HINDهندfArabicPossibly means "group of camels" in Arabic. Hind bint Abi Umayyah, also known as Umm Salama, was one of the wives of the Prophet
Muhammad. This is also the Arabic name for the country of India.
HISHAMهشامmArabicMeans "generous" in Arabic, ultimately from
hashama "to crush". The meaning derives from the traditional Arab act of crushing bread into crumbs in order to share it. This was the name of an 8th-century caliph of the Umayyad dynasty in Spain.
HUSAMحسامmArabicMeans "sword" in Arabic, a derivative of the verb
حسم (hasama) meaning "to sever, to finish, to decide".
HUSAYNحسينmArabicDiminutive of
HASAN. Husayn ibn Ali (also commonly transliterated
Hussein) was the son of
Ali and the grandson of the Prophet
Muhammad. His older brother was named
Hasan. The massacre of Husayn and his family was a major event in the split between Shia and Sunni Muslims, which continues to this day. In more recent times this was the name of a king of Jordan (1935-1999).
HUSNIحسنيm & fArabicDerived from Arabic
حسن (husn) meaning "beauty, excellence, goodness".
IDRIS (1)إدريسmArabicPossibly means "interpreter" in Arabic. In the Qur'an this is the name of an ancient prophet. He is traditionally equated with the Hebrew prophet
Enoch.
IMADعمادmArabicMeans "support" or "pillar" in Arabic.
IQBALإقبالmArabicMeans "fortunate" in Arabic. Allama Muhammad Iqbal (1877-1938) was a poet, philosopher, and scholar from Pakistan.
IRFANعرفانmArabicMeans "knowledge, awareness, learning" in Arabic.
'ISMATعصمةm & fArabicDerived from Arabic
عصم ('Isma) meaning "safeguarding".
ISRAإسراءfArabicMeans "nocturnal journey", derived from Arabic
سرى (sara) "to travel at night".
IZZ AL-DINعزّ الدينmArabicMeans "glory of religion", derived from Arabic
عزّ ('izz) meaning "glory, power" and
دين (din) meaning "religion". In the 13th century Izz al-Din Aybak became the first Mamluk ruler of Egypt. The Mamluks were a warrior caste who were originally slaves.
JABBARجبّارmArabicMeans "powerful" in Arabic. In Islamic tradition
الجبّار (al-Jabbar) is one of the 99 names of Allah.
JABRجبرmArabicMeans "consolation, assistance" in Arabic.
JAFARجعفرmArabic, IranianMeans "stream" in Arabic. Jafar ibn Abi Talib was a cousin of the Prophet
Muhammad who was killed fighting against Byzantium in the 7th century. Another notable bearer was Jafar al-Sadiq, the sixth Shia imam.
JAMALجمالmArabicMeans "beauty" in Arabic. Jamal al-Din al-Afghani was a political activist who promoted pan-Islamism in the 19th century.
JAWAHIRجواهرfArabicMeans "jewels" in Arabic, ultimately from Persian
گوهر (gohar) meaning "jewel, essence".
JAWDATجودتm & fArabicMeans "goodness, excellence", derived from Arabic
جاد (jada) meaning "to be excellent".
JINANجنانm & fArabicMeans "garden" or "paradise" in Arabic.
JUDAجودةmArabicMeans "goodness, excellence", derived from Arabic
جاد (jada) "to be excellent".
JUNAYDجنيدmArabicMeans "small army", derived from Arabic
جند (jund) "army, soldiers".
KAREEMكريمmArabicVariant transcription of
KARIM. A famous bearer of this name is basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1947-).
KARIMكريمmArabic, PersianMeans "generous, noble" in Arabic. In Islamic tradition
الكريم (al-Karim) is one of the 99 names of Allah.
KHADIJAخديجةfArabicMeans "premature child" in Arabic. This was the name of the Prophet
Muhammad's first wife and the mother of all of his children. She was a wealthy merchant and a widow when they married in the year 595. Muhammad received his first revelation 15 years after their marriage, and she was the first person to convert to Islam.
KHALIDخالدmArabicMeans "eternal", derived from Arabic
خلد (khalada) meaning "to last forever". This name was borne by a 7th-century Islamic military leader, Khalid ibn al-Walid.
KHALIFAخليفةmArabicMeans "successor, caliph" in Arabic. The title
caliph was given to the successors of the Prophet
Muhammad, originally elected by the Islamic populace.
KHALIQخليقmArabicMeans "creator" in Arabic. In Islamic tradition
الخليق (al-Khaliq) is one of the 99 names of Allah.
KHAYYAMخيّامmArabicMeans "tent maker" in Arabic. This was the surname of the 12th-century Persian poet Omar Khayyam.
LAMYAلمياءfArabicMeans "having beautiful dark lips" in Arabic.
LATIFلطيفmArabicMeans "gentle, kind" in Arabic. In Islamic tradition
اللطيف (al-Latif) is one of the 99 names of Allah.
LAYLAليلىfArabic, EnglishMeans "night" in Arabic. This was the name of the object of romantic poems written by the 7th-century poet known as Qays. The story of Qays and Layla became a popular romance in medieval Arabia and Persia. The name became used in the English-speaking world after the 1970 release of the song 'Layla' by Derek and the Dominos, the title of which was inspired by the medieval story.
LEILAليلىfArabic, Persian, English, GeorgianVariant of
LAYLA. This spelling was used by Lord Byron for characters in 'The Giaour' (1813) and 'Don Juan' (1819), and it is through him that the name was introduced to the English-speaking world.
LUBNAلبنىfArabicMeans "storax tree" in Arabic. According to a 7th-century legend Lubna and Qays were a couple forced to divorce by Qays's father.
MAALIKمالكmArabicMeans "owner, possessor, master" in Arabic.
MAHAمهاةfArabicMeans "oryx" in Arabic. The oryx is a variety of antelope that is said to represent beauty.
MALIK (1)ملكmArabicMeans "king" in Arabic. It can also be a variant transcription of
MAALIK. In Islamic tradition
الملك (al-Malik) is one of the 99 names of Allah.
MANSURمنصورmArabic, Turkish, IndonesianMeans "victorious" in Arabic. Abu Jafar al-Mansur was an 8th-century Abbasid caliph and the founder of the city of Baghdad.
MARWAمروةfArabicFrom the Arabic name of a fragrant plant. Al-Marwa is one of the names of a sacred hill near Mecca.
MARYAMمريمfArabic, PersianArabic and Persian form of
Miryam (see
MARY). In Iran it is also the name of a flower, the tuberose, which is named after the Virgin Mary.
MASUMAمعصومةfArabicMeans "innocent" in Arabic. After her death, this name was applied to Fatima, a daughter of the 9th-century Shia imam Musa al-Kadhim.
MUHAMMADمحمّدmArabic, Urdu, Punjabi, Pashto, Bengali, Tajik, Indonesian, Malay, AvarMeans "praiseworthy", derived from Arabic
حمد (hamid) meaning "to praise". This was the name of the prophet who founded the Islamic religion in the 7th century. According to Muslim belief, at age 40 Muhammad was visited by the angel
Gabriel, who provided him with the first verses of the Qur'an. Approximately 20 years later he conquered Mecca, the city of his birth, and his followers controlled most of the Arabian Peninsula at the time of his death in 632.
... [more] MUNAمنىfArabicMeans "wishes, desires", from the plural of Arabic
منية (munyah).
MUSTAFAمصطفىmArabic, TurkishMeans "the chosen one" in Arabic, an epithet of
Muhammad. This was the name of four Ottoman sultans. Another famous bearer was Mustafa Kemal (1881-1938), also known as Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey.
MU'TAMIDمعتمدmArabicMeans "relying on, leaning on" in Arabic. Al-Mu'tamid was a 9th-century Abbasid caliph. This was also the name of an 11th-century Abbadid ruler of Seville, who was a patron of the arts and a poet.
NADIMنديمmArabic, UrduMeans "drinking companion", derived from Arabic
ندم (nadima) meaning "to drink together".
NAILAنائلةfArabicFeminine form of
NAIL. This was the name of the wife of
Uthman, the third caliph of the Muslims. She tried in vain to prevent a mob from murdering her husband, and had several fingers cut off in the process.
NA'IMنعيمmArabicMeans "tranquil, happy, at ease" in Arabic.
NAJIنجيّmArabicMeans "intimate friend" in Arabic. It can also be a variant transcription of
NAAJI.
NAJIBنجيبmArabicMeans "noble" or "intelligent" in Arabic.
NASIRناصر, نصيرmArabicMeans "helper" in Arabic. This transcription represents two different Arabic names.
OMAR (1)عمرmArabic, English, SpanishVariant transcription of
UMAR. This is the usual English spelling of the 12th-century poet Umar Khayyam's name. In his honour it has sometimes been used in the English-speaking world, notably for the American general Omar Bradley (1893-1981).
QADIRقادر, قديرmArabicMeans "capable, powerful" in Arabic. This transcription represents two different ways of spelling the name in Arabic. In Islamic tradition
القادر (al-Qadir) is one of the 99 names of Allah.
QASIMقاسمmArabic, UrduMeans "one who divides goods among his people", derived from Arabic
قسم (qasama) "to share" or "to divide". This was the name of a son of
Muhammad who died while young.
QUSAYقصيmArabicPossibly derived from Arabic
قصي (qasi) meaning "distant". This was the name of an ancestor of the Prophet
Muhammad who was in charge of a temple in Mecca.
RAABI'AرابعةfArabicMeans "fourth" in Arabic. This name was borne by an 8th-century Sufi mystic from Basra in Iraq.
RA'DرعدmArabicMeans "thunder" in Arabic. This is the name of the 13th chapter of the Qur'an (surah ar-Rad).
RAHIMرحيمmArabicMeans "kind, compassionate" in Arabic. In Islamic tradition
الرحيم (al-Rahim) is one of the 99 names of Allah.
RAJABرجبmArabicMeans "respect" in Arabic. This is the name of the seventh month in the Islamic calendar.
RAMADANرَمَضانmArabicFrom the name of the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is derived from Arabic
رمض (ramad) meaning "parchedness, scorchedness". Muslims traditionally fast during this month.
RANA (1)رناfArabicMeans "an eye-catching object" from Arabic
رنا (rana) meaning "to gaze".
RANIYAرانيةfArabicMeans "looking at", derived from Arabic
رنا (rana) meaning "to gaze".
RASHIDرشيد, راشدmArabicMeans "rightly guided" in Arabic. This transcription represents two different ways of spelling the name in Arabic. In Islamic tradition
الرشيد (al-Rashid) is one of the 99 names of Allah.
RAWIYAراويةfArabicMeans "storyteller", derived from Arabic
روى (rawa) meaning "to relate".