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Arabic Last Names and Their Meanings

Arabic last names usually come from a father's or ancestor's name, a trade, a tribe or a place, and many are shared by Muslims and Arab Christians alike. This page lists common Arabic surnames with their Arabic spelling and meaning, and explains how Arabic family names work.

At a glance

Arabic for surname
اسم العائلة (ism al-'a'ila)
Common origins
A given name, a trade, a place or a tribe
Common prefix
Al- (the)
Family links
Ibn (son of), Bint (daughter of), Abu (father of)
Religion
Many Arabic surnames are used by Muslims and Arab Christians alike
Spelling
Varies in English (Hussein, Hussain, Husain)

What are Arabic last names?

Traditionally, Arabs did not always have fixed family surnames. A person was known by their own name followed by their father's name, and sometimes their grandfather's, linked with ibn (son of) or bint (daughter of). Fixed family names became common in many Arab countries in recent centuries, when governments introduced civil registration.

Today an Arabic last name can come from an ancestor's given name, a trade, a tribe, a place or a nickname. Many of these names are shared by Muslims and Arab Christians alike, so an Arabic surname does not by itself show a person's religion.

Common Arabic last names and their meanings

The table lists common Arabic surnames with their Arabic spelling, meaning and usual origin. English spellings vary a lot, so you may also see names such as Hussein, Hussain and Husain, or Mohammed, Muhammad and Mohamed.

How Arabic names are built

A traditional Arabic name has several parts. The ism is the given name, such as Ahmad. The nasab shows lineage, as in Ahmad ibn Khalid, meaning Ahmad son of Khalid. The kunya is a name based on a child, such as Abu Yusuf, father of Yusuf. The laqab is a nickname or title, and the nisba shows origin or affiliation, such as al-Masri, from Egypt.

Modern family names usually grew out of these parts. Haddad began as a laqab for a blacksmith, and al-Baghdadi is a nisba for someone from Baghdad. Names that begin with Abd, such as Abdullah, mean servant of, followed by one of the names of Allah.

The Al prefix in Arabic surnames

Many Arabic surnames begin with al-, the Arabic word for the. It joins the word after it, so you may see Al-Masri, Almasri or El Masri for the same name. In some names the l of al- is pronounced like the next letter, as in as-Sabbagh or ash-Shami, although English spellings rarely show this.

Muslim last names that are not Arabic

Many Muslim families outside the Arab world use surnames from other languages. Khan is a Turkic and Mongol title common in South Asia, Chaudhry is used in Punjab, and Syed and Sheikh come from Arabic titles. Other Muslim communities use Persian, Turkish, Malay or African family names, so Muslim last names are far more varied than Arabic ones.

Common Arabic last names and their meanings

Common Arabic last names and their meanings
SurnameArabicMeaningOrigin
Abdullahعبد اللهServant of AllahGiven name
AhmedأحمدMost praisedGiven name
AliعليHigh, exaltedGiven name
HassanحسنGood, handsomeGiven name
HusseinحسينGood, handsome (a diminutive of Hassan)Given name
IbrahimإبراهيمArabic form of Abraham, a prophetGiven name
IsmailإسماعيلArabic form of Ishmael, a prophetGiven name
KhalilخليلClose friendGiven name
MahmoudمحمودPraisedGiven name
MohammedمحمدPraisedGiven name
MustafaمصطفىChosenGiven name
OmarعمرLong-lived, flourishingGiven name
RashidراشدRightly guidedGiven name
SaeedسعيدHappy, fortunateGiven name
SalehصالحRighteous, goodGiven name
SalemسالمSafe, soundGiven name
YousefيوسفArabic form of Joseph, a prophetGiven name
ZayedزايدGrowing, increasingGiven name
MansourمنصورVictorious, given helpGiven name
NasserناصرHelper, supporterGiven name
FaroukفاروقOne who distinguishes truth from falsehoodGiven name
HabibحبيبBelovedGiven name
AzizعزيزDear, mightyGiven name
KarimكريمGenerous, nobleGiven name
QasimقاسمOne who divides or distributesGiven name
TahaطهThe name of a surah of the Qur'anGiven name
JaberجابرOne who comforts or restoresGiven name
HaddadحدادBlacksmithTrade or role
NajjarنجارCarpenterTrade or role
SabbaghصباغDyerTrade or role
AttarعطارPerfumer or herbal sellerTrade or role
KhayyatخياطTailorTrade or role
SayeghصائغGoldsmith or jewellerTrade or role
NahhasنحاسCoppersmithTrade or role
QassabقصابButcherTrade or role
TajerتاجرMerchantTrade or role
KhatibخطيبPreacher who gives the sermonTrade or role
QadiقاضيJudgeTrade or role
HakimحكيمWise person, also a physicianTrade or role
Al-MasriالمصريFrom EgyptPlace
Al-ShamiالشاميFrom the Levant (Sham)Place
Al-BaghdadiالبغداديFrom BaghdadPlace
Al-QurashiالقرشيFrom the Quraysh tribeTribe or family
Al-HashimiالهاشميFrom the house of HashimTribe or family
Al-TamimiالتميميFrom the tribe of TamimTribe or family
Al-AnsariالأنصاريDescendant of the Ansar, the helpers of MadinahTribe or family
Al-SiddiqiالصديقيDescendant of Abu Bakr as-SiddiqTribe or family
Al-FarouqiالفاروقيDescendant of Umar al-FaruqTribe or family
ShaheenشاهينFalconNickname
DarwishدرويشHumble, poor, a dervishNickname

Arabic Last Names FAQ

What are common Arabic last names?

Common Arabic last names include Ahmed, Ali, Hassan, Hussein, Ibrahim, Khalil, Mahmoud, Mohammed, Mustafa, Omar and Saleh, which come from given names, and Haddad, Najjar and Sabbagh, which come from trades. Many are shared by Muslims and Arab Christians, and English spellings can vary widely between countries.

What does Al mean in Arabic last names?

Al is the Arabic word for the. In surnames it often shows origin or family, as in Al-Masri, from Egypt, or Al-Hashimi, from the house of Hashim. It can be written Al, El or Al- and may be joined to the name, so Almasri and Al-Masri are the same name.

What is the difference between ibn, bin and bint?

Ibn and bin both mean son of, and bint means daughter of. They link a person to their father, as in Ahmad ibn Khalid or Maryam bint Imran. Ibn is common in classical Arabic and older sources, while bin is the usual spelling in the Gulf and in Malay-speaking countries.

Do all Muslims have Arabic last names?

No. Arabic is the language of the Qur'an, but most Muslims live outside the Arab world, and many family names come from Persian, Turkic, South Asian, Malay or African languages. Surnames such as Khan and Chaudhry are not Arabic, although Syed and Sheikh come from Arabic titles.

Does an Arabic last name show that someone is Muslim?

No. Many Arabic surnames, such as Haddad, Najjar and Sabbagh, are used by Muslim and Christian Arab families alike. A surname shows a family's ancestor, trade, tribe or place of origin, not a person's religion, so you cannot tell someone's faith from an Arabic surname alone.

Why do Arabic surnames have different spellings in English?

Arabic has sounds that English does not, and names are written from Arabic script using different transliteration systems. Names also pass through French, English and local spelling habits, so Hussein, Hussain and Husain can all be the same name. Official documents usually keep the spelling a family first registered.

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This page is a general guide. For your own situation, please consult a qualified scholar.

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