Hafsa

Meaning and root

From ḥ-f-ṣ (ح-ف-ص). In *Lisān al-ʿArab* al-ḥafṣ (also *al-ḥifṣ*) is the cub of the lion, the female being ḥafṣa. The same entry records a second, unrelated sense: *al-ḥafṣ*, a basket made of hide.

Why the kunya reads as it does

This is the sense behind Abū Ḥafṣ, a byname well known from the earliest Islamic period and borne by ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb. It admits two readings, both ordinary in Arabic: a kunya taken from a child — father of Ḥafṣa — or one taken from the word's own sense, so that the byname carries courage and force. This reference reports both and does not choose between them.

The comparison worth making

Ḥafṣa is the name the lexicographers actually gloss with a lion, in as many words. Ḥamza, which modern lists routinely render 'lion', is not — its root gives pungency and keenness of heart. The pair is a useful check on any list that assigns meanings without a dictionary behind them.

In use

An old Arabic female name, in continuous use since the early Islamic period.