Arabic names were historically based on a long naming system; most Arabs did not have given/middle/family names, but a full chain of names. This system was mainly in use throughout Arabia and part of the Levant.
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Ism
The ism (اسم) is the personal name (e.g. "Osama" or "Azzam"). Most names are Arabic words with a meaning, usually signaling the hoped-for character of the person. Such words are employed as adjectives and nouns in regular language.
Muhammad means "Praiseworthy"Ali means "Exalted, High".Generally, the context and grammar differentiate between names and adjectives, but Arab newspapers sometimes try to avoid confusion by placing names in brackets or quotation marks.
A very common name is Muhammad, used throughout the Muslim world, including parts of Africa, Arabia, the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia. The name may be abbreviated to Md., Mohd., Muhd., or simply M. in many cases, in which case the second given name is the one most commonly used. This can be seen in many names in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Muslim practices
A common form of Muslim Arab names is the combination of ʿAbd ("servant", fem. ʿAmah) followed by a description of God. A particularly common masculine example is Abdullah (عبد الله "servant of God").
In deference to God, ʿAbd is usually not used in conjunction with prophets' names. Nonetheless such names are accepted in some areas.
This practice is not exclusive to Muslims in the Arab world. For example, in Lebanon and Egypt, Abdel-Massih ("servant of Christ") is commonly used as a Christian last name.
The non-Muslims Amir Suri and his son Muhammad ibn Suri of the Ghurid dynasty used Muslim names even though they were non-Muslims.
Muslim names like Muhammad are used by non-Muslims such as the Kalash people.
Non-Muslim converts to Islam are permitted to continue using their native language non-Arabic non-Islamic names if they do not carry any polytheistic connotations or meaning.
Arab Christian practices
To an extent, most Christian Arabs have names indistinguishable from Muslims, except that they almost never use explicitly Islamic names, e.g. Muhammad. Some common Christian names are:
Laqab
The laqab (لقب "cognomen" / "surname") is intended as a description of the person.
For example, the Abbasid Caliph Haroun al-Rasheed (of One Thousand and One Nights fame). Haroun is the Arabic form for Aaron and al-Rasheed means "the rightly-guided".The laqab was very popular in ancient Arab societies. Today, the laqab is only used if it is actually a person's birth surname/family name.
Nasab
The nasab (نسب) is a patronymic or series of patronymics. It indicates the person's heritage by the word ibn (ابن "son", colloquially bin) or ibnat (بنت "daughter", also 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 ancestor.Several nasab names 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 (نسبة) surname could be an everyday name, but is mostly the name of the ancestral tribe, city, country, or any other term used to show relevance. It follows a family through several generations.
The laqab and nisbah are similar in use, thus, a name rarely contains both.
Kunya
A kunya (Arabic: كنية , kunyah) is a teknonym in Arabic names, the name of an adult derived from his or her eldest child.
A kunya 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. 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 and the Islamic world more generally.
Dynastic or family "Al"
Some people, especially in Arabia region, when descendant of a famous ancestor, start their last name with آل, an arabic noun which means "family" or "clan", like the dynasty Al Saud (family of Saud) or Al ash-Sheikh (family of the Sheikh). آل 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 " (similar, more global 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.
Example name
محمد بن سلمان بن امین الفارسی
Muhammad ibn Salman ibn Ameen al-Farsi
muhammad ibn saʻlman ibn ʻamin l-farsi
"Muhammad, son of Salman, son of Ameen, the Persian"
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 when Westerners are 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 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 others: 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:
Arab family naming convention
In Arabic 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 Khaled; of the family al-Fulan."
The Arabic for "daughter of" is bint. A woman with the name Fatimah bint Tariq ibn Khalid al-Goswami translates as "Fatimah, daughter of Tariq, son of Khaled; of the family al-Goswami."
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-Goswami.
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 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 in many cases. 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.
Indexing
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.