Arabic name
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Arabic names were historically based on a long naming system; most Arabs did not simply have given/middle/family names, but a full chain of names. This system was mainly in use throughout Arabia and part of the Levant.
Structure of the Arabic name[edit]
Ism[edit]
The ism (اسم)
is the personal name (e.g. "Jafar" or "Ali"). Most names are Arabic
words with a meaning, usually signaling the hoped-for character of the
person. Such words are employed as adjectives and nouns in regular language.
- Jafar means "Rivulet"
- Ali means "Exalted, High"
Generally,
the context and grammar differentiate between names and adjectives, but
Arab newspapers sometimes try to avoid confusion by placing names in
brackets or quotation marks.
A very common name is Muhammad, used throughout the Muslim world, including parts of Africa, Arabia, the Middle East,South and Southeast Asia. The name may be abbreviated to Md., Mohd., Muhd., or simply M. in
many cases, in which case the second given name is the one most
commonly used. This can be seen in many names in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh,Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.
- Md. Dinar ibn Raihan
- Mohd. Umair Tanvir
- Md. Osman
Muslim practices[edit]
See also: List of Arabic theophoric names
A common form of Muslim Arab names is the combination of ʿAbd ("servant", fem. ʿAmah) followed by a description of God. A particularly common masculine example is Abdullah (عبد الله "servant of God").
In deference to God, ʿAbd is usually not used in conjunction with prophets' names.[1] Nonetheless such names are accepted in some areas.
This practice is not exclusive to Muslims in the Arab world. For example, in Lebanon and Egypt, Abdel-Massih ("servant of Christ") is commonly used as a Christian last name.
Arab Christian practices[edit]
To an extent, most Christian Arabs have names indistinguishable from Muslims, except that they almost never use explicitly Islamic names, e.g. Muhammad. Some common Christian names are:
- Arabic versions of Christian names (e.g. saints' names: Botros for Peter, although not a translation).
- Names of Greek, Armenian, and Assyrian / Aramaic origin.
- Use of European names, especially French, Greek and, to a lesser extent, Spanish ones (in Morocco). This has been a centuries-long convention for Christian Arabs, especially in the Levant. For example: George Habash, Charles Helou,Camille Chamoun.
- Names in honor of Jesus Christ:
- Abd al-Yasuʿ (masc. ) / Amat al-Yasuʿ (fem.) ("slave of Jesus")
- Abd al-Maseeḥ (masc.) / Amat al-Maseeḥ (fem.) ("slave of the Messiah")
- Derivations of Maseeḥ ("Christ"): Masūḥun ("most anointed"), Amsāḥ ("more anointed"), Mamsūḥ ("anointed") and Musayḥ("infant Christ"). The root, M-S-Ḥ, literally means "to anoint" (as in Masah) and is cognate to the Hebrew Mashiah.
- Abd al-Ilaah ("worshiper of God") is a Christian equivalent to the common Muslim name Abdullah.
Laqab[edit]
- For example, the Abbasid Caliph Haroun al-Rasheed (of One Thousand and One Nights fame). Haroun is the Arabic form for Aaron and al-Rasheed means "the rightly-guided".
The laqab was very popular in ancient Arab societies. Today, the laqab is only used if it is actually a person's birth surname/family name.
Nasab[edit]
See also: Patronymic § Arabic
The nasab (نسب) is a patronymic or series of patronymics. It indicates the person's heritage by the word ibn (ابن "son", colloquially bin) or ibnat (بنت "daughter", also bint, abbreviated bte.).
- Ibn Khaldun (ابن خلدون) means "son of Khaldun". Khaldun is the father's personal name or, in this particular case, the name of a remote ancestor.
Several nasab names can follow in a chain to trace a person's ancestry backwards in time, as was important in the triballybased society of the ancient Arabs, both for purposes of identification and for socio-political interactions. Today, however, ibnor bint is no longer used (unless it is the official naming style in a country, region, etc.: Adnen bin Abdallah). The plural is 'Abnāfor males and Banāt for females. However, Banu or Bani is tribal and encompasses both sexes.
Nisbah[edit]
Main article: nisbat (onomastics)
The nisbah (نسبة)
surname could be an everyday name, but is mostly the name of the
ancestral tribe, city, country, or any other term used to show
relevance. It follows a family through several generations.
The laqab and nisbah are similar in use, thus, a name rarely contains both.
Dynastic or family "Al"[edit]
Some people, especially in Arabia region, when descendant of a famous ancestor, start their last name with آل, an arabic nounwhich means "family" or "clan", like the dynasty Al Saud (family of Saud) or Al ash-Sheikh (family of the Sheikh). آل is distinct from the definite article ال. If a reliably-sourced version of the Arabic spelling includes آل (as a separate graphic word), then this is not a
case of the definite article, so "Al " (capitalised and followed by a
space, not a hyphen) should be used. "Ahl " (similar, more global
meaning) is sometimes used and should be used if the Arabic spelling is
أهل. Dynasty membership alone does notnecessarily imply that the dynastic آل is used - e.g. Bashar al-Assad.
| Arabic | meaning | transcription | example |
|---|---|---|---|
| ال | the | al- | Suliman al-Reshoudi |
| آل | family/clan of | Al | Bandar bin Abdulaziz Al Saud |
| أهل | family/tribe/people of | Ahl | Ahl al-Bayt |
Example name[edit]
محمد بن سعيد بن عبد العزيز الفلسطيني
Muhammad ibn Saeed ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Filasteeni
muḥammad ibn saʻīdi ibn ʻabdi l-ʻazīzi l-filasṭīnī
Muhammad ibn Saeed ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Filasteeni
muḥammad ibn saʻīdi ibn ʻabdi l-ʻazīzi l-filasṭīnī
- Ism - Muhammad (proper name, lit. "praised")
- Nasab - Saeed (father's name, lit. "happy")
- Nasab - Abd al-Aziz (grandfather's name, "servant of the Almighty or the Honourable")
- Nisbah - al-Filasteeni ("the Palestinian", from Filasteen "Palestine").
"Muhammad, son of Saeed, son of Abdul-Aziz, the Palestinian"
This person would simply be referred to as "Muhammad" or by relating him to his first-born son, e.g. Abu Kareem ("father
of Kareem"). To signify respect or to specify which Muhammad one is
speaking about, the name could be lengthened to the extent necessary or
desired.
Westernization of Arabic naming practices and names[edit]
 |
|
Almost
all Arabic-speaking countries (excluding for example Saudi Arabia or
Bahrain) have now adopted a Westernized way of naming. This is the case
for example in the Levant and Maghreb,
as well as some North African countries, where French or English
conventions are followed (an effect of European colonization), and it is
rapidly gaining ground elsewhere.
Also,
many Arabs adapt to Western conventions for practical purposes when
travelling or when residing in Western countries, constructing a given
name/family name model out of their full Arab name, to fit Western
expectations and/or visa applications
or other official forms and documents. The reverse side to this is the
when Westerners are asked to supply their first name, father's name, and family name in some Arab visa applications.
The Westernization of an Arab name may require transliteration.
Often, one name may be transliterated in several ways (Abdul Rahman,
Abdoul Rahman, Abdur Rahman, Abdurahman, Abd al-Rahman, or Abd
ar-Rahman), as there is no single acceptedArabic transliteration system.
A single individual may try several ways of transliterating his or her
name, producing even greater inconsistency. This has resulted in
confusion on the part of governments, security agencies, airlines and
others: for example, especially since 9/11, persons with names written similarly to those of suspected terrorists have been detained.
Common mistakes[edit]
Non-Arabic speakers often make these mistakes:
- Separating "the X of Y" word combinations (see idafa):
- With "Abdul": Arabic names may be written "Abdul (something)", but "Abdul" means "servant of the" and is not, by itself, a name. Thus for example, to address Abdul Rahman bin Omar al-Ahmad by his given name, one says "Abdul Rahman", not merely "Abdul". If he introduces himself as "Abdul Rahman" (which means "the servant of the Merciful"), one does not say "Mr. Rahman" (as "Rahman" is not a family name but part of his (theophoric) personal name); instead it would be Mr. al-Ahmad, the latter being the family name.
- People not familiar with Arabic sandhi in genitive constructions: Habību-llāh = "beloved (Habīb) of (ul) God (Allāh)"; here a person may in error report the man's name as "forename Habib, surname Ullah". Likewise, people may confuse a name such as Jalālu-d-dīn ("The majesty of the religion") as being "Jalal Uddin", or "Mr. Uddin", when "Uddin" is not a surname, but the second half of a two-word name (the desinence -u of the construct state nominative, plus the article, appearing as -d-, plus the genitive dīn[i]). To add to the confusion, some immigrants to Western countries have adopted Uddin as a surname, although it is grammatically incorrect in Arabic outside the context of the associated "first name". Even Indian Muslims commit the same error. If a person's name is Abd-ul-Rahim ("servant of the Merciful"), others may call him Mr. Abdul ("servant of the") which would sound quite odd to a native speaker of Arabic.
- Not distinguishing `alā' from Allah: Some Muslim names include the Arabic word `alā' (علاء "nobility"). Here, ` represents theayin sound, the voiced pharyngeal fricative, and the apostrophe (') represents the hamza (glottal stop), and L is spelled and pronounced once. In Allāh, L is spelled twice and pronounced separately (geminate). In Arabic pronunciation, `alā andAllāh are clearly different. But Europeans, Iranians, and Indians may not pronounce some Arabic sounds as a native Arabic speaker would, and thus tend to pronounce them identically. For example, the name `Alā'-ad-dīn ("the nobility of the religion", also known as Aladdin) is sometimes misspelled as Allah-ad-din. There is a separate name `Ala'-Allah (Aliullah, "the nobility of God").
- Taking bin or ibn for a middle name: As stated above, these words indicate the family chain. Westerns often confuse them with middle names, especially when they're written as "Ben", as it is the case in some countries. For example, Sami Ben Ahmed would be mistakenly addressed as Mr. Ahmed. To correctly address the person, one should use Mr. Ben Ahmed.
- Grammar: As between all languages, there are differences between Arabic grammar and the grammar of other languages. Arabic forms noun compounds in the opposite order from Indo-Iranian languages, for example. During the war inAfghanistan in 2002, a BBC team found in Kabul an internal refugee whose name they stated as "Allah Muhammad". This may be a misspelling, for if not, by the rules of Arabic grammar, this name means "the Allah who belongs to Muhammad", which would be unacceptable religiously. However, by the rules of Iranian and most Indian languages, this name does mean "Muhammad who belongs to Allah", being the equivalent of the Arabic "Muhammad Ullah". Most Afghans speak Iranian languages. Such Arabo-Iranian or Arabo-Indian mixed-language compound names are not uncommon in Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and Tajikistan. There is, for example, the Pakistani/Indian name Allah-Ditta which joins the Arabic Allah with the Persian/Urdu Ditta ("given").
Arab family naming convention[edit]
In
Arabic culture, as in many parts of the world, a person's ancestry and
family name are very important. An example is explained below.
Assume a man is called Saleh ibn Tariq ibn Khalid al-Fulan.
- Saleh is his personal name, and the one that his family and friends would call him by.
- ibn translates as "son of", so Tariq is Saleh's father's name.
- ibn Khalid means that Tariq is the son of Khalid, making Khalid the grandfather of Saleh.
- al-Fulan would be Saleh's family name.
Hence, Saleh ibn Tariq ibn Khalid al-Fulan translates as "Saleh, son of Tariq, son of Khaled; of the family al-Fulan."
The Arabic for "daughter of" is bint. A woman with the name Fatimah bint Tariq bin Khalid al-Fulan translates as "Fatimah, daughter of Tariq, son of Khaled; of the family al-Fulan."
In
this case, ibn and bint are included in the official naming. Most Arab
countries today, however, do not use 'ibn' and 'bint' in their naming
system. If Saleh were an Egyptian, he would be called Saleh Tariq Khalid al-Fulan and Fatimah would be Fatimah Tariq Khalid al-Fulan.
If Saleh marries a wife (who would keep her own maiden, family, and surnames), their children will take Saleh's family name. Therefore, their son Mohammed would be called Mohammed ibn Saleh ibn Tariq al-Fulan.
However,
not all Arab countries use the name in its full length, but
conventionally use two- and three-word names, and sometimes four-word
names in official or legal matters. Thus the first name is the personal
name, the middle name is the father's name and the last name is the
family name.
Arabic names and their biblical equivalent[edit]
The
Arabic names listed below are used in the Arab world, as well as some
other Muslim regions, with correspondent Hebrew, English, Syriac and
Greek equivalents in many cases. They are not necessarily of Arabic
origin, although some are. Most are derived from Syriac transliterations
of the Hebrew Bible. For more information, see also Iranian, Malay,
Pakistani, and Turkish names.
| Arabic name | Hebrew name | English name | Syriac name | Greek name |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aabir ʿĀbir /ʾĪbir عابر / إيبر | Éver ʻĒḇer עֵבֶר | Eber | ||
| Alyasaa Alyasaʿ اليسع | Elisha Elišaʿ אֱלִישָׁע | Elisha | Ἐλισσαῖος | |
| Aamoos ʿĀmūs عاموس | Amos ʿĀmōs עָמוֹס | Amos | Ἀμώς | |
| Andraaoos Andrāwus أندراوس | Andras אנדראס | Andrew | - | Ἀνδρέας |
| Asif ʾĀsif آصف | Asaph ʾĀsaf אָסָף | Asaph | ||
| Ayoob ʾAyyūb أيّوب | Iyov / Iov Iyyov / Iyyôḇ איוב | Job | Ἰώβ | |
| ʾĀzar Āzar / Taraḥ آزر / تارح | Téraḥ / Tharakh תֶּרַח / תָּרַח | Terah | Thara | Θάρα |
| Azaria Azarīyā أزريا | Azaryah עֲזַרְיָהוּ | Azariah | ||
| Bartholmaos Barthulmāwus بَرثُولَماوُس | bar-Tôlmay בר-תולמי | Bartholomew | - | Βαρθολομαῖος |
| Baraka Baraka Bārak بارك | Barukh Bārûḵ בָּרוּךְ | Baruch | Βαρούχ | |
| Benyamin Binyāmīn بنيامين | Binyamin Binyāmîn בִּנְיָמִין | Benjamin | Βενιαμίν | |
| Boulus Būlus بولس | Paolos פאולוס | Paul | - | Παῦλος |
| Boutros Butrus بطرس | Putros פטרוס | Peter | - | Πέτρος |
| Daborah Dabūrāh دبوراه | Dvora Dəḇôrā דְּבוֹרָה | Deborah | ||
| Daniel Dānyāl دانيال | Daniel Dāniyyêl דָּנִיֵּאל | Daniel | Δανιήλ | |
| Dawoud / Dāwud / Dāwūd / Dāʾūd داود / داوُود / داؤود | David Davīd דָּוִד | David | Δαυΐδ, Δαβίδ | |
| Fileeb Fīlīb/Fīlībus فيليب / فيليبوس | Pīlīpos פיליפוס | Philip | - | Φίλιππος |
| Faris Fáris فارص | Péreẓ Páreẓ פֶּרֶץ / פָּרֶץ | Perez | ||
| Efraim ʾIfrāym إفرايم | Efraim Efráyim אֶפְרַיִם/אֶפְרָיִם | Ephraim | Ἐφραίμ | |
| Hubaab Ḥūbāb حُوبَابَ | Chobab Ḥovav חֹבָב | Hobab | ||
| Habaqooq Ḥabaqūq حبقوق | Ḥavaqquq חֲבַקּוּק | Habakkuk | Ἀββακούμ | |
| Hajjay Ḥajjai حجاي | Ḥaggay חַגַּי | Haggai | Ἁγγαῖος | |
| Aanaa Anna آنّاه | Ḥannāh חַנָּה | Anna (Bible) | Ἄννα | |
| Haroun Hārūn هارون | Aharon אהרן | Aaron | Ἀαρών | |
| Hawaa Ḥawwāʾ حواء | Chava / Hava Ḥavvah חַוָּה | Eve | ܚܘܐ | Εὔα |
| Hosha Hūshaʾ هوشع | Hoshea Hôšēăʻ הושע | Hosea | Ὡσηέ | |
| Ḥassan حسن | Choshen ẖošen חֹשֶׁן | Hassan | ||
| Hazkiel Ḥazqiyal حزقيال | Y'khez'qel Y'ḥez'qel יְחֶזְקֵאל | Ezekiel | Ἰεζεκιήλ | |
| Ibraaheem ʾIbrāhīm إبراهيم | Avraham אַבְרָהָם | Abraham | Ἀβραάμ | |
| Idrees / Akhnookh Idrīs / Akhnūkh أخنوخ / إدريس | H̱anokh חֲנוֹךְ | Enoch / Idris | Ἑνώχ | |
| Elias ʾIlyās إلياس Īliyā إيليا | Eliahu / Eliyahu Eliyahu אֱלִיָּהוּ | Elijah | 'Eliya | Ἠλίας |
| Imran ʾImrān عمرام / عمران | Amrām עַמְרָם | Amram | Ἀμράμ | |
| Irmiyaa ʾIrmiyā إرميا | Yirməyāhū יִרְמְיָהוּ | Jeremiah | Ἱερεμίας | |
| Eisa / Yasoua ʿĪsā / Yasūʿ عيسى / يسوع | Yeshua Yešuaʿ יֵשׁוּעַ / יֵשׁוּ | Jesus | Eeshoʿ | Ἰησοῦς |
| Ishak ʾIsḥāq إسحاق | Yitzhak / Yitzchak Yitsḥaq יִצְחָק | Isaac | Ἰσαάκ | |
| Isaiah ʾIshʿiyāʾ إشعيا | Yeshayahu Yəšạʻyā́hû יְשַׁעְיָהוּ | Isaiah | Ἠσαΐας | |
| Ismail ʾIsmāʿīl إسماعيل | Yishmael Yišmaʿel / Yišmāʿêlיִשְׁמָעֵאל | Ishmael | Ἰσμαήλ | |
| Israail ʾIsrāʿīl إِسرائيل | Israel / Yisrael Yisraʾel / Yiśrāʾēl ישראל | Israel | Ἰσραήλ | |
| Jibreel /Jibraaeel Jibrīl / Jibraīl جِبْريل / جَبْرائيل | Gavriel Gavriʾel גַבְרִיאֵל | Gabriel | Γαβριήλ | |
| Jad / Gad Ǧād / Jād جاد | Gad גָּד | Gad | Γάδ | |
| Jalut / Galut Ǧālūt / Jālūt / Julyāt جالوت / جليات | Golyāṯ גָּלְיָת | Goliath | Γολιάθ | |
| Jasham / Gushaam Jašam / Ǧūšām جشم / جوشام | Geshem גֶשֶׁם | Geshem (Bible) | Gashmu | |
| Jorj Jūrj / Jirjis / Jurj / Jurayj جيرجس | George (given name) | Γεώργιος | ||
| Kalb (?) Kālb (?) | Kalev כָּלֵב | Caleb | ||
| Lawi Lāwī لاوي | Lēwî לֵּוִי | Levi | Λευΐ | |
| Leya Layā'ليا | Leah לֵאָה | Leah | Λεία | |
| Madyan Madyān مدين | Midian מִדְיָן | Midian | Μαδιάμ | |
| Majdala Majdalā مجدلية | Migdal | Magdalene | Magdala | Μαγδαληνή |
| Malikisadiq Māliki-Ṣadiq ملكي صادق | malḵi-ṣédeq מַלְכִּי־צֶדֶֿק | Melchizedek | Μελχισεδέκ | |
| Maliki Malākhī ملاخي | Mal'akhi מַלְאָכִי | Malachi | Μαλαχίας | |
| Maryam / Miriam Maryam مريم | Miriam / Miryam Miryam מרים | Mary | ܡܪܝܡ | Μαρία |
| Methuselah Mattūshalakh مَتُّوشَلَخَ | Mətušélaḥ Mətušálaḥ מְתֿוּשָלַח | Methuselah | Μαθουσάλα | |
| Matta Mattā | Amittai אֲמִתַּי | Amittai | ||
| Matta Mattā / Matatiyā متى / متتيا | Matatiahu / Matatyahu Matatyahu מַתִּתְיָהוּ | Matthew | Mattai | Ματθαῖος |
| Mikhail / Mikhāʼīl ميخائيل | Michael / Mikhael Miḵaʾel מִיכָאֵל | Michael | Μιχαήλ | |
| Moussa Mūsā موسى | Moshe Mošé מֹשֶׁה | Moses | Μωϋσῆς | |
| Nehemiaa Nahamiyyā نحميا | Nekhemyah נְחֶמְיָה | Nehemiah | Νεεμίας | |
| Nouh Nūḥ نُوح | Noach / Noah Nóaḥ נוֹחַ | Noah | Νῶε | |
| Qaroon / Qoorah Qarūn / Qūraḥ قارون / قورح | Kórakh Qōraḥ קֹרַח | Korah | ||
| Raaheel Rāḥīl راحيل | Rakhél Raḥel רָחֵל | Rachel | Ραχήλ | |
| Safniyaa Ṣafnīyā صفنيا | Tzfanya / Ṣəp̄anyā Tsfanya צְפַנְיָה | Zephaniah | Σωφονίας | |
| Safurah Ṣaffūrah صفورة | Tzipora / Tsippora Ṣippôrā צִפוֹרָה | Zipporah | ||
| Sem Sām سام | Shem שֵם | Shem | Σήμ | |
| Samiri Sāmirī سامري | Zimri זִמְרִי | Zimri | Zamri | |
| Samuel Ṣamu’īl / Ṣamawāl صموئيل / صموال | Shmu'el / Šəmûʼēl Shmu'el שְׁמוּאֶל | Samuel | Σαμουήλ | |
| Sara Sārah سارة | Sara / Sarah Sarā שָׂרָה | Sarah / Sara | Σάρα | |
| Shamshoon Shamshūn شمشون | Shimshon / Šimšôn Shimshon שִׁמְשׁוֹן | Samson | Σαμψών | |
| Suleiman Sulaymān / سليمان | Shlomo Šlomo שְׁלֹמֹה | Solomon | Σολομών | |
| Saul Ṭālūt / Sāwul طالوت / شاول | Sha'ul Šāʼûl שָׁאוּל | Saul | Σαούλ | |
| Tomas Ṭūmās/Tūmā طوماس / توما | tomas תומאס | Thomas (name) | te'oma | Θωμᾶς |
| Obaidullah ʿUbaydallāh / 'Ubaydīyā عبيد الله / عبيدييا | Ovadia Ovádyah / Ovádyahעבדיה | Obadiah | Ὁβαδίας, Ἀβδιού | |
| Umri ʾAmri عمري | Omri Omri עמרי | Omri | ||
| ʿUzair ʿUzāir عُزَيْرٌ | Ezra Ezrá עזרא | Ezra | ||
| Yaakoub Yaʿqūb يَعْقُوب | Yaakov Yaʿaqov יַעֲקֹב | Jacob, (James) | Ἰακώβ | |
| Yahia / Yehia / Youhanna Yaḥyā / / Yūḥannā ** يحيى / يوحنا | Yochanan / Yohanan Yôḥānnān יוחנן | John | Ἰωάννης | |
| Yahwah Yahwah يهوه | YHWH Yahweh יְהֹוָה | Jehovah | ||
| Yessa Yashshā يَسَّى | Yishay יִשַׁי | Jesse | Ἰεσσαί | |
| Yathrun (?) Yathrun / Shu'ayb / شعيب | Yitro Yiṯrô יִתְרוֹ | Jethro | ||
| You'il Yūʾīl يوئيل | Yoel יואל) | Joel | Ἰωήλ | |
| Younos / Younes / Yūnus يونس | Yona / Yonah Yônā יוֹנָה | Jonah | Yuna | Ἰωνάς |
| Youssof / Youssef Yūsuf / يوسف | Yosef יוֹסֵף | Joseph | Ἰωσήφ | |
| Youshaʿ Yūshaʿ / Yashūʿ يُوشَعُ / يَشُوعُ | Yĕhôshúa Yôshúa יְהוֹשֻׁעַ | Joshua | Ἰησοῦς | |
| Zakaria Zakariyyā / Zakarīyā زَكَرِيَّا | Zecharia /Zekharia Zeḵaryah זְכַרְיָה | Zachary or Zechariah | Ζαχαρίας |
- The popular romanization of the Arabized and Hebrew names are written first, then the standardized romanization are written in oblique. Notice that Arabized names may have variants.
- If a literal Arabic translation of a name exists, it will be placed after the final standardized romanization.
- If an Arabic correlation is ambiguous, (?) will be placed following the name in question.
- * Yassou' is the Arab Christian name, while `Īsā is the Muslim version of the name, as used in the Qur'an. There is debate as to which is the better rendition of the Aramaic Yeshua, because both names are of late origin.
- ** Youhanna is the Arab Christian name of John, while Yahya is the Muslim version of the name, as used in the Qur'an. They have completely different triconsonantal roots: H-N-N ("grace") vs H-Y-Y ("Life"). Specifically, Youhanna may be the Biblical John the Baptist or the apostle. Yahya refers specifically to John the Baptist.
- El, the Hebrew word for strength/might or deity, is usually represented as īl in Arabic, although it carries no meaning in classical and modern Arabic. The only exception is its usage in the archaic Iraqi dialect.
Indexing[edit]
According to the Chicago Manual of Style, Arabic names are indexed by their surnames. Names may be alphabetized underAbu Abd and ibn, while names are not alphabetized under al- and el- and are instead alphabetized under the following element.[2]
