Choosing A Child’s Name

Naming a new born child draws upon ancient practices and beliefs. Because Arabs view their children as blessed gifts and as the object of aspirations for the continuance of traditions and for the continuance of the family line, choosing a child’s name is approached with method, deliberation and even consultation.

Arab society traditionally consists of Muslims, Christians and other smaller minority groups, of various ethnic backgrounds and religious faiths. Despite this diversification, the people of the Arab world share a common culture and way of life. Patterns in choosing a child’s name may be categorized as: religious or historical, natural phenomenon, personality traits or occupation.

One custom that cuts across all religious lines is that children are never named after parents--or anyone still living. A child is occasionally named for an aging grandparent or aunt, for example, when that person makes such a request.

Since the time of Abraham, Jesus and Muhammad, giving names has followed a tradition of identification with the prophets themselves or others mentioned in the holy books--the Bible and the Koran. Arab Muslims use typical names found in the Old and New Testaments and the Koran. Ibrahim (Abraham), Suleiman (Solomon), Daoud (David), Musa (Moses), Yusuf (Joseph), Issa (Jesus), and Jibran (Gabriel) for boys, and Sara, Merriam (Mary) for girls, as well as names derived from descendants of the prophet Muhammad: Hashem, Hussein, Ali; and female names: Fatima, Aisha, Kadija. Of course the name of Muhammad from hamida-- “to praise,” “to thank,” is most frequently given to Muslim boys, along with its derived Mahmoud and Ahmed.

Another group of religious names often chosen by Arab Muslims are names of the Abed category. The prefix abed means “servant” with “God” understood, hence its meaning “servant of God.” The name Abed-allah literally means “servant of God.”

According to Muslim tradition, God has a hundred qualities or names. Ninety-nine of these names are known to man. Ninety-nine are the beads of the Muslim “rosary”—a bead for every one of God’s ninety-nine attributes which the Muslim theologian can say.³ The hundredth name, so it is said, is known only to the angels of Heaven. Some of these names are: Abdul-Rahim, Abdul-Karim, Abdul-Wahhab, Abdul-Rahman, Abdul-Hadi. Each has a literal meaning, ie. Abdul-Rahman (“Servant of the Compassionate”), Abdul-Aziz (“Servant of the Beloved”), but since the attributes all refer to God, all of these names can be figuratively seen as meaning “Servant of God.”

Proud of their history and civilization, Arabs often choose historical names such as Omar, Walid, Khalid, Tareq, Osama, for boys, and Khadija and Aisha, for girls. These may be thought of as religious/historical names because they are the names of leaders who were both political and religious. Interestingly, these are used in many areas by both Muslims and Christians, while in other areas by Muslims only.

The Crusades influenced Arab Christian names. Intermarriage between local Christians and European crusaders, as well as later European contact, introduced such names as George, Antonius, Frederick, Charles, etc., now common among the Christian population.

The attachment of the Arabs to nature finds expression in other names. Such terms as “the light of the sun” and “the cool of the breeze” or “the beauty of the moon” and names of birds, animals and plants are frequently manifested in Arab names.

Boys’ Names
Nour: “light”
Naseem: “breeze”
Asfour: “sparrow”
Laith: “lion”
Nimer: “tiger” >BR> Asad: “lion:

Girls' Names
Noura: “light”
Najma: “star”
Rema: “deer”
Suheila: “summer star”
Naura: “blossom:
Laila: “night”

Personality or character traits, in addition to numerous cultural values, such as nobility, courage, honesty, wisdom, loyalty, generosity, are built into names:

Boys’ Names
Sharif: ”honest”
Karim: “generous”
Sadiq: “friend”
Hakeem: “wise”
Marwan: “chivalrous”

Girls' Names
Sharifa: “honest”
Karima: “generous”
Amineh: “loyal”
Najeeba: “intelligent”
Fadela: “gracious”

What about family names? Traditional town or city dwellers tend to have family names drawn from ancestors’ occupations: This is similar to the Western pattern in which we see family names such as : Baker, Smith, Carpenter, Hunter, Weaver, Taylor, etc. The following are representative of the Arab pattern: Hajjar (stonemason), Haddad (blacksmith), Khayyat (tailor), Samman (grocer).

Often the father’s first name becomes the child’s second name (whether a boy or a girl). And sometimes the word Ibn (or Ben) meaning “son of,” or Bint, “daughter of,” inserted between the child’s chosen name and that of the father was all that was necessary in order to identify a person. But today the complexities of life and the resultant interactions between formerly distant town and tribes has necessitated a family name for everyone. A father, grandfather, or great-grandfather’s given name has become the family name—or the village name, the tribal name, or the like. (A woman, incidentally, does not upon marriage take the name of her husband. She retains for life her own family name.)

Children give their parents names too. The first son (or first daughter, if there are no sons) gives his parents new names. Upon becoming parents, the mother and father are thereafter referred to as “mother of X” and “father of X.” If the eldest son is Karim, for example, the father becomes Abu- Karim (“father of Karim”) and the mother becomes Umm-Karim (“mother of Karim”).