Arabic given names

Meanings, roots, and origins of Arabic given names.

• Abdullah

  A male given name, a theophoric compound of ʿabd ('servant') and Allāh ('God') meaning 'servant of God'.

• Ahmad

  A male given name from the root ḥ-m-d, an elative form meaning 'most praiseworthy'. Closely related to Muhammad.

• Aisha

  A female given name from the root ʿ-y-sh meaning 'living, alive, prosperous'.

• Ali

  A male given name from the root ʿ-l-w meaning 'high, elevated, exalted'. Among the most widespread Arabic names.

• Amal

  A female given name meaning 'hope', from the root ʾ-m-l.

• Fatima

  A female given name from the root f-ṭ-m ('to wean'), meaning 'one who weans' — traditionally understood as one kept from harm.

• Hassan

  A male given name from the root ḥ-s-n meaning 'good, beautiful, excellent'. Shares its root with Hussein.

• Hessa

  A female given name from the root ḥ-ṣ-ṣ; the word ḥiṣṣa means 'share, portion'. A cherished traditional Gulf name.

• Hussein

  A male given name, the diminutive of Hassan, from the root ḥ-s-n ('good, beautiful').

• Ibrahim

  A male given name of non-Arabic (Hebrew/Aramaic) origin, arabized early; the name of a sura of the Qur'an.

• Khadija

  A female given name; classical philologists derive it from khadīj, 'a child born before its time'.

• Khalid

  A male given name from the root kh-l-d meaning 'eternal, everlasting'.

• Latifa

  A female given name from the root l-ṭ-f meaning 'gentle, kind, gracious'.

• Maryam

  A female given name of non-Arabic (Hebrew/Aramaic) origin, arabized early; the name of a sura of the Qur'an.

• Muhammad

  A male given name from the root ḥ-m-d meaning 'the praised one' or 'worthy of praise'. One of the most widely used names in the world.

• Noura

  A female given name from the root n-w-r meaning 'light, radiance'. Among the most common female names in the Gulf.

• Omar

  A male given name from the root ʿ-m-r, associated with life, long life, and flourishing.

• Reem

  A female given name; in the classical lexica the riʾm is the pure-white antelope, a symbol of beauty in Arabic poetry.

• Salem

  A male given name from the root s-l-m meaning 'safe, sound, unharmed'.

• Sara

  A female given name of non-Arabic (Hebrew) origin, arabized early; in tradition, the wife of the prophet Ibrahim.

• Yusuf

  A male given name of non-Arabic (Hebrew) origin, arabized early; the name of a sura of the Qur'an.

• Zainab

  A classical female given name; the lexica gloss zaynab as a beautiful, fragrant tree. Borne by a daughter of the Prophet.