Arabic Name - Wikipedia

Arabic names have historically been based on a long naming system. Many people from Arabic-speaking and also non-Arab Muslim countries have not had given, middle, and family names but rather a chain of names. This system remains in use throughout the Arab and Muslim worlds.

Name structure

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Ism

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The ism (اسم) is the given name, first name, or personal name; e.g. "sami" or "Shamna". 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 or 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:

• Md. Dinar Ibn Raihan
• Mohd. Umair Tanvir
• Md. Osman

Nasab

[edit] See also: Patronymic § Arabic

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.).[citation needed] In the 1995 book Name Studies (De Gruyter), Wolfdietrich Fischer [de] wrote that, although the nasab was still common contemporarily, ibn and bint were omitted "in almost all Arab countries".[1]

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.[2]

Laqab

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The laqab (لقب), pl. alqāb (ألقاب), can be translated to English as agnomen; cognomen; nickname; title, honorific; last name, surname, family name.[3] The laqab could be purely descriptive of a person, express admiration or be insulting and derogatory.[4]

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".

The laqab was used as a regnal title by the caliphs. This was most prominent in Abbasid times, for example al-Manṣūr bi’llāh.[4]

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').[5] 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.

Nisbah

[edit] Main article: Nisba (onomastics)

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.

Kunya

[edit] Main article: Kunya (Arabic)

A kunya (Arabic: كنية, kunyah)[6] 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.[7] 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.

Common naming practices

[edit] See also: List of Arabic theophoric names

Arab Muslim

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A common name-form among Arab Muslims is the prefix ʿabd (عبد, "servant", "worshipper") combined with the word for God (Allah), or with one of the epithets of God. For example,

• Abdullah (عبدالله "servant of God"),
• Abdulaziz (عبدالعزيز "servant of the Exalted")
• Abdulrahman (عبدالرحمن "servant of the Most Merciful")

As a mark of deference, ʿAbd is usually not conjoined with the prophet's names.[8] Nonetheless, such names are accepted in some areas. Its use is not exclusive to Muslims and throughout all Arab countries, the name Abdul-Massih, (عبدالمسيح "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.

Arab Christian

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Generally, Arab Christians have names indistinguishable from Muslims, with the exception of some explicitly Islamic names such as Muhammad, which are not usually borne by Christians. Some common Christian names are:

• Arabic versions of Christian names, e.g. saints' names: Buṭrus (بطرس) for Peter, Boulos (بولس) for Paul.
• Names of Greek, Armenian, and Aramaic origin, which are also used by ethnically non-Arab Christians such as Armenians, Assyrians, or Copts.
• Use of European names, especially names French and English names. This is a recent convention for Christian Arabs, which mainly started with the British and French mandates in the Levant. Examples include George Habash, Michel Aflaq, and Charles Helou.
• Names in honor of Jesus Christ:

ʿAbd Yasuʿ (masc. ) / Amat Yasuʿ (fem.) ("Servant of Jesus") ʿAbd al-Masiḥ (masc.) / Amat al-Masiḥ (fem.) ("Servant of the Messiah") Derivations of Maseeḥ ("Messiah"): Masūḥun ("Most Anointed"), Amsāḥ ("More Anointed"), Mamsūḥ "Anointed" and Musayḥ "Infant Christ". The root, M-S-Ḥ, means "to anoint" (as in masah) and is cognate to the Hebrew Mashiah.

Dynastic or family name

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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

Example

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محمد بن سلمان بن أمین الفارسي Muḥammad ibn Salmān ibn Amīn al-Fārisī

Ism – Muḥammad (proper name, lit. 'praised') Nasab – Salmān (father's name, lit. 'secure') Nasab – Amīn (grandfather's name, lit. 'trustworthy') Nisbah – al-Fārisī (lit. 'the Persian').

"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.

Common mistakes

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Non-Arabic speakers often make these mistakes:

• Separating "the X of Y" word combinations (see iḍāfah):
  • With "Abdul": Arabic names may be written "Abdul (something)", but "Abdul" means "servant of the" or "follower 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 says "Abdul-Rahman", not merely "Abdul". If he introduces himself as "Abdul-Rahman" (which means "the servant of the Merciful"), one does not say "Mr. Rahman" (as "Rahman" is not a family name but part of his theophoric personal name); instead it would be Mr. al-Ahmad, the latter being the family name. Therefore, it is better to write "Abdul Rahman" as "abdu r-rahmān" and "abdul ghafār" as "abdu l-ghafār" .
  • People not familiar with Arabic sandhi in iḍāfah: Habībullāh = "beloved (Habīb) of 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"), others may call him Mr. Abdul ("servant of the") which would sound quite odd to a native speaker of Arabic.
• Not distinguishing ʻalāʾ from Allah: Some Arabic names include the Arabic word ʻalāʾ (علاء "nobility"). Here, ⟨ʻ⟩ represents the ayin, a voiced pharyngeal fricative, ⟨ʾ⟩ represents the hamza, a glottal stop, and ⟨l⟩ is spelled and pronounced at ordinary length, /l/. In Allāh, the l is written twice (⟨ll⟩) and pronounced twice as long (a geminate), as /l/ or /ll/. In Arabic pronunciation, ʻalāʾ and Allāh are clearly different. But Europeans, Iranians, and Indians may not pronounce some Arabic sounds as a native Arabic speaker would, and thus tend to pronounce them identically. For example, the name ʻAlāʾ al-dīn (Aladdin, "the Nobility of the Faith") is sometimes misspelled as Allāh al-dīn by Europeans and Indians.[citation needed] There is another name ʻAlaʾ-Allah (Aliullah, "the Nobility of God"), which uses both distinctly. Therefore, the name "علاء" must be written in Latin in the form of "Halāʾ " or "Halaa'e" to differentiate it between "Allāh" the name of God in Arabic, and also the female name آلاء "Ālāʾ " (Alaa'e) Which means "blessings" (God's blessings).
• Taking bin or ibn for a middle name: As stated above, these words indicate the order of the family chain. English-speakers often confuse them with middle names, especially when they are written as "Ben", as it is the case in some countries. For example, Sami Ben Ahmed would be mistakenly addressed as Mr. Ben Ahmed. To correctly address the person, one should use Mr. Sami or Mr. Sami Ben Ahmed.
• Grammar: As between all languages, there are differences between Arabic grammar and the grammar of 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 internally displaced person whose name they stated as "Allah Muhammad". This may be a misspelling for ʻalāʾ, for if not, by the rules of Arabic grammar, this name means "the Allah who belongs to Muhammad", which, assuming the person is an Arabic speaking Muslim would be unacceptable religiously. However, by the rules of Iranian languages and most languages of India, this name does mean "Muhammad who belongs to Allah", being the equivalent of the Arabic "Muhammadullah". Most Afghans speak Iranian languages. Such Perso-Arab or Indo-Arab multilingual compound names are not uncommon in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Pakistan and Tajikistan. There is, for example, the Punjabi name Allah-Ditta which joins the Arabic Allah with the Punjabi Ditta "given".

Arab family naming convention

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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.

• Saleh is his personal name, and the one that his family and friends would call him by.
• ibn and bin 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 paternal 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 Khalid; who is of the family of al-Fulan."

The Arabic for "daughter of" is bint. A woman with the name Fatimah bint Abdullah ibn Omar al-Rashid translates as "Fatimah, daughter of Abdullah, son of Omar; 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 Abdullah Omar 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, not Mohammed ibn Saleh ibn Tariq ibn Khalid al-Fulan (too long).

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.

Biblical names and their Arabic equivalent

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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	ÉverʻĒḇer עֵבֶר	Eber	ܥܵܒ݂ܵܪ ʿĀḇār
Alyasaʿ اليسع	ElishaElišaʿ אֱלִישָׁע	Elisha	ܐܹܠܝܼܫܲܥ Ēlīšaʿ	Ἐλισσαῖος
ʿĀmūs عاموس	AmosʿĀmōs עָמוֹס	Amos	ܥܵܡܘܿܣ ʿĀmōs	Ἀμώς
Andrāwus أندراوس	Andrew	ܐܲܢܕܪܹܐܘܿܣ Andrēōs	Ἀνδρέας
ʾĀsif آصف	AsaphʾĀsaf אָסָף	Asaph	ܐܵܣܵܦ ʾĀsāp
ʾAyyūb أيّوب	Iyov / Iov Iyyov / Iyyôḇ איוב	Job	ܐܝܼܘܿܒ݂ Īyōḇ	Ἰώβ
ʾĀzarĀzar / 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
BarakaBārak بارك	BarukhBārûḵ בָּרוּךְ	Baruch	ܒܵܪܘܿܟ݂ Bārōḵ	Βαρούχ
Binyāmīn بنيامين	BinyaminBinyāmîn בִּנְיָמִין	Benjamin	ܒܸܢܝܵܡܹܝܢ Benyāmēn	Βενιαμίν
Būlus بولس	Paul	ܦܲܘܠܘܿܣ Pawlōs	Παῦλος
Butrus بطرس	Peter	ܦܸܛܪܘܿܣ Peṭrōs	Πέτρος
Dabūrāh دبوراه	DvoraDəḇôrā דְּבוֹרָה	Deborah	ܕܒ݂ܘܿܪܵܐ D(ə)ḇōrā	Δεββώρα
Dānyāl دانيال	DanielDāniyyêl דָּנִיֵּאל	Daniel	ܕܵܢܝܼܐܹܝܠ Dānīyyēl	Δανιήλ
Dāwud / Dāwūd / Dāʾūd داود / داوُود / داؤود	DavidDavīd  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	EfraimEfráyim אֶפְרַיִם/אֶפְרָיִם	Ephraim	ܐܲܦܪܹܝܡ Ap̄rēm	Ἐφραίμ
Ḥūbāb حُوبَابَ	ChobabḤovav חֹבָב	Hobab
Ḥabaqūq حبقوق	Ḥavaqquq חֲבַקּוּק	Habakkuk	Ἀββακούμ
Ḥajjai حجاي	Ḥaggay חַגַּי	Haggai	Ἁγγαῖος
Ānnāh آنّاه	Ḥannāh חַנָּה	Anna	Ἄννα
Hārūn هارون	Aharon אהרן	Aaron	Ἀαρών
Ḥawwāʾ حواء	Chava / HavaḤavvah 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 / AkhnookhIdrīs / Akhnūkh أخنوخ / إدريس	H̱anokh חֲנוֹךְ	Enoch / Idris	Ἑνώχ
ʾIlyās / ʾIlyāsīn / Īliyā إلياس / إل ياسين / إيليا	Eliahu / EliyahuEliyahu אֱלִיָּהוּ	Elijah	'Eliya	Ἠλίας
ʾImrān عمرام / عمران	Amrām עַמְרָם	Amram	Ἀμράμ
ʾIrmiyā إرميا	Yirməyāhū יִרְמְיָהוּ	Jeremiah	Ἱερεμίας
ʿĪsā / Yasūʿ عيسى / يسوع	YeshuaYešuaʿ   יֵשׁוּעַ / יֵשׁוּ	Jesus	Eeshoʿ	Ἰησοῦς
Ǧūšiyā جوشيا	Yôšiyyāhû יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ	Josiah	Ιωσιας
ʾIsḥāq إسحاق	Yitzhak / YitzchakYitsḥaq יִצְחָק	Isaac	Ἰσαάκ
ʾIshʻiyāʾ إشعيا	Yeshayahu Yəšạʻyā́hû יְשַׁעְיָהוּ	Isaiah	Ἠσαΐας
IsmailʾIsmāʿīl إسماعيل	YishmaelYišmaʿel / Yišmāʿêl יִשְׁמָעֵאל	Ishmael	Ἰσμαήλ
ʾIsrāʾīl إِسرائيل	Israel / YisraelYisraʾel / Yiśrāʾēl ישראל	Israel	Ἰσραήλ
Ǧibrīl / Gibril / Ǧibra'īl جِبْريل / جَبْرائيل	GavrielGavriʾel 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	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 / MiryamMiryam מרים	Mary	ܡܪܝܡ	Μαρία
Mattūshalakh مَتُّوشَلَخَ	Mətušélaḥ Mətušálaḥ מְתֿוּשָלַח	Methuselah	Μαθουσάλας
Mattā	Amittai אֲמִתַּי	Amittai
Mattā / Matatiyā متى / متتيا	Matitiahu / MatityahuMatityahu מַתִּתְיָהוּ	Matthew	Mattai	Ματθαῖος
Mikāʼīl / Mikaal / Mikhāʼīl ميكائيل / ميكال / ميخائيل	Michael / MikhaelMiḵaʾel מִיכָאֵל	Michael	Μιχαήλ
Mūsā موسى	MosheMošé מֹשֶׁה	Moses	Μωυσῆς
Nahamiyyā نحميا	Neḥemyah נְחֶמְיָה	Nehemiah	Νεεμίας
Nūḥ نُوح	Noach / NoahNóaḥ נוֹחַ	Noah	Νῶε
Qarūn / Qūraḥ قارون / قورح	Kórakh Qōraḥ קֹרַח	Korah
Rāḥīl راحيل	RakhélRaḥel 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
SamuelṢamu’īl / Ṣamawāl صموئيل / صموال	Shmu'el / ŠəmûʼēlShmu'el שְׁמוּאֶל	Samuel	Σαμουήλ
Sārah سارة	Sara / SarahSarā שָׂרָה	Sarah / Sara	Σάρα
Shamshūn شمشون	Shimshon / ŠimšônShimshon שִׁמְשׁוֹן	Samson	Σαμψών
SuleimanSulaymān /  سليمان	ShlomoŠlomo שְׁלֹמֹה	Solomon	Σολομών
SaulṬālūt / Šāwul طالوت / شاول	Sha'ulŠāʼûl שָׁאוּל	Saul	Σαούλ
Ṭūmās/Tūmā طوماس / توما	Thomas (name)	Te'oma	Θωμᾶς
ObaidullahʻUbaydallāh / ʻUbaydiyyā عبيد الله / عبيدييا	OvadiaʻOvádyah / ʻOvádyah עבדיה	Obadiah	Ὁβαδίας, Ἀβδιού
ʻAmri عمري	OmriʻOmri עמרי	Omri
ʻUzāir عُزَيْرٌ	EzraEzrá עזרא	Ezra
Yaʿqūb يَعْقُوب	YaakovYaʿaqov יַעֲקֹב	Jacob, (James)	Ἰακώβ
Yaḥyā / Yūḥannā** يحيى / يوحنا	Yochanan / YohananYôḥānnān יוחנן	John	Ἰωάννης
Yahwah يهوه	YHWHYahweh יְהֹוָה	Jehovah	ܝܗܘܗ, ܝܗ, ܞ YH, YHWH
YessaYashshā يَسَّى	Yishay יִשַׁי	Jesse	Ἰεσσαί
Yathrun (?)Yathrun / Shu'ayb / شعيب	Yitro Yiṯrô יִתְרוֹ	Jethro
You'ilYūʾīl يوئيل	Yoel יואל)	Joel	Ἰωήλ
Younos / Younes / Yūnus/Yūnān يونس/يونان.	Yona / YonahYônā יוֹנָה	Jonah	Yuna	Ἰωνάς
Youssof / YoussefYūsuf /  يوسف	Yosef יוֹסֵף	Joseph	ܝܲܘܣܸܦ Yawsep̄	Ἰωσήφ
YoushaʿYūshaʿ / Yashūʿ يُوشَعُ / يَشُوعُ	YĕhôshúaYôshúa יְהוֹשֻׁעַ	Joshua	Ἰησοῦς
ZakariaZakariyyā / Zakarīyā زَكَرِيَّا	Zecharia /ZekhariaZeḵaryah זְכַרְיָה	Zachary or Zechariah	Ζαχαρίας

• The popular romanization of the Arabized and Hebrew names are written first, then the standardized romanization are written in oblique. 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.
• El, the Hebrew word for strength/might or deity, is usually represented as īl in Arabic, although it carries no meaning in classical and modern Arabic. The only exception is its usage in the Iraqi Arabic.

Some names might have different translations based on religious context:

• There are two versions of the name Jesus: Yasuʿ (يَسُوع) is the Christian version, as used in the Bible, while ʿĪsa (عِيسَى) is the Muslim version, as used in the Qur'an. Similarly, there are two versions of the name John: Yuḥannā (يُوحَنَّا) is the Christian version, while Yaḥya (يَحْيَى) is the Muslim version. They have different triconsonantal roots: Ḥ-N-N ("grace") vs Ḥ-Y-Y ("life"). Yuḥannā is cognate with the original Hebrew Yôḥānān (יוֹחָנָן‎). Note that Yuḥannā may refer to either John the Baptist or John the Apostle, whereas Yaḥya refers specifically to John the Baptist.

Arabic names in English

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Often Arabic names can be spelled multiple ways in English, and sometimes a person's name may be treated inconsistently.[9] For example, the American boxer Muhammad Ali and the crown prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman share the same name, but their English spellings differ.

Indexing

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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.[10]

See also

[edit]

• List of Arabic star names
• List of Arabic place names
• Nisba (onomastics)
• Kunya (Arabic)

References

[edit]

1. ^ Fischer, Wolfdietrich (15 May 1995). "Arabische Personennamen". In Eichler, Ernst; Hilty, Gerold; Löffler, Heinrich; Steger, Hugo; Zgusta, Ladislav (eds.). Namenforschung [Name Studies]. Walter de Gruyter. pp. 873–875. ISBN 978-3-11-011426-3.
2. ^ Mohammadi, Adeel (2016). "The Ambiguity of Maternal Filiation (nasab) in Early and Medieval Islam". The Graduate Journal of Harvard Divinity School (11): 52–68.
3. ^ Wehr, Hans (1976). Cowan, J Milton (ed.). A Dictionary Of Modern Written Arabic Hans (3rd ed.). Spoken Language Services, Inc. p. 873. ISBN 0-87950-001-8.
4. ^ a b Bosworth, Clifford Edmund (1986). "Laḳab". In Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E.; Lewis, B. & Pellat, Ch. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume V: Khe–Mahi. Leiden: E. J. Brill. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0563. ISBN 978-90-04-07819-2.
5. ^ Bearman, P.; Bianquis, Th.; Bosworth, C.E.; van Donzel, E.; Heinrichs, W.P., eds. (1960–2007). "Ism". Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_3641.
6. ^ Shahpurshah Hormasji Hodivala, Historical Studies in Mug̲h̲al Numismatics, Numismatic Society of India, 1976 (Reprint of the 1923 ed.)
7. ^ Pedzisai Mashiri, "Terms of Address in Shona: A Sociolinguistic Approach", Zambezia, XXVI (i), pp. 93–110, 1999
8. ^ Metcalf, Barbara D. (8 September 2009). Islam in South Asia in Practice. Princeton University Press. p. 344. ISBN 978-1-4008-3138-8. One must avoid names whose ambiguity suggests something unlawful. It is for this reason that the scholars forbid having names like 'Abd al-Nabi (Slave of the Prophet).
9. ^ Notzon, Beth; Nesom, Gayle (February 2005). "The Arabic Naming System" (PDF). Science Editor. 28 (1): 20–21. ISSN 1535-5365.
10. ^ "Indexes: A Chapter from The Chicago Manual of Style" (Archive). Chicago Manual of Style. Retrieved on 23 December 2014. p. 25 (PDF document p. 27/56).

External links

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• 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)

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v t e Personal names and anthroponymy
Personal name	Birth name Given name Surname patrilineal matrilineal affixes nobiliary particle
By sequence	Given name list Middle name Surname list
By trait	Diminutive Double-barrelled Epithet animal common plant Eponymic Matronymic Metonymic Mononymic Occupational Patronymic surname Sobriquet Teknonymic Toponymic surname Patrial Unisex Virtue
By life situation	Aptronym Bardic name Birth name Code name Maiden and married names Necronym Posthumous name Temple name Placeholder name Notname Regnal name Slave name
Pseudonyms (list)	Art name bugō Nicknames list hypocorism list of monarchs nom de guerre Pen name heteronym Ring name shikona Stage name list list of mononyms Username
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Related traditions	Baptism Name day Calendar of saints
Related	Acronym Anonymity Anthropomorphism personification national Call sign Deadnaming Endonym and exonym Family Galton–Watson process Legal name name change Namesake Naming taboo Nomenclature nomen nescio Misnomer Onomastics -onym Personal identity identifier Proper noun Signature monogram royal cypher khelrtva signum manus tughra Surnames by country