Arabic Naming Customs

Online Tools

 * Behind the Name: Arabic Surnames
 * Behind the Name: Arabic Given Names
 * Period Arabic Names and Naming Practices (2nd edition)

Surnames
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 Khalid; whom is of the family of 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 grandfather of Saleh.
 * al-Fulan would be Saleh's family name.

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 Khalid; whom is of the family 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.

Arab Christian
To an extent Arab Christians have names indistinguishable from Muslims, except some explicitly Islamic names, e.g. Muhammad. Some common Christian names are:
 * Arabic versions of Christian names (e.g. saints' names: Buṭrus for Saint Peter).
 * Names of Greek, Armenian, and Aramaic or Neo-Aramaic origin.
 * Use of European names, especially French, Greek and, to a lesser extent, Spanish ones (in Morocco). This has been a relatively recent centuries-long convention for Christian Arabs, especially in the Levant. For example: Émile Eddé, George Habash, Charles Helou, Camille Chamoun.
 * Names in honor of Jesus Christ:
 * Abd al-Yasuʿ (masc. ) / Amat al-Yasuʿ (fem.) ("Servant of Jesus")
 * Abd 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.

Muhammad
Such is the popularity of the name Muhammad throughout parts of Africa, Arabia, the Middle East, South Asia and Southeast Asia, 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

For Further Reading

 * Period Arabic Names and Naming Practices (2nd edition)