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Most Arab names really mean something in Arabic--many are pleasant or desirable qualities--they are real words in Arabic and so can be used as names or adjectives--for example....

Amad--most praiseworthy
Mamuud--commendable
Sa^ciid--happy
Su^caad--happiness
Widaad--love, friendship
Amal--hope
 

Arab names also found in the Bible and their English equivalents

Old  Testament

Ibrahiim--Abraham
Muusa--Moses
Da'uud--David
Mikha'iil--Michael
Yuusuf--Joseph
Saara--Sarah
Nuu--Noah
Ya^cquub--Jacob
Sulaymaan--Solomon
 

New  Testament

Yaya--John
^cIsa--Jesus
Butrus--Peter
Bulus--Paul
Maryam--Mary
Girgis--George
 

Prophet Muhammad's family and early leaders of Islam:

Muammad--means praised, commendable
Khadiija--Prophet's first wife
^cAli--Prophet's son-in-law--means lofty or exalted
Faaima--Prophet's daughter, married to ^cAli
^cAa'isha--one of Prophet's wives--means prosperous
asan--Prophet's grandson, son of ^cAli --beautiful, handsome
usayn--Prophet's grandson, son of ^cAli --little beauty
^cUmar--second Caliph-(succeeder to Prophet Muammad
  as leader of Islamic community)
^cUthmaan--third Caliph
Bilaal--first Muezzin (caller of Muslims to daily prayers)
 

Peoples' names based on Names of God

Another class of Muslim names is based on the names of God in Arabic.    Allah means The God--The same God whom Jews and Christians worship

The 99 Names of God--called The Most Beautiful Names--have to do with God's many attributes:   such as,  All-Seeing, All-Knowing, All-Powerful
We do this as well--example we say "The Almighty" to refer to God

^cAbd--is an Arabic word meaning servant or slave

Not all of the 99 names of God are used as names for people.
Some of the most popular ones are:

^cAbd Allah  --Servant of God
^cAbd al-^cAziiz  --Servant of The Almighty
^cAbd al-Ramaan --Servant of The Merciful
^cAbd al-Raiim --Servant of The Compassionate
^cAbd al-akiim --Servant of The Wise
^cAbd al-Kariim --Servant of The Generous
^cAbd al-Jabbaar --Servant of The Compeller
^cAbd al-Majiid --Servant of The Glorious
^cAbd al-Malik  --Servant of The King, The Ruler of All
^cAbd al-Qaadir --Servant of The All-Powerful

There is no such name as "Abdul" by itself--it would mean "servant of the.....", that is, "Abdul" would be only half a name...

As first names, these are all for males, but they can be used as last names for anyone.  In fact, many Arab names can be used as both first and last names.  This is partly because many Arabs take their father's first name as their own last name.

You may also hear the words Abu, Umm, Ibn, or Bint in people's names.  Abu means father, Umm means mother, Ibn means son, and Bint means daughter.  So if a man is named Muammad, you would call his father Abu Muammad and his mother Umm Muammad.  You would call his son Ibn Muammad, and his daughter is Bint Muammad.

When Arab women get married, they usually keep their own family name.

This information was provided by: The University of Pennsylvania Middle East Center for educational purposes only

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