	Haleh	Halima	Hamideh	Hana
Hanan	Hanifa	Haniyya	Harithah	Hawwa	Hayfa
Hiba	Hikmat	Hind	Hoda	Homeira	Hormat
Huda	Humai	Husniyah	Ibtisam	Ihab	Ihsan
Ijliyah	Ilm	Iman	Inam	Inan	Inas
Ismat	Isra	Itidal	Jaida	Jalila	Jamal
Jamila	Jamilah	Jamileh	Jannat	Jasmine	Jathibiyya
Javairia	Jawahir	Jinan	Juju	Juml	Karam
Karima	Khadija	Khadijah	Khalida	Khayriyya	Kobra
Kokab	Kowkab	Laila	Lamya	Lawahiz	Layla
Leila	Leyla	Lili	Lilith	Lina	Lissa
Lubna	Lujayn	Lu'lu'ah	Madiha	Maha	Mahasin
Mahlagha	Mahlegha	Maimunah	Maiza	Majida	Malak
Maliheh	Malikah	Manal	Manar	Manhalah	Mariyah
Marwa	Maryam	Marzieh	Maysa	Maysun	Mayy
Mellilah	Mimi	Mirvat	Moneer	Moneereh	Monir
Monireh	Muhayya	Muhsina	Muna	Munira	Munna
Munya	Muslimah	Myisha	Nabila	Nabilia	Nada
Nadereh	Nadira	Nadirah	Nadra	Nadrah	Nadya
Naeemah	Nagat	Nagiba	Nagla	Nagwa	Naheed
Nahida	Nahla	Na'ila	Nailah	Na'ima	Naima
Najah	Najat	Najiba	Najila	Najwa	Nani
Naseem	Nasim	Nathifa	Nawal	Neelam	Neshat
Nibal	Nihad	Nihal	Niloufar	Ni'mat	Nini
Noura	Nuha	Nu'm	Nur	Nura	Nuri
Oma	Qabihah	Qabul	Qaribah	Qubilah	Rabab
Rabi	Rabi'ah	Rabiah	Radwa	Raful	Raga
Raghda	Raja	Rajya	Rana	Randa	Ranya
Rashida	Rawiya	Rawya	Rayhaneh	Raym	Rayya
Rezeya	Rida	Rim	Roya	Ruqayya	Ruqayyah
Rusa	Saba	Sabah	Sabra	Sadaf	Saduf
Saeedeh	Safa	Safia	Safinaz	Safiyya	Safwah
Saham	Sahar	Sahara	Sahba	Sajah	Sakan
Salamah	Salha	Saliha	Salma	Salwa	Samar
Sameen	Sami	Samiha	Samira	Samya	Sana
Sanam	Saniyya	Sara	Sarab	Sawsan	Sehba
Semeeah	Shadya	Shafiqa	Shaghayegh	Shahar	Shahira
Shahrazad	Shahrizad	Shajar	Shamoona	Sharifa	Shatha
Sheba	Shiklah	Shohreh	Shukriyya	Siham	Sisi
Soheila	Sonya	Su'ad	Suha	Suhad	Suhair
Sukaynah	Sulma	Sumnah	Surayya	Susi	Tabasim
Tabitha	Taghrid	Tahereh	Tahiyya	Talayeh	Tannaz
Tarifa	Tarub	Taslin	Tayyebeh	Thana	Thara
Thheiba	Thuhayba	Thurayya	Tooba	Touba	Tuti
Ulayyah	Umamah	Umayma	Um-Kalthum	Umniya	Utbah
Uzma	Wafa	Wahiba	Wahshiyah	Warwar	Widad
Yasmin	Yusra	Yusriyya	Zada	Zahr	Zahra
Zahrah	Zakiyya	Zara	Zaria	Zaynab	Zebeebah
Zizi	Zubaydah	Zuhair	Zuhayr	Zukha	Zulaikha
Zuzi

Surnames

These are usually patronymics or individual nicknames but may be inherited in some cases.

Abaza	Al-Asmari	Al-Fayyoumi	Al-Jurr	Al-Razi	Alzeshi
Ba'albaki	Baraniq	al Mukhtar	Surur

Caliphs

Umayyids

Umar	- 644
Othman	644-
Myawiya	656-80
Yezid	680-	son of Myawiya
Abd el Malik	-705
Walid I	705-15
Hisham	724-41
Walid II	741-4
Merwan II	744?-9

Abbasids

Abu-al-Abbas the Bloodthirsty	749-54
Mansur	754-75	half-brother of Abu-al- Abbas
al-Mahdi	775-85
Al Hadi	785-6	eldest son of al-Mahdi
Haroun al Rashid	786-802
al Mamun	c 813
al Wathiq	-847
al Mutawakkil	847-61	brother of al Wathiq
al Muntassir	862
al Musta'in	862-6
al Mutazz	862-9 dep.
al Muhtadi	869-70	brother of al Mutazz
al Mu'tamid	870-92	cousin

Hamdanids (Syria)

Sayf ad-Dawla	944-1003

Suwayhids

Adud-ad-Dawla	946-

Kairawan

al Qa'im	-946
al Mansur	946-52
al Mu'izz	952-75 + Egypt

Aghlabids (N.Afr)

Ibrahim al-Aghlab	c 800

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This collection of names compiled by Kate Monk. Copyright January 1997, Kate Monk. Last updated November, 97. Copies may be made for personal use only.