Al-Makhzumi
A family name (nisba) to Banū Makhzūm, a clan of Quraysh at Mecca; the name is rare outside the clan, which makes the nisba narrow in what it points to and no narrower in what it proves.
- Type
- Tribal nisba
- Attributed to
- Banū Makhzūm, a clan of Quraysh (Mecca)
- Root
- kh-z-m
Overview
Al-Makhzumi (al-Makhzūmī) is the nisba to Makhzūm b. Yaqaẓa b. Murra b. Kaʿb b. Luʾayy, a clan of Quraysh recorded at Mecca by Ibn Ḥazm and al-Qalqashandī. The name is a passive form from the root kh-z-m: in Lisān al-ʿArab khazm is piercing, and the khizāma is the ring set in a camel's nose, so makhzūm is "pierced, rung".
What the nisba settles
Unlike ʿAdī, Taym or Sahm, Makhzūm is hardly used as a personal name outside this clan, so the written form points at one house of Quraysh more narrowly than most tribal nisbas do. It points no further than that. Confederates and clients of a Qurashī clan appear under its nisba in the classical books exactly as its own members do, and the nisba names no branch, no line and no household within the clan.
Bearing the name
A tribal nisba records what a family is called, not who its ancestors were. It may follow descent (ṣarīḥ), alliance (ḥilf) or clientage (walāʾ), and only a family's own documented record tells those apart.
Sources
- ابن منظور، لسان العرب، 711هـ — مادة: خزم
- القلقشندي، نهاية الأرب في معرفة أنساب العرب، 821هـ — في بطون قريش
This page is an educational, historical reference compiled from published sources. It is not an authority on lineage. Where sources differ, we report the difference without taking a position. Corrections are welcome via our contact page.
Last reviewed: 2026-09-07