HASHIM هاشم m ArabicMeans "crusher, breaker" in Arabic. This was the nickname of a great-grandfather of the Prophet
Muhammad. He acquired this nickname because of his practice of crumbling bread and giving it to pilgrims.
HASIM حاسم m ArabicMeans "decisive" in Arabic, derived from
حسم (hasama) meaning "to sever, to finish, to decide".
HASSAN حسّان m Arabic, Persian, UrduMeans "beautifier, improver" in Arabic. Hassan ibn Thabit was a 7th-century poet who was a companion of the Prophet
Muhammad. This name is sometimes transcribed as
Hasan, though the two names are spelled distinctly in Arabic.
HATIM حاتم m ArabicMeans "determined, decisive" in Arabic.
HIND هند f ArabicPossibly 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.
HISHAM هشام m ArabicMeans "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.
HUDA هدى f ArabicMeans "right guidance" in Arabic.
HUSAM حسام m ArabicMeans "sword" in Arabic, a derivative of the verb
حسم (hasama) meaning "to sever, to finish, to decide".
HUSAYN حسين m ArabicDiminutive 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).
IDRIS (1) إدريس m ArabicPossibly means "interpreter" in Arabic. In the Quran this is the name of an ancient prophet. He is traditionally equated with the Hebrew prophet
Enoch.
IMAD عماد m ArabicMeans "support" or "pillar" in Arabic.
IN'AM إنعام f ArabicMeans "giving, bestowal" in Arabic.
INAS إيناس f ArabicMeans "friendliness" in Arabic.
IQBAL إقبال m ArabicMeans "fortunate" in Arabic. Allama Muhammad Iqbal (1877-1938) was a poet, philosopher, and scholar from Pakistan.
IRFAN عرفان m ArabicMeans "knowledge, awareness, learning" in Arabic.
'ISMAT عصمة m & f ArabicDerived from Arabic
عصم ('Isma) meaning "safeguarding".
ISRA إسراء f ArabicMeans "nocturnal journey", derived from Arabic
سرى (sara) "to travel at night".
IZZ AL-DIN عزّ الدين m ArabicMeans "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.
JABBAR جبّار m ArabicMeans "powerful" in Arabic. In Islamic tradition
الجبّار (al-Jabbar) is one of the 99 names of Allah.
JABR جبر m ArabicMeans "consolation, assistance" in Arabic.
JAFAR جعفر m Arabic, 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.
JAMAL جمال m ArabicMeans "beauty" in Arabic. Jamal al-Din al-Afghani was a political activist who promoted pan-Islamism in the 19th century.
JAWAHIR جواهر f ArabicMeans "jewels" in Arabic, ultimately from Persian
گوهر (gohar) meaning "jewel, essence".
JAWDAT جودت m & f ArabicMeans "goodness, excellence", derived from Arabic
جاد (jada) meaning "to be excellent".
JINAN جنان m & f ArabicMeans "garden" or "paradise" in Arabic.
JUDA جودة m ArabicMeans "goodness, excellence", derived from Arabic
جاد (jada) "to be excellent".
JUNAYD جنيد m ArabicMeans "small army", derived from Arabic
جند (jund) "army, soldiers".
KARAM كرم m & f ArabicMeans "generosity, nobleness" in Arabic.
KAREEM كريم m ArabicAlternate transcription of Arabic
كريم (see
KARIM). A famous bearer of this name is basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1947-).
KARIM كريم m Arabic, PersianMeans "generous, noble" in Arabic, from the root
كَرُمَ (karuma) meaning "to be generous". In Islamic tradition
الكريم (al-Karim) is one of the 99 names of Allah.
KHADIJA خديجة f ArabicMeans "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.
KHALID خالد m ArabicMeans "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.
KHALIFA خليفة m ArabicMeans "successor, caliph" in Arabic. The title
caliph was given to the successors of the Prophet
Muhammad, originally elected by the Islamic populace.
KHALIQ خليق m ArabicMeans "creator" in Arabic. In Islamic tradition
الخليق (al-Khaliq) is one of the 99 names of Allah.
KHAYYAM خيّام m ArabicMeans "tent maker" in Arabic. This was the surname of the 12th-century Persian poet Omar Khayyam.
LAMYA لمياء f ArabicMeans "having beautiful dark lips" in Arabic.
LATIF لطيف m ArabicMeans "gentle, kind" in Arabic. In Islamic tradition
اللطيف (al-Latif) is one of the 99 names of Allah.
LAYLA ليلى f Arabic, 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.
LEILA ليلى f Arabic, 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.
LUBNA لبنى f ArabicMeans "storax tree" in Arabic. According to a 7th-century legend Lubna and Qays were a couple forced to divorce by Qays's father.
MAALIK مالك m ArabicMeans "owner, possessor, master" in Arabic.
MAGDY مجدي m Arabic (Egyptian)Alternate transcription of Arabic
مجدي (see
MAJDI). This corresponds more closely with the Egyptian Arabic pronunciation of the name.
MAHA مهاة f ArabicMeans "oryx" in Arabic. The oryx is a variety of antelope that is said to represent beauty.
MAJDI مجدي m ArabicMeans "glorious, praiseworthy" in Arabic, from the root
مَجَدَ (majada) meaning "to be glorious".
MALIK (1) ملك m ArabicMeans "king" in Arabic. In Islamic tradition
الملك (al-Malik) is one of the 99 names of Allah. This can also be another way of transcribing the name
مالك (see
MAALIK).
MANSUR منصور m Arabic, Turkish, IndonesianMeans "victorious" in Arabic. Abu Jafar al-Mansur was an 8th-century Abbasid caliph and the founder of the city of Baghdad.
MARWA مروة f ArabicFrom the Arabic name of a fragrant plant. Al-Marwa is one of the names of a sacred hill near Mecca.
MARYAM مريم f Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Bashkir, TatarArabic, Persian, Urdu, Bashkir and Tatar form of
Miryam (see
MARY). In Iran it is also the name of a flower, the tuberose, which is named after the Virgin Mary.
MASUMA معصومة f ArabicMeans "innocent" in Arabic. After her death, this name was applied to Fatima, a daughter of the 9th-century Shia imam Musa al-Kadhim.
MIRZA ميرزا m Persian, Arabic, BosnianMeans "prince" from Persian
میرزا (mirza), earlier
امیرزاده (amirzadeh), which is ultimately from Arabic
أمير (amir) meaning "commander" combined with Persian
زاده (zadeh) meaning "offspring".
MUHAMMAD محمّد m Arabic, Urdu, Punjabi, Pashto, Bengali, Tajik, Indonesian, Malay, AvarMeans "praised, commendable" in Arabic, derived from the root
حَمِدَ (hamida) 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 Quran. 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] MUNA منى f ArabicMeans "wishes, desires", from the plural of Arabic
منية (munyah).
MURTADA مرتضى m ArabicMeans "chosen" in Arabic. This is an epithet of
Ali, the fourth caliph.
MUSTAFA مصطفى m Arabic, 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'TAMID معتمد m ArabicMeans "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.
NADIM نديم m Arabic, UrduMeans "drinking companion", derived from Arabic
ندم (nadima) meaning "to drink together".
NAILA نائلة f ArabicFeminine 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'IM نعيم m ArabicMeans "tranquil, happy, at ease" in Arabic.
NAJI نجيّ m ArabicMeans "intimate friend" in Arabic. This can also be another way of transcribing the name
ناجي (see
NAAJI).
NAJIB نجيب m ArabicMeans "noble" or "intelligent" in Arabic.
NASIR ناصر, نصير m ArabicMeans "helper" in Arabic. This transcription represents two different Arabic names.
OMAR (1) عمر m Arabic, English, Spanish, ItalianAlternate transcription of Arabic
عمر (see
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).
QADIR قادر, قدير m ArabicMeans "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.
QASIM قاسم m Arabic, 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.
QUSAY قصي m ArabicPossibly 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'A رابعة f ArabicMeans "fourth" in Arabic. This name was borne by an 8th-century Sufi mystic from Basra in Iraq.
RA'D رعد m ArabicMeans "thunder" in Arabic. This is the name of the 13th chapter of the Quran (surah ar-Rad).
RAHAT راحة m & f ArabicMeans "rest, comfort" in Arabic.
RAHIM رحيم m ArabicMeans "kind, compassionate" in Arabic. In Islamic tradition
الرحيم (al-Rahim) is one of the 99 names of Allah.
RAIS رئيس m ArabicMeans "leader, chief" in Arabic.