Adnan
From ʿ-d-n, to abide in a place. The genealogists name one of the two great branches of the Arabs, the ʿAdnāniyya, after a figure of this name — and most of them stopped their chains at him.
- Root
- ʿ-d-n (ع-د-ن)
- Gender
- Male
- Meaning
- Abiding, remaining in a place
- Origin
- Arabic
- Note
- Eponym of the ʿAdnānī branch in the classical scheme
Meaning and root
From ʿ-d-n (ع-د-ن), whose sense is remaining and abiding. *ʿAdana bi-l-makān* is to stay in a place and not leave it; from the same root comes maʿdin, a mine — the place where the substance abides in the ground — and *ʿadn*, settledness.
The eponym of a branch
The genealogists sort the Arabs into two great branches and trace one of them to a figure named ʿAdnān. Those reckoned to him are called ʿAdnānī, associated in the sources with the Ḥijāz, Najd and the north of the Peninsula, and the large groupings named beneath him are Muḍar and Rabīʿa.
Where the chains stop
Worth knowing, and the reason this page is more than a gloss: many genealogists stopped at ʿAdnān and would not go above him. Al-Qalqashandī reports that what lies above ʿAdnān is not relied upon, and that the transmitters differ over the number of fathers between him and Ismāʿīl. A chain ending there is therefore a deliberate scholarly limit — a statement about the evidence — and not a gap someone failed to fill.
What this page does not say
The two-branch division is a framework the genealogists used to order the Arabs, not a register anyone can verify today. This page defines the name and the figure the branch is named for; it assigns no living family to a branch.
Frequently asked questions
What does the name Adnan mean?
From ʿ-d-n, to abide or remain in a place — the same root as maʿdin, a mine, where a substance abides in the ground.
Why do the genealogies stop at ʿAdnān?
Because the genealogists chose to stop there. Al-Qalqashandī reports that what lies above ʿAdnān is not relied upon and that transmitters differ over the number of fathers between him and Ismāʿīl.
Does this page say which families are ʿAdnānī?
No. The branch scheme is a scholarly ordering, sources disagree on where many tribes belong, and this reference assigns no living family to a branch.
Sources
- ابن منظور، لسان العرب، 711هـ — مادة: عدن
- القلقشندي، نهاية الأرب في معرفة أنساب العرب، 821هـ — قسمة العرب؛ وما فوق عدنان
- ابن حزم الأندلسي، جمهرة أنساب العرب، 456هـ — أنساب عدنان
Last reviewed: 2026-09-01