Structure of the Arabic name
Ism (Arabic: اسم)
The main name of an Arab person is the ism, his or her personal name (e.g. "Karim" or "Fatima"). Most Arabic names are originally Arabic words with a meaning, usually signalling the good character of the person.
.
Indeed, karīm means "generous", maħmūd means "praiseworthy", and both words are employed as adjectives and nouns in regular language. Arab newspapers sometimes try to avoid confusion by placing names in brackets or between quotation marks. Generally, context and grammar will indicate how the word is being used, but foreign students of Arabic may initially have trouble with this.
- Muslim practices
A very common form for Muslim Arab names is the combination of `abd followed by another word: `abd X means "servant of X" or "slave of X", where X is a word describing Allah (God), often one of the Muslim 99 Names of God. The result is a name such as Abdullah ("Submissive to the God") or Abdurrashid ("Submissive to the Righteous One"). "Abdul" used by itself means "slave of the" and is a shortened name not a complete name.
- Christian practices
To an extent most Christian Arabs have names that are indistinguishable from those of their Muslim neighbors, but Christian Arabs do not use specifically Muslim names such as Mohammed. There are also Arabic versions of Christian names (i.e. saints' names), and names of Greek, Armenian, or Assyrian origin. Adoption of European names, especially French ones, has been a centuries-long convention for Arab Christians — especially (but not only) in the Levant. Thus, George Habash, Charles Helou, Camille Chamoun, etc.
Kunya كنية
Often, a kunya referring to the person's first-born son is used as a substitute for the ism: for example, "Abu Karim" for "Father of Karim". The female variant is "Umm", thus "Umm Karim". The kunya precedes the ism when not replacing it.
Nasab نسب
The nasab is a patronymic or series of patronymics. It indicates the person's heritage by the word ibn (sometimes bin) which means "son". Thus Ibn Khaldun means "son of Khaldun" (Khaldun is the father's ism, or proper name). Several nasab can follow in a chain, to trace a person's ancestry backwards in time. This was important in the tribally based society of the ancient Arabs, both for purposes of identification and for social and political interaction.
Laqab لقب
The laqab is intended as a description of the person. So, for example, in the name of the famous Abbasid Caliph Haroun al-Rashid (of A Thousand and One Nights fame), Haroun is the Arabic form for Aaron, and "al-Rashid" means "the righteous" or "the rightly-guided".
Nisba نسبة
The nisba describes a person's occupation, geographic home area, or descent (tribe, family, etc). It will follow a family through several generations, and it is for example common to find people with the name al-miṣrī (the Egyptian, or rather "of Egypt") in many places in the Middle East, despite the fact that their families may have resided outside Egypt for several generations. The nisba, among the components of the Arabic name perhaps most closely resembles the Western surname.
Example
Abu Karim Muhammad al-Jamil ibn Nidal ibn Abdulaziz al-Filistini
abū karīm muhammadu-l-jamīl ibn nidāl ibn 'abdi-'azīzi-l-filistīnī
This means, in translation:
"Father-of-Karim, Muhammad, the beautiful, son of Nidal, son of Abdulaziz, the Palestinian"
(karim means generous, muhammad means praised, jamīl means beautiful; azīz means Magnificent, and it is one of the 99 names of God.)
.
Abu Karim is a kunya, Muhammad is the person's proper name (ism), al-Jamil is a laqab, Nidal is his father (a nasab), Abdulaziz his grandfather (second-generation nasab) and "al-Filistini" is his family nisba.
.
Normally, this person would simply be referred to as "Muhammad" or "Abu Karim", but to signify respect or to specify which Mohammad we are speaking about (namely, the beautiful son of Nidal and grandson of Abdulaziz from Palestine), the name could be lengthened as above, to the extent necessary or desired.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_name
Indeed, karīm means "generous", maħmūd means "praiseworthy", and both words are employed as adjectives and nouns in regular language. Arab newspapers sometimes try to avoid confusion by placing names in brackets or between quotation marks. Generally, context and grammar will indicate how the word is being used, but foreign students of Arabic may initially have trouble with this.
- Muslim practices
A very common form for Muslim Arab names is the combination of `abd followed by another word: `abd X means "servant of X" or "slave of X", where X is a word describing Allah (God), often one of the Muslim 99 Names of God. The result is a name such as Abdullah ("Submissive to the God") or Abdurrashid ("Submissive to the Righteous One"). "Abdul" used by itself means "slave of the" and is a shortened name not a complete name.
- Christian practices
To an extent most Christian Arabs have names that are indistinguishable from those of their Muslim neighbors, but Christian Arabs do not use specifically Muslim names such as Mohammed. There are also Arabic versions of Christian names (i.e. saints' names), and names of Greek, Armenian, or Assyrian origin. Adoption of European names, especially French ones, has been a centuries-long convention for Arab Christians — especially (but not only) in the Levant. Thus, George Habash, Charles Helou, Camille Chamoun, etc.
Kunya كنية
Often, a kunya referring to the person's first-born son is used as a substitute for the ism: for example, "Abu Karim" for "Father of Karim". The female variant is "Umm", thus "Umm Karim". The kunya precedes the ism when not replacing it.
Nasab نسب
The nasab is a patronymic or series of patronymics. It indicates the person's heritage by the word ibn (sometimes bin) which means "son". Thus Ibn Khaldun means "son of Khaldun" (Khaldun is the father's ism, or proper name). Several nasab can follow in a chain, to trace a person's ancestry backwards in time. This was important in the tribally based society of the ancient Arabs, both for purposes of identification and for social and political interaction.
Laqab لقب
The laqab is intended as a description of the person. So, for example, in the name of the famous Abbasid Caliph Haroun al-Rashid (of A Thousand and One Nights fame), Haroun is the Arabic form for Aaron, and "al-Rashid" means "the righteous" or "the rightly-guided".
Nisba نسبة
The nisba describes a person's occupation, geographic home area, or descent (tribe, family, etc). It will follow a family through several generations, and it is for example common to find people with the name al-miṣrī (the Egyptian, or rather "of Egypt") in many places in the Middle East, despite the fact that their families may have resided outside Egypt for several generations. The nisba, among the components of the Arabic name perhaps most closely resembles the Western surname.
Example
Abu Karim Muhammad al-Jamil ibn Nidal ibn Abdulaziz al-Filistini
abū karīm muhammadu-l-jamīl ibn nidāl ibn 'abdi-'azīzi-l-filistīnī
This means, in translation:
"Father-of-Karim, Muhammad, the beautiful, son of Nidal, son of Abdulaziz, the Palestinian"
(karim means generous, muhammad means praised, jamīl means beautiful; azīz means Magnificent, and it is one of the 99 names of God.)
.
Abu Karim is a kunya, Muhammad is the person's proper name (ism), al-Jamil is a laqab, Nidal is his father (a nasab), Abdulaziz his grandfather (second-generation nasab) and "al-Filistini" is his family nisba.
.
Normally, this person would simply be referred to as "Muhammad" or "Abu Karim", but to signify respect or to specify which Mohammad we are speaking about (namely, the beautiful son of Nidal and grandson of Abdulaziz from Palestine), the name could be lengthened as above, to the extent necessary or desired.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_name
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