1000 Most Common Last Names in Afghanistan

Muslim: variant of Muhammad.

Muslim: from Arabic ?abdul, ?abd al ‘servant of the …’. Abdul is normally a component of a compound name referring to one of the attributes of Allah mentioned in the Qur’an or the Hadith, for example ?Abdul?Aziz ‘servant of the Powerful’, ?Abdul-?Hakim ‘servant of the Wise’, ?Abdul-Qadir ‘servant of the Capable’.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic nur ‘light’, ‘illumination’. Al-Nur ‘the Light’, is an attribute of Allah. It is also found in compound names such as Nur Allah (Nurullah) ‘Light of Allah’ and Nur ud-Din (Nuruddin) ‘Light of Religion’. Dutch: ethnic name for a Norwegian.

Muslim (widespread throughout the Muslim world): from the Arabic personal name ?Ali ‘high’, ‘lofty’, ‘sublime’. Al-?Ali ‘the All-High’ is an attribute of Allah. Abdul-?Ali means ‘servant of the All-High’. ?Ali ibn Abi ?Talib (c. 600–661), the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad, was the fourth and last of the ‘rightly guided’ khalifs (ruled 656–61) and the first imam of the Shiite Muslims. His assassination led to the appearance of the Shiite sect.

Muslim: from the Arabic personal name ?Abdullah ‘servant of Allah’. This was the name of the father of the Prophet Muhammad, who died before Muhammad was born. In the Qur’an (19:30), Jesus calls himself ?Abdullah: ‘He (Jesus) said: I am the servant of Allah’. The name is also borne by Christian Arabs.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic mu?hammad ‘praiseworthy’ (derived from the verb ?hamida ‘praise’). This is the name of the founder of Islam, the Prophet Muhammad (570–632). He began to receive spiritual revelations at the age of 40. The Qur’an, the holy book of Islam, was revealed to him by the Angel Jibril (Gabriel). As a personal name, this name is extremely common throughout the Muslim world.

Muslim (widespread throughout the Muslim world): from the Arabic personal name A?hmad ‘the most praised’, elative adjective from ?hamid (see Hamid). This is an epithet of the Prophet Muhammad. In the Qur’an (6:16) Jesus foretells the arrival of A?hmad (the Prophet Muhammad) in the words: ‘I have brought good news about a messenger who will come after me, whose name will be A?hmad’.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: from the Persian royal title Shah ‘king’, ‘emperor’. This was the title adopted by the kings of the Pahlavi dynasty (1925–79). Shah is found in combination with other words, e.g. Shah Jahan (name of a Mughal emperor, ruled 1628–57) and Shah ?Alam ‘king of the world’ (name of a Mughal emperor, ruled 1707–12). This name is widespread in Iran and the subcontinent. Indian (Gujarat, Rajasthan): Hindu (Bania, Vania) and Jain name, from Gujarati sah ‘merchant’ (from Sanskrit sadhu ‘honest’, ‘good’). This name was originally Sah; it appears to have been altered under the influence of the Persian word for ‘king’ (see 1).

Muslim: from a personal name or status name based on Turkish khan ‘ruler’, ‘nobleman’. This was originally a hereditary title among Tartar and Mongolian tribesmen (in particular Genghis Khan, 1162–1227), but is now very widely used throughout the Muslim world as a personal name. In Iran and parts of the Indian subcontinent it is used as an honorific title after a person’s name.

Muslim (common in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India): from a title of Persian origin, a short form of Arabic Amir ‘prince’, ‘commander’. Polish: from a short form of any of various Old Polish personal names containing the element mir ‘peace’, ‘quiet’, ‘esteem’, for example Miroslaw or Jaromir. Catalan: patronymic from Mir, a medieval personal name of Germanic origin (see Miro). French: variant of Mire 1.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic ?amir ‘prince’, ‘commander’, ‘master’. ?Amri-al-Mu’minin ‘commander of the faithful’ was a title of Muslim khalifs. Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic ?amir ‘prosperous’. Jewish (Sephardic): adoption of the Arabic name.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: variant spelling of Husain.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic ghani ‘rich’.

Dutch, Danish, North German, English, Polish, etc.; Czech and Slovak (Ján): from the personal name Jan, a vernacular form of Latin Johannes (see John). Slovenian: from a pet form of the personal name Janez (see John). Muslim: unexplained. Chinese : variant of Zhan.

Indian (northern states): Hindu name found in several communities, meaning ‘darling’, from Sanskrit lala ‘cajoling’ (related to Sanskrit lalana ‘caressing’). In several modern Indian languages lal is a term of endearment for a child; it is also an epithet of the god Krishna. There is also a homonymous word lal in Hindi, from Persian meaning ‘ruby’, ‘red’, which may have increased the popularity of this name. It occurs more commonly as the final element of a compound personal name, as in Brajlal (Braj being the name of the place where the god Krishna is supposed to have lived as a child) and Motilal (Hindi moti ‘pearl’).

Muslim (Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan): from a personal name based on the Persian honorific title Mirza, a shortened form of mir-zadeh ‘child of a prince’.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic na?z?zar ‘esteem’, ‘regard’. Basque: habitational name from Nazar in Navarre.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic wali ‘lord’, ‘guardian’, ‘protector’, ‘saint’, or ‘friend’, often interpreted as a short form of Wali Allah ‘friend of God’, an epithet of the Prophet Muhammad. Indian (Kashmir): Hindu (Brahman) name, probably ulitmately derived from Arabic wali ‘lord’ (see 1). Indian (Karnataka): Hindu (Lingayat) name of unknown meaning.

Muslim: from the Persian personal name Akhtar ‘star’, ‘good luck’. Akhtar is used in combination with other words, for example Akhtar-ud-Din ‘star of religion (i.e. Islam)’. The name is found in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh as well as Iran.

Muslim: from the personal name Ibrahim, Arabic form of Abraham. In Islam, Ibrahim is identified as a prophet, the ancestor of all the Semitic peoples, both Hebrew and Arab, and the father of Isma?il (see Ismail) and Is?haq (see Ishak).

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic khalil ‘friend’. Khalil-ullah ‘friend of Allah’ is an honorific title given to the Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham). See the Qur’an 4:125: ‘Allah took Abraham as his friend.’

from a personal name based on ?awad ‘reverence’, ‘kindness’. occupational name from awwad ‘lute maker’ or ‘lute player’. possibly also from ?awwa?d ‘one who compensates or indemnifies’.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic hassan ‘beautifier’. The poet Hassan bin Sabit was a companion of the Prophet Muhammad. Muslim: variant spelling of Hasan. Irish (County Derry): shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó hÓsáin ‘descendant of Ósán’, a personal name formed from a diminutive of os ‘deer’.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Arabic: from a personal name meaning ‘falcon’, borne by, among others, Lebanese Christians. It is also found as a Spanish name, of the same origin.

Muslim: shortened form of any of the many Arabic names formed with the word din ‘religion’, for example Saifuddin ‘sword of religion’ or Salahuddin ‘righteousness of religion’. Indian (northern states): Hindu name derived from Sanskrit dina ‘humble’. Scottish: unexplained. According to Black, this is an old Strathblane surname. Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname from Yiddish din ‘thin’.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

German: topographic name from Middle High German doste, toste ‘wild thyme’, also ‘bunch’, ‘bouquet’, or a habitational name from a house with a sign depicting such a plant.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: from Arabic Rama?dan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, a sacred month of fasting for Muslims. It is sometimes chosen by Muslim parents as a name for children born in this month. In this month the Qur’an, the Holy Book of Islam, was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad by the Angel Jibril (Gabriel). This name is widespread throughout the Muslim world.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: variant spelling of Haidar. South German: habitational name for someone from a place called Haid, or a topographic name for someone who lived on a heath (see Heid).

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: from an Arabic personal name, ’Isma?il, name of a Prophet (Biblical Ishmael), son of Ibrahim (Abraham). Ibrahim left his second wife Hajar (Hagar) and their small son Ismail in the wilderness outside Mecca with only a short supply of food and water. Allah took pity on them and caused the well of Zamzam to spurt up in that desolate place, which saved their lives. Later, Ibrahim sought out his son Ismail, and together they built the Ka‘ba in Mecca, towards which all Muslims turn when praying. Arabs believe that Ismail was the founder of the Arab peoples, and for this reason Arabs are sometimes referred to as Ishmaelites. The term Ismaeli is of much more recent origin; it refers to a sect of Shiite Muslims headed by the Aga Khan, who claim descent from the Fatimid dynasty that ruled Egypt and North Africa from 909 to 1171. They take their name from Isma?il al-?Siddiq (699–765), son of the sixth Shiite imam, because they believe that the divine spirit passed to him and not to his brother Musa.

Muslim: from Turkish agha ‘leader’, ‘ruler’. Aga Khan is the title of the leader of the Ismaili sect of Shiite Muslims.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic ?sali?h ‘pious’, ‘righteous’, ‘virtuous’ (see the Qur’an 26: 83). Saleh is the name of a messenger of Allah (see the Qur’an 7:75). This name is widespread throughout the Muslim world.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic ?eid ‘festivity’. The two principal religious festivals observed by Muslims are ?Eidul Fitr and ?Eidul A?d?ha. ?Eidul Fitr is observed after completion of fasting in Ramadan, ?Eidul A?d?ha is observed as a day of sacrifice commemorating the example of the Prophet Ibrahim, or after completion of the Hajj. Eid is sometimes used as part of the name of a child born on one of these two feast days. Norwegian: habitational name from any of several farmsteads so named, from Old Norse ei{dh} ‘isthmus’ (see Eide). Perhaps an Americanized spelling of German Eidt.

Muslim (widespread throughout the Muslim world): from the Arabic personal name ?Abd al-?Aziz ‘servant of the mighty’ or ‘servant of the beloved’. Al-?Aziz ‘the Invincible’ or ‘the Beloved’ is an attribute of Allah. Al-?Aziz (955–996) was the fifth Fatimid khalif of Egypt (975–996), noted among other things for his religious tolerance.

Muslim: variant of Mahmood.

Jewish; also Welsh and English: from the Biblical name borne by the Israelite leader who led the Israelites out of Egypt, as related in the Book of Exodus. The Hebrew form of the name, Moshe, is probably of Egyptian origin, from a short form of any of various ancient Egyptian personal names, such as Rameses and Tutmosis, meaning ‘conceived by (a certain god)’. However, very early in its history it acquired a folk etymology, being taken as a derivative of the Hebrew root verb mšh ‘draw (something from the water)’, and was associated with a story of the infant Moses being discovered among the bullrushes by Pharaoh’s daughter (Exodus 2: 1–10). Moses is the usual English spelling. As a Welsh family name, it was adopted among Dissenter families in the 18th and 19th centuries. As a North American family name, it has absorbed forms of the name from other languages, for example Moise and Moshe.

Muslim (mainly Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh; also Iran): from a personal name based on Arabic akbar ‘greater’, ‘greatest’, an elative adjective from kabir ‘great’. Allahu Akbar (‘Allah is the Greatest’) is a slogan of Muslims throughout the world. The Mughal emperor known in English as Akbar the Great (Jalal ud-Din Akbar; 1542–1605) extended his rule from a base in Panjab to cover most of the Indian subcontinent by the time of his death. His rule was notable for the integration of Hindus and Muslims in positions of power.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic ra?him ‘merciful’, ‘compassionate’. Ur-Ra?him ‘the Merciful’ is an attribute of Allah (see the Qur’an 2:173). The name is also found in combinations such as ?Abd ur-Ra?him ‘servant of the Merciful’.

Japanese: from a word meaning ‘horse-riding ground’, ‘race track’; a common place name. The surname is found mostly in west central Japan. One Baba family in Kai (now Yamanashi prefecture) were samurai, vassals of the Takeda family. Czech, Slovak, Polish, and Hungarian: from the Slavic word baba ‘old woman’, ‘grandmother’, ‘witch’, hence an unflattering nickname for a man thought to resemble an old woman. In Czech baba can also mean ‘coward’. Hungarian (Bába): habitational name from one of many places called Bába, in Abaúj, Borsod, Somogy, and Vas counties of Hungary, and Közép-Szolnok county, now in Romania. Arabic (Baba): from a diminutive of Abu ‘father’.

Muslim (found almost exclusively among Sunni Muslims): from an Arabic personal name of uncertain etymology. It is thought to be related to Arabic ?amir, which means ‘prosperous’, ‘full of life’, ‘large’, ‘substantial’. The root word ?umr means ‘life’. ?Umar bin al-Kha?t?tab was the second of the ‘rightly guided’ khalifs (ruled 634–44). He was known by the title al-Faruq ‘the distinguisher’, i.e. one who distinguishes between truth and falsehood. He was one of the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad. The Persian poet ?Umar al-Khayyam (1048–1125), also known in English as Omar Khayyam, is the author of the classic poem, the Rubaiyyat. Catalan: topographic name for someone who lived by a group of elm trees, from the collective form of om ‘elm’.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: status name from Arabic imam, literally ‘one who leads the way’, an honorific title for one who leads prayers in a mosque, also applied to the founders of Islamic law schools. Among Shiite Muslims the title imam is applied to the spiritual leaders descended from Fatima, daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, and her husband Ali, the fourth and last of the ‘rightly guided’ khalifs (see Ali).

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic karim ‘kind’, ‘generous’. Al-Karim ‘the Generous’ is an attribute of Allah. The word is found in compound names such as ?Abd ul-Karim ‘servant of the Most Generous’.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

from a personal name based on Arabic ?alam ‘emblem’, ‘banner’, hence an epithet for a distinguished man. ?Alam-al-Huda (‘banner of guidance’) is an honorific title of the Prophet Muhammad. Alam is generally found in names in combination with other words. from a personal name based on Arabic ?alam, literally ‘world’. ?Alamgir (in combination with the Persian word gir ‘conqueror’) was a title of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb (1618–1707), who ruled the Indian subcontinent from 1658 to 1707. This name is found in a variety of compounds, which are popular in the subcontinent, for example Badrul-?Alam ‘full moon of the world’.

Muslim and Hindu (mainly Panjab): status name from a title meaning ‘lord’, ‘ruler’, ‘chief’, from Arabic malik ‘king’. In the subcontinent this is often found as a title for the headman of a village. In Islam Al-Malik ‘the King’ is one of the attributes of Allah, regarded as ‘the king of mankind’ (Qur’an 114:2), and this word is used in combination in names such as ?Abd-ul Malik ‘servant of the King’. This was the name of an Umayyad khalif (685–705). Czech, Slovak (Malík), and Slovenian: nickname for a small person, from a pet form of a vocabulary word meaning ‘small’ (Polish maly, Czech malý ‘small’, Slovenian mali). Compare Maly.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Jewish: of uncertain origin; possibly a modern Hebrew name meaning ‘secret’.

From the Biblical personal name Adam, which was borne, according to Genesis, by the first man. It is the generic Hebrew term for ‘man’, probably from Hebrew adama ‘earth’. Compare the classical Greek legend that Zeus fashioned the first human beings from earth. It was very popular as a personal name among non-Jews throughout Europe in the Middle Ages, and the surname is found in one form or another in most of the countries of Europe. Jews, however, have never used this personal name, except in recent times under Polish and English influence. Among Scottish and Irish bearers it is sometimes a reduced form of McAdam.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic murad ‘will’, ‘purpose’, ‘wish’. This was the name of a son of the 16th-century Mughal emperor Akbar.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: see Kassem.

Safar or Saffar (صفار) is an Arabic name referring to an artisan who works with copper.

Arabic: from a personal name based on Arabic nadir ‘extraordinary’, ‘rare’, ‘exceptional’. German (also Näder): occupational name for an embroiderer, later a tailor, from an agent derivative of Middle High German næjen ‘to embroider or sew’.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: from the Arabic personal name Musa (the Biblical Moses). The Qur’an says (19:51): ‘He was specially chosen, and he was a Messenger and a Prophet.’ Southern Italian: habitational name from a place called Musa, particularly the one in Melito di Porto Salvo in Reggio Calabria, and the one in Nissorìa in Enna province, Sicily.

Muslim: see Youssef.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic ra?hman ‘most gracious’, usually forming part of a compound name such as ?Abd ur-Ra?hman ‘servant of the Most Gracious’. ur-Ra?hman (al-Rahman) ‘the Most Gracious’ is an attribute of Allah. ?Abd ur-Ra?hman ibn ?Awf was one of the Companions to whom the Prophet Muhammad gave the good news of entering into paradise. This name is widespread throughout the Muslim world. German (Rahmann): variant of Rademann, topographic name from Low German Rade ‘area cleared of forest’, or a habitational name for someone from any of the places named Rade, from this word. Alternatively, it may be a habitational name for someone from Rahm (see Rahm 1).

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim (widespread throughout the Muslim world): from a personal name based on Arabic anwar ‘brighter’, an elative adjective derived from nur ‘light’. Anwar (with a long a) is the plural of nur (see Noor) and means ‘rays (of light)’.

Muslim and Jewish (Sephardic): from an Arabic personal name based on habib ‘beloved’, ‘friend’, used by both Muslims and Jews. Habibullah ‘beloved of Allah’ is an epithet of Mohammad.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic hakim ‘learned’, ‘wise’. Al-Hakim ‘the All-Wise’ is an attribute of Allah. It may also be a status name from the Arabic noun hakim ‘governor’, ‘judge’, ‘scholar’ or Persian haekim ‘wise man’, ‘philosopher’, or ‘physician’. In the Indian subcontinent it generally denotes a physician, in particular one specializing in traditional herbal remedies. Al-Hakim ‘the Judge’ is also an attribute of Allah.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

from a personal name based on na?sir ‘supporter’, ‘helper’ (Qur’an 9:116). from a personal name based on na?sir ‘protector’. It is found in compounds such as Nasruddin (Arabic Na?sir ud-Din) ‘protector of religion’, i.e. ‘defender of the faith (Islam)’. Compare Nasser.

For the meaning of this name, see: Habib, Ur & Rehman.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Romanian, Polish, and Czech (Moravian): from the Slavic personal name Jura, a vernacular form of Greek Georgios (see George). Croatian: from a short form of the personal name Juraj, a vernacular form of Greek Georgios (see George).

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Arabic: variant of Issa. Japanese: written with characters meaning ‘that’ and ‘help’. The name is found mostly in the Ryukyu Islands.

Muslim (common in Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan): from a personal name based on Arabic rabbani ‘divine’, a derivative of Arabic rabb ‘lord’, ‘master’. Al-Rabb ‘the Lord’ is an attribute of Allah. See the Qur’an 1:2: ‘All praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of the universe.’

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Bardí, with an accent on the i, is a Catalan surname which comes from a Germanic first name, Bardinus.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: see Kader.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic ?zafar ‘victory’. It is sometimes found in compound names such as ?Zafarullah ‘victory of Allah’.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim and Indian (northern states): from an Arabic personal name based on amin ‘trustworthy’, ‘faithful’, ‘honest’. Al-Amin ‘the trustworthy’ is an honorific title of the Prophet Muhammad. The term is used in combination with other words to form compound names: for example, Ru?h-ul-Amin ‘faithful spirit’ is an epithet of the Angel Gabriel mentioned in the Qur’an (26:193). Al-Amin (787–813) was the name of the sixth Abbasid khalif of Baghdad. In India, the name came to be used as a term denoting a government official concerned with investigation of land claims and revenue claims, collection of revenue, and land surveying.

Muslim: adjectival derivative of Muhammad.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic jamal ‘beauty’, ‘grace’. This name is also found in compounds such as Jamal ud-Din ‘Beauty of Religion’.

For the meaning of this name, see: Ur & Rehman.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Galician and Portuguese: probably a habitational name from any of the places in Galicia and Portugal named Mira. Catalan: of uncertain origin; possibly from the Arabic personal name Amira, or a derivative of Mir. Italian: apparently from the personal name Mira, feminine form of Miro, from Late Latin Mirus and Mira, respectively, from Latin mirus ‘wonderful’, ‘marvellous’. Czech and Polish: from a pet form of any of various personal names formed with the element mir ‘peace’, ‘quiet’, ‘esteem’ (see Mir).

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: from a variant of Arabic nadhir ‘warner’. Al-Nadhir ‘the Warner’ is an epithet of the Prophet Muhammad, in the sense ‘one sent by Allah to warn mankind’ (Qur’an 7:188).

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic zaman ‘time’, ‘age’, ‘era’, often used to form names in combination with other words, for example Nur uz-Zaman ‘light of the era’, Shams uz-Zaman ‘sun of the time’. Zaman is a popular name in the Indian subcontinent.

Muslim: see Daoud.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

For the meaning of this name, see: Imam, Ud & Din.

Jewish, Welsh, Scottish, English, French, Portuguese, German, Czech, Slovak (Dávid) and Slovenian: from the Hebrew personal name David ‘beloved’, which has been perennially popular among Jews, in honor of the Biblical king of this name, the greatest of the early kings of Israel. His prominence, and the vivid narrative of his life contained in the First Book of Samuel, led to adoption of the name in various parts of Europe, notably Britain, among Christians in the Middle Ages. The popularity of this as a personal name was increased in Britain, firstly by virtue of its being the name of the patron saint of Wales (about whom very little is known: he was probably a 6th-century monk and bishop) and secondly because it was borne by two kings of Scotland (David I, reigning 1124–53, and David II, 1329–71). Its popularity in Russia is largely due to the fact that this was the ecclesiastical name adopted by St. Gleb (died 1015), one of two sons of Prince Vladimir of Kiev who were martyred for their Christian zeal.

variant of Vogt. topographic name for someone living near a grass- or moss-covered spot or an enclosure, Middle High German vate, vade. metonymic occupational name for a carpenter who made roof trusses, from phate ‘roof beam’, a derivative of medieval Latin patena. from a cognate of Gothic faths ‘man’, a byname also contained in Vetter ‘paternal uncle’, ‘cousin’.

Muslim: from an Arabic personal name based on na?sir ‘granter of victory’. Compare Nasir, Nassar. German: habitational name for someone from any of the places called Nassen, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse, and Bavaria. German (Näßer): variant of Naser 2.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic kamal ‘perfection’, ‘integrity’. It is found in compound names such as Kamal ud-Din ‘perfection of religion’. Hindu name found among people from Sind, Pakistan, which goes back to the personal name of an ancestor, derived from Sanskrit kamala ‘lotus’. The personal name is common in India, and has become a family name in the U.S. among South Indians.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: from the Arabic personal name Suleiman (see Solomon). Suleiman (Solomon) is regarded in Islam as a prophet (Qur’an 27:17). Suleiman the Magnificent (1498–1566) was a renowned khalif of the Ottoman Empire. This name is widespread throughout the Muslim world.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic mu?s?tafa ‘chosen’, from Arabic ?safa ‘to be pure’, ‘to be select’. For Muslims, Al-Mu?s?tafa is an epithet referring to the Prophet Muhammad, while among Arabic-speaking Christians it is applied to St. Paul. Mu?s?tafa is among the most popular personal names in the Islamic world. In Turkey, it is often chosen in honor of Mustafa Kamal Atatürk (1881–1938), founder of modern Turkey. Spanish (of Arabic origin): from the Arabic personal name (see 1 above). Italian: from the Arabic personal name (see 1 above), or from a nickname from Calabrian mustafà ‘strong man with a walrus moustache’.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic ghazi ‘conqueror’, ‘fighter for the faith’. This was a title borne by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb (1658–1707).

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim and Jewish (Sephardic): from a personal name based on Arabic salim ‘perfect’, ‘faultless’, ‘safe’, ‘secure’. Salim bin Thabet was one of the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad. The Mughal emperor Jahangir (1605–1627) was also known as Prince Salim. This is a widespread name in all Muslim countries.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic mu’min ‘believer (in Islam)’, ‘pious person’. Al-Mu’min ‘the Believer’ is one of the names of Allah (Qur’an 59:23). It is also the title of the 40th sura of the Qur’an.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim (common in Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India): from Arabic mu?hyi-ud-din ‘reviver of religion’. This title was bestowed on the religious scholar and saint Sheikh ?Abdul Qadir Jilani (1077–1166).

Americanized spelling of German Ammann. Muslim (widespread throughout the Muslim world): from the Arabic personal name Aman ‘trust’, ‘safety’, ‘protection’, ‘tranquility’. Aman is often used in combination with other names, for example Aman Allah (Amanullah) ‘trust of Allah’.

Galician: habitational name from any of the three places in Ourense province, Galicia named Reza. Portuguese: from a derivative of rezar ‘to pray’. Muslim (chiefly Iranian): from the Persian personal name Reza, from Arabic ri?da’ ‘contentment’, ‘satisfaction’. Ri?da’ ?Ali ibn Musa (765–817) was the eighth imam of the Shiites. Reza Shah Pahlavi was the first Shah of the Pahlavi dynasty (1925–79) in Iran. Reza is used to form names in combination with other words, e.g. Reza ul-Karim (Ri?da’ al-Karim) ‘satisfaction of The Most Generous’, i.e. Allah.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim (widespread throughout the Muslim world): from the Arabic personal name ?Abbas, literally ‘stern’, ‘austere’. ?Abbas was the name of an uncle (died 652) of the Prophet Muhammad, the ancestor of the Abbasid dynasty (see Abbasi). German: Latinized form of Abt ‘abbot’.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: variant spelling of Ayoub.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic ?hamid ‘praising’, ‘praiser (of Allah)’, or ?hamid ‘praised’, ‘praiseworthy’. Al-?Hamid ‘the All-Laudable’ is an attribute of Allah. The name ?Abd-ul-Hamid means ‘servant of the All-Laudable’. The root ?hmd ‘praise’ is one of the most common elements in Arabic name forming; in addition to this name, it also lies behind names such as Ahmad and Muhammad.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic Aslam ‘most perfect’, ‘faultless’, an elative form of the adjective salim (see Salim).

Muslim (especially common in Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh): from a personal name based on Arabic ’iqbal ‘prosperity’, ‘success’. Allama Iqbal (1873–1938) was a great poet and philosopher in India.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: variant of Salaam.

Muslim: from Arabic dar ‘house (of)’, ‘family (of)’, commonly used as a prefix in forming Arabic surnames. Indian (Kashmir): Muslim name, probably from the Persian suffix dar ‘holder’, ‘possessor’, ‘master’. Jewish (Israeli): ornamental name from Hebrew dar ‘mother-of-pearl’.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic khalid ‘eternity’, ‘eternal’, ‘remaining’. Khalid ibn-al-Walid (d. 642) was the Muslim military leader who brought about the defeat of the Byzantine Empire and its expulsion from Syria. The Prophet Muhammad called him Sayf-ullah ‘sword of Allah’.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Swedish: generally an ornamental name composed of the elements bo ‘dwelling’, ‘farm’ + man ‘man’, occasionally applied as a topographic name for someone who lived on an outlying homestead. English: variant spelling of Bowman.

For the meaning of this name, see: Ur & Rehman.

For the meaning of this name, see: Ud & Din.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic Haqq ‘true’, ‘truth’, ‘real’. Al-Haqq ‘the Truth’ is an attribute of Allah. The name is often found in combinations, for example Abdul-Haqq ‘servant of the truth’, Nur-ul-Haqq ‘light of the truth’.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic salman ‘safe’. Salman al-Farsi was one of the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad. This name is widespread throughout the Muslim world. Variant of Suleiman. Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Salmon 2. English, French, Dutch, and German: from a reduced form of Salomon. Compare Salmon 1.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic jabbar ‘powerful’, ‘mighty’. Al-Jabbar ‘the All-Compelling’ is an attribute of Allah.

Muslim: from either of two Arabic personal names, based on ?sadiq ‘friend’, ‘companion’ (see the Qur’an 26:101) or ?siddiq ‘righteous’, ‘upright’ (see the Qur’an 19:54).

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic akram ‘most generous’, an elative form of Karim.

Muslim: variant of Arabic ?Uthman, a name of unknown etymology. This was the name of the third of the ‘rightly guided’ khalifs (ruled 644–656), one of the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad, to whom he gave the good news of entering into paradise.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: see Hashim.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic halim ‘patient’, ‘tolerant’. Al-Halim ‘the Forgiving’ is an attribute of Allah.

English: topographic name for someone who lived by an ash tree, from the Middle English phrase at(te) asche ‘at (the) ash’. Jewish (Ashkenazic): metonymic occupational name for a maker or seller of bags and purses, from German Tasche ‘bag’, ‘purse’. Compare Taschner. $

Muslim: Arabic family name meaning ‘descended from or associated with A?hmad’ (see Ahmad).

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic rasul ‘messenger’. The Prophet Muhammad is the messenger of Allah (see the Qur’an 48:29).

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

English: variant of Raine. German: topographic name from Middle High German rein ‘margin’, ‘boundary’, or a habitational name from a place in Bavaria named with this word.

Iranian: unexplained. Possibly from a Persian form of Arabic jar ‘neighbor’. Jewish: unexplained; presumably a shortened form of some Ashkenazic surname.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic faruq ‘distinguisher’, i.e. ‘one who distinguishes truth from falsehood’. Al-Faruq was a byname of ?Umar ibn al-Kha?t?tab, the second ‘rightly guided’ khalif (ruled 634–644), renowned for his stern and uncompromising execution of justice.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

German: variant of Sauer. Indian (Bengal) and Bangladeshi: Hindu name, a nickname from Sanskrit šura ‘brave’. Korean: variant of So (see So).

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic farid ‘unique’, ‘matchless’.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic ?sabir ‘patient’, ‘tolerant’, ‘persevering’, ‘long-suffering’. See the Qur’an 2:153.

For the meaning of this name, see: Zia, Ud & Din.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: from Arabic shaikh, a title denoting a political or spiritual leader of a community. Shaikh ul-Islam ‘leader of Islam’, was the title of the highest religious office in Ottoman Turkey. Shaikh also means ‘chief’ or ‘head’ (Qur’an 28:23). This name is found throughout the Muslim world.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

For the meaning of this name, see: Aziz, Ur & Rehman.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: from an Arabic personal name, Ashraf, meaning ‘most honorable’ or ‘most distinguished’, an elative adjective based on Sharif.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic islam ‘peace’, the name of the religion of Muslims. Islam is mentioned in several places in the Qur’an, for example at 3:19 ‘Religion with Allah is Islam (peace)’ and 5:3 ‘I have chosen for you Islam (peace) as religion’. This name is often found in combinations, e.g. Nur-ul-Islam ‘light of Islam’.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: from Persian afzal (Arabic af?dal), literally ‘better’ or ‘best’, used as an epithet for a learned man.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: from a personal name based on the Arabic adjective sa?id ‘lucky’, ‘fortunate’. Compare Saad.

Muslim (especially common in Pakistan): from a personal name based on Persian javed ‘eternal’.

English: topographic name for someone who lived beside a stream, from northern Middle English bekke ‘stream’ (Old Norse bekkr). English (of Norman origin): habitational name from any of various places in northern France, for example Bec Hellouin in Eure, named with Old Norman French bec ‘stream’, from the same Old Norse root as in 1. English: probably a nickname for someone with a prominent nose, from Middle English beke ‘beak (of a bird)’ (Old French bec). English: metonymic occupational name for a maker, seller, or user of mattocks or pickaxes, from Old English becca. In some cases the name may represent a survival of an Old English byname derived from this word. German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a baker, a cognate of Baker, from (older) South German beck, West Yiddish bek. Some Jewish bearers of the name claim that it is an acronym of Hebrew ben-kedoshim ‘son of martyrs’, i.e. a name taken by one whose parents had been martyred for being Jews. North German: topographic name for someone who lived by a stream, from Low German Beke ‘stream’. Compare the High German form Bach 1. Scandinavian: habitational name for someone from a farmstead named Bekk, Bæk, or Bäck, or a topographic name for someone who lived by a stream.

Muslim: variant spelling of Azzam.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic jalil ‘great’, ‘exalted’, ‘magnificent’. Jalil ‘the Exalted’ is an attribute of Allah. This name is found in combinations such as ?Abdul-Jalil ‘servant of the Exalted’.

Indian (northern states): Hindu (Bania) and Jain name from Sanskrit mangala ‘auspicious’. The Agarwal Banias have a clan called Mangal. Name found among people of Indian origin in Guyana and Trinidad: from the Indian personal name Mangal, also from Sanskrit mangala ‘auspicious’.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic kabir ‘splendid’, ‘magnificent’. Al-Kabir ‘the Magnificent’ is an attribute of Allah.

Muslim (?Arif): from the Arabic adjective ?arif ‘learned’, ‘expert’.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: see Saladin.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

topographic name from Middle High German, Middle Low German ram(e) ‘end’, ‘target’, ‘mark’, or a habitational name from any of several places in Westphalia and Rhineland named with this word. from Middle High German, Middle Low German ram ‘soot’, possibly a metonymic occupational name for a blacksmith or charcoal burner, or a nickname for a dirty person. metonymic occupational name for a maker of frames (windows, looms, and the like), from Middle High German rame ‘stand’, ‘rack’, ‘frame’. (Rähm): variant spelling of Rehm.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

English: topographic name for someone who lived at the end of a village or settlement, from Middle English end (Old English ende).

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

For the meaning of this name, see: Zia.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Iranian: variant of Reza.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic karam ‘generosity’, ‘bounty’. In Arabic this name is usually used in combination with other words, e.g. Karamullah (Karam Allah ‘bounty of Allah’).

Spanish (Durán) and Catalan: from the personal name Durand (see Durant, Durante). English: variant of Durant. Polish: from a derivative of Dura. Czech: from a derivative of Dura.

Muslim: from Arabic ya sin, the first two letters at the beginning of sura 36 of the Qur’an, endowed with mystic significance, being interpreted as a divine address to the Prophet Muhammad. This is a popular personal name throughout the Islamic world.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

For the meaning of this name, see: Khalil, Ur & Rehman.

Muslim (widespread, especially in Egypt, Iran, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh): from a personal name based on Arabic barakat ‘blessings’, ‘good fortune’, ‘prosperity’, often found in combinations such as Barakat-ullah ‘blessings of Allah’.

Indian (Panjab): Sikh name found in the Jat community; in Hindi and Panjabi it means ‘cloud’, from Sanskrit vardala ‘water’.

Muslim: variant of Suleiman.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname from German Star, Middle High German star, ‘starling’, probably denoting a talkative or perhaps a voracious person. Dutch: nickname either for a gloomy person or for someone who was rigid and inflexible, from Middle Dutch staer ‘having a troubled or gloomy expression’; ‘tight’, ‘stiff’. English translation of German and Jewish Stern. Slovenian: from the adjective star ‘old’ (see Stare).

Korean: there are three Chinese characters for the Shin surname. Between these three characters, there are five different clans. Each Shin clan descends from a different founding ancestor. One of the Shin clans traces its origins to China. Members of the various Shin clans can be found throughout the Korean peninsula.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

English, Welsh, German, etc.: ultimately from the Hebrew personal name yo?hanan ‘Jehovah has favored (me with a son)’ or ‘may Jehovah favor (this child)’. This personal name was adopted into Latin (via Greek) as Johannes, and has enjoyed enormous popularity in Europe throughout the Christian era, being given in honor of St. John the Baptist, precursor of Christ, and of St. John the Evangelist, author of the fourth gospel, as well as others of the nearly one thousand other Christian saints of the name. Some of the principal forms of the personal name in other European languages are Welsh Ieuan, Evan, Siôn, and Ioan; Scottish Ia(i)n; Irish Séan; German Johann, Johannes, Hans; Dutch Jan; French Jean; Italian Giovanni, Gianni, Ianni; Spanish Juan; Portuguese João; Greek Ioannes (vernacular Yannis); Czech Jan; Russian Ivan. Polish has surnames both from the western Slavic form Jan and from the eastern Slavic form Iwan. There were a number of different forms of the name in Middle English, including Jan(e), a male name (see Jane); Jen (see Jenkin); Jon(e) (see Jones); and Han(n) (see Hann). There were also various Middle English feminine versions of this name (e.g. Joan, Jehan), and some of these were indistinguishable from masculine forms. The distinction on grounds of gender between John and Joan was not firmly established in English until the 17th century. It was even later that Jean and Jane were specialized as specifically feminine names in English; bearers of these surnames and their derivatives are more likely to derive them from a male ancestor than a female. As a surname in the British Isles, John is particularly frequent in Wales, where it is a late formation representing Welsh Siôn rather than the older form Ieuan (which gave rise to the surname Evan). As an American family name this form has absorbed various cognates from continental European languages. (For forms, see Hanks and Hodges 1988.) It is used as a given name among Christians in India, and in the U.S. has come to be used as a surname among families from southern India.

For the meaning of this name, see: Ur & Rehman.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Arabic: from a distinguishing epithet from Arabic a?sghar ‘younger’, ‘smaller’, comparative of ?saghir ‘young’.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic sa?d ‘good luck’, ‘good fortune’, ‘success’. Sa?d is often used to form names in combination with other words, for example Sa?d Allah (Sa?dullah) ‘joy of Allah’, an epithet of the Prophet Muhammad. Sa?d ibn Abu Waqqas was one of the ten Companions of the Prophet Muhammad. This name is prevalent in all Muslim countries. Jewish (Sephardic): a derivative of a personal name, either from Hebrew saad ‘support’ or from Arabic sa?d ‘good luck’ (see 1).

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Jewish: from the Hebrew male personal name Yisrael ‘Fighter of God’. In the Bible this is a byname bestowed on Jacob after he had wrestled with the angel at the ford of Jabbok (Genesis 32:24–8). name adopted by Jews with reference to the ancient Kingdom of Israel, destroyed by the Assyrians in 721 bc, or to the concept of Jewish nationhood, or, in modern times, to the state of Israel. Comparatively recent adoption of the Biblical name in Britain among Nonconformists, especially in Wales. altered form of Ezell.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: see Hamid.

Muslim: variant spelling of Mansur. Egyptian Arabic: habitational name from the city of Mansoura, in in the Nile Delta. It was named for a battle in 1250 in which the Saracens destroyed a Crusader force, capturing King Louis IX of France and holding him and many of his knights to ransom. Mansouras is also found as a Greek family name; there was a large Greek community in Mansoura until comparatively recently.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic majid ‘glorious’, ‘noble’. Al-Majid ‘the Glorious’ is an attribute of Allah, and this name is found in combinations such as ?Abd-ul Majid ‘servant of the All-Glorious’.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Indian (northern states): Hindu name (Bania, Kayasth), from Hindi lala, a term of respect, used especially for members of Vaisya and Kayasth communities; typically bankers, merchants, tradesmen, schoolmasters, and clerks. It is probably related to Lal. Southern Italian: from modern Greek Lalas; the frequency of the name in the parochial records of Piana degli Albanesi leads Caracausi to suggest it may have been taken to Italy by Albanian settlers.

Swiss German: from an Alemannic pet form of the personal name Burkhard (see Burkhart). Eastern German: variant of Buresch (see Buresh).

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Persian zia ‘light’, from Arabic ?diya? ‘light’, ‘illumination’ (Qur’an 10:5). This is used to form names in combinations such as Zia ul-Haq ‘light of the truth’ and Zia ur-Rahman ‘light of the most gracious’.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Arabic: adjectival variant of Nazar. Reduced form of Armenian Nazarian.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

For the meaning of this name, see: E.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic rashid ‘wise’, ‘judicious’, ‘rightly guided’, ‘right-minded’. Al-Rashid ‘the Right-Minded’ is an epithet of Allah (see the Qur’an 11:87). Rashid is used in combination with other words, e.g. ?Abd ur-Rashid ‘servant of the Right-Minded’. Harun ur-Rashid (786–809) was the most famous of the Abbasid khalifs. This name is widespread throughout the Muslim world.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic ?samad ‘everlasting’. As-Samad ‘the Everlasting’ is an epithet of Allah (Qur’an 112: 2). As a personal name, this is normally found in the combination ?Abd al-?Samad (Abdus-?Samad) ‘servant of the Lord’.

Muslim: variant of Assad.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic salim or salim ‘safe’, ‘secure’, ‘perfect’, ‘complete’. Salim ibn ?Umayr was one of the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad. French (Alsace): habitational name from a place named Salem in Haut-Rhin, named for the holy city of Jerusalem.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: status name for a Sufi holy man, from Persian and Turkish dervi{s,} ‘dervish’, a member of a Sufi Muslim religious order, from Pahlavi driyosh meaning ‘beggar’, ‘one who goes from door to door’.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

For the meaning of this name, see: Ur & Rehman.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Hispanic, but not found in present-day Spain: unexplained.

Muslim: from an Arabic name indicating descent from or association with someone called Ra?him (see Rahim).

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic munir ‘bright’, ‘brilliant’, ‘radiant’.

Muslim (mainly Iranian): from a status name or personal name based on Persian azad ‘free man’ (as opposed to a slave).

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: variant spelling of Younes.

For the meaning of this name, see: Faiz, Ur & Rehman.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim (prevalent in India and Pakistan): from a personal name based on Persian niyazi ‘friend’.

German: habitational name from any of several places so named.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): habitational name from the village of Bor in Belarus. Dutch: variant of Boer.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: Arabic family name meaning ‘descended from or associated with Amir’.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic nuri ‘bright’, ‘shining’, ‘full of light’.

Spanish: nickname from abad ‘priest’ (from Late Latin abbas ‘priest’, genitive abbatis, from the Aramaic word meaning ‘father’). The application is uncertain: it could be a nickname, an occupational name for the servant of a priest, or denote an (illegitimate) son of a priest. Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic ?Abbad ‘devoted worshiper’ or ‘servant’. The banu (tribe) ?Abbad claims descent from the ancient Lakhmid kings of al-?Hirah. The founder of the ?Abbadids of Seville was Muhammad bin ?Abbad (1023–42), whose son ?Abbad succeeded his father as chamberlain to the pretended khalif, but was soon ruling in his own right under the honorific title al-Muta??did ‘petitioner for justice (from Allah)’.

Polish: from a derivative of the personal name Pach. Variant spelling in various eastern Mediterranean languages of Turkish Pasha.

Indian (Panjab): Hindu (Khatri) and Sikh name based on the name of a Khatri clan of the Bahri subdivision. The same clan is also called Seth.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

German: from Middle High German ris ‘undergrowth’, ‘brushwood’; a topographic name for someone who lived in an overgrown area, or a habitational name from Reis or Reissen in Bavaria, named with this word. German: occupational name for a cobbler, Middle High German riuze. Compare Reuss. German: variant of Reiss 2, or from the Huguenot name Ris. Altered spelling of German Ries. Portuguese and Galician: from a short form of dos Reis ‘(of) the (Three) Kings’, a personal name popularly bestowed on someone born on the feast of the Epiphany, which celebrates the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi. This is a frequent family name in southern Portugal. Jewish (Ashkenazic): metonymic occupational name for a dealer in rice or an ornamental name from German Reis ‘rice’. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German Reis ‘twig’, ‘branch’. Turkish: from reis ‘boss’, ‘chief’, ‘head of a business enterprise’. A Greek derivative of this is also found as a surname, in the form Reizis.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

A surname found in Glasgow is most probably from the lands of Locher (c. 1208—32, Louhere and Louuhir) in the lordship of Avondale. John of Lochor was juror on an inquisition held in Lanark in 1498 and again in 1501 as Jhon Loquhour (Lanark, p.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: variant of Abdo.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic latif ‘kind’, ‘gentle’. Al-Latif ‘the Kind’ is an attribute of Allah. This name is found in combinations such as ?Abd-al-Latif ‘servant of the Kind’.

Kotb and Qutb mean 'pole', noun of the adjective, 'polar'. Kotby means 'polar'.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

English and French: nickname for a tall person, from Old English lang, long, Old French long ‘long’, ‘tall’ (equivalent to Latin longus). Irish (Ulster (Armagh) and Munster): reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Longáin (see Langan). Chinese : from the name of an official treasurer called Long, who lived during the reign of the model emperor Shun (2257–2205 bc). his descendants adopted this name as their surname. Additionally, a branch of the Liu clan (see Lau 1), descendants of Liu Lei, who supposedly had the ability to handle dragons, was granted the name Yu-Long (meaning roughly ‘resistor of dragons’) by the Xia emperor Kong Jia (1879–1849 bc). Some descendants later simplified Yu-Long to Long and adopted it as their surname. Chinese : there are two sources for this name. One was a place in the state of Lu in Shandong province during the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 bc). The other source is the Xiongnu nationality, a non-Han Chinese people. Chinese : variant of Lang. Cambodian: unexplained.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

For the meaning of this name, see: Ur & Rahim.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: from an Arabic personal name, Hashim, the byname of the great-grandfather of the Prophet Muhammad, who provided for pilgrims coming to the Ka’ba (the holy temple) in Mecca each year. Hashim literally means ‘crusher’. Hashim, whose original name was ?Amr, initiated a twice-yearly caravan (trading expedition) to Yemen and the Levant. The story goes that he returned from one such expedition bringing with him bread, which he crushed and distributed, earning him the nickname ‘the crusher’. The Kingdom of Jordan is known as ‘Hashemite’ because its rulers are descended from Hashim.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: adjectival derivative of Karim, meaning ‘relating to Karim’.

Muslim: Arabic family name (?Azizi), a derivative of ?Aziz (see Aziz), denoting a descendant or associate of ?Aziz. Jewish (Sephardic): adoption of the Arabic name.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

occupational name for the holder of any office, from Anglo-Norman French officer (an agent derivative of Old French office ‘duty’, ‘service’, Latin officium ‘service’, ‘task’). occupational name for a sewer of gold embroidery, from Anglo-Norman French orfroiser (an agent derivative of Old French orfrois, Late Latin auriphyrigium ‘Phrygian gold’--the Phrygians being famed in antiquity for their gold embroidery).

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: Arabic family name indicating descent from or association with someone called Ra?hman (see Rahman).

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Indian (Andhra Pradesh); pronounced as two syllables: Hindu name of unknown meaning. English: variant spelling of Ann.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Slavic spelling of German Weiss.

Jewish: ornamental name from Aramaic chamra ‘wine’.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic hanif ‘upright’, ‘true believer’. The Qur’an (3: 67) mentions the Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) as hanif: ‘Ibrahim was not a Jew nor yet a Christian but he was an upright man who had surrendered to Allah accepting Islam.’

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

Arabic and Jewish (Sephardic): variant of Sayed or Saeed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

English, French, and Dutch: nickname for someone with chestnut or auburn hair, from Middle English, Old French bay, bai, Middle Dutch bay ‘reddish brown’ (Latin badius, used originally of horses). English: from the Middle English personal name Baye, Old English Beaga (masculine) or Beage (feminine). Scottish: reduced form of McBeth. German: from the Germanic personal name Baio. The name is also found in Denmark and Norway, where it may be a short form of German Bayer or from baygh, originally a loan word from French denoting a type of fabric.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

For the meaning of this name, see: Ala, Ud & Din.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

The meaning of this surname is not listed.

English: from Middle English bakke ‘back’ (Old English bæc), hence a nickname for someone with a hunched back or some other noticeable peculiarity of the back or spine, or a topographic name for someone who lived on a hill or ridge, or at the rear of a settlement. English: from the Old English personal name Bacca, which was still in use in the 12th century. It is of uncertain origin, but may have been a byname in the same sense as 1. English: nickname from Middle English bakke ‘bat’ (apparently of Scandinavian origin), from some fancied resemblance to the animal. Altered spelling of Bach 1, 2, or 6. North German: from Middle Low German back ‘kneading trough’, hence a metonymic occupational name for someone who made or used such vessels. Americanized spelling of Norwegian Bakk(e) (see Bakke).

French (Alsace), German, Czech, and Polish: from a vernacular pet form of the Latin personal name Bartolomaeus (see Bartholomew). Americanized spelling of Norwegian Bakka, a variant of Bakke.

Panji is a surname of the Mambwe tribe, meaning: thanksgiving.

Muslim: status name or honorific title from Arabic khalifah ‘successor’, ‘regent’, ‘viceroy’, in English often transliterated as caliph. This was the title adopted after the death of Muhammad in 632 by his successor Abu-Bakr. The caliphs ruled in Bahgdad until 1258, then in Egypt until the Ottoman conquest (1517). The title was then held by the Ottoman sultans in Istanbul until it was abolished by Kamal Atatürk in 1924.

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Muslim (frequent in Pakistan): from a personal name based on Persian nawaz ‘one who caresses, cherishes, or soothes’. Thus, ?Ali Nawaz means ‘cherished by Ali’.

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In Arabic, Mohad means 'the wide expanse of land'. It also means a 'baby cradle' or the 'origin place'.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic rafiq ‘intimate friend’, ‘companion’ (see the Qur’an 4:69). The name is used in combinations such as Rafiq ul-Islam ‘friend of Islam’.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic abid ‘worshiper’. Abid is also found as a component of compound names referring to one of the attributes of Allah, for example Abidur-Ra?hman ‘worshiper of the Most Gracious’.

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For the meaning of this name, see: Ud & Din.

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Iranian: variant of Iskandar.

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Indian (Andhra Pradesh): Hindu name from Sanskrit kala with several meanings, including ‘art’, ‘skill’, and ‘a part of division of something’. Indian (Panjab): Hindu (Brahman) name of unknown origin. Indian (Kashmir): variant of Kalla. Polish: see Kalis.

Greek, Spanish (Elías), Catalan, Portuguese, English, Welsh, French (Élias), German, Dutch, Hungarian (Éliás), Czech (Eliáš), and Jewish: from a medieval personal name, the New Testament Greek form of Hebrew Eliyahu ‘Jehovah is God’ (Anglicized as Elijah in the Old Testament of the King James Bible). This name was borne by a Biblical prophet, but its popularity among Christians in the Middle Ages was a result of its adoption by various early saints, including a 7th-century bishop of Syracuse and a 9th-century Spanish martyr.

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Indian (Panjab): Sikh name based on the name of a Jat tribe.

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Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic shakir ‘grateful’, ‘thankful’. Al-Shakir (Ash-Shakir) ‘the All-Thankful’ is an attribute of Allah (see the Qur’an 2:158).

Muslim: variant of Siddiqi.

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Irish: variant spelling of Mullen.

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English: variant of Shear 1. Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): variant spelling of Scher.

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Muslim: Arabic surname indicating descent from Hashim, great-grandfather of the Prophet Muhammad.

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German (also Lüdin): from a pet form of the personal name Ludwig.

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Muslim: variant of Noori.

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Muslim: from an adjective meaning ‘associated with or descended from Akbar’.

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Muslim: from an Arabic personal name, Idris. Idris is mentioned in the Qur’an as a prophet, and many legends are related of him in Arabic folklore and literature. Linguistically, his name corresponds to Hebrew Ezra, Greek Esdras, but the Muslim figure is not the same person as the Biblical prophet of this name. Some legends about him correspond more nearly to those about the Biblical Enoch. Idris ibn-Abdullah (died 793) was founder of the Idrisid dynasty which ruled Morocco from 789–926 ad.

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Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic mahdi ‘guided’. This was the name of the twelfth Shiite imam, who disappeared in mysterious circumstances in 939, giving rise to a belief that he will return and unite Muslims under his leadership, triumphing over injustice.

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Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic sami? ‘hearing’, ‘listening’, or on sami ‘august’. As-Sami? ‘the All-Hearing’ is an attribute of Allah. It is found in combinations such as ?Abd al-Sami? (Abdus-Sami) ‘servant of the All-Hearing’. Indian: variant of Swamy.

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habitational name from a place in Sicily called Asta. perhaps also from a medieval byname, either a short form of Astancollo (from asta in collo ‘lance in neck’), or directly from asta ‘lance’.

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Muslim: from the Arabic adjectival form of ?a?zim ‘mighty’, ‘magnificent’, ‘glorious’.

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Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic matin ‘strong’, ‘powerful’. Al-Matin ‘the Almighty’ is an attribute of Allah, and this name is found in combinations such as ?Abd-ul Matin ‘servant of the Almighty’.

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Japanese: variously written, sometimes with characters used phonetically. It can mean ‘morning’, but the most likely meaning is ‘hemp’, making it a topographic or occupational name. Both forms are found mostly in Amami, one of the Ryukyu Islands. Hungarian: from Assa, a pet form of the ecclesiastical personal name Asbót (see Oswald).

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German: from a reduced form of the personal name Rudolf.

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Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic wahhab ‘giver’. Al-Wahhab ‘the All-Giver’ is one of the names of Allah (Qur’an 38:35). As a personal name, this is usually found in compounds such as ?Abd al-Wahhab ‘servant of the All-Giver’. Mu?hammad ibn ?Abd al-Wahhab (1703–87) was the founder of the Wahhabi movement for the purification of Islam.

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Southern Italian (Samá): from the Biblical personal name. Catalan (Samà): habitational name from Samà, a place in Catalonia. Asturian-Leonese: in some cases, a habitational name from any of various places in Asturies named Sama. Indian (Gujarat): Hindu (Rajput) name of unknown meaning. The Samas are believed to be an offshoot of the Jadeja tribe. Japanese (not common in Japan): variously written, the name appears to be topographic, deriving from the word semai ‘narrow’.

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Arabic and Iranian: from an adjectival derivative of Hakim.

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German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Kamen. German: topographic name for someone who lived at a house with a stove, Middle High German kamin, kemin ‘chimney’, ‘fireplace’, ‘stove’ (Latin caminus). German: probably a metonymic occupational name for a spice dealer, from Middle Low German kamin ‘caraway’.

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Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic haidar ‘lion’. This was an epithet of ?Ali ibn Abi ?Talib, fourth of the ‘rightly guided’ khalifs (ruled 656–61), the first imam of the Shiite Muslims.

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Swedish: ornamental surname from gran ‘Norway spruce’, adopted in the 19th century. This belongs to the large class of ornamental surnames taken from natural features of the landscape. German: habitational name from Gran in Hungary. German (Grän): variant of Grein.

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Polish: from a derivative of Gula.

Muslim: from an Arabic surname, ?Hamidi, indicating descent from or association with someone called Hamid.

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Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic ?hadi ‘leader’, ‘guide’. Al-?Hadi ‘the Guide’ is one of the names of Allah. It is also a title of ?Ali ibn Muhammad Naqi, tenth imam of the Shiites (died 868).

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Indian (Goa): Hindu (Brahman) name, from Sanskrit pati ‘lord’. It is found among the Konkani-speaking Saraswat Brahmans, who were originally from Goa but are now found in larger numbers in coastal Karnataka. Korean: variant of Pae.

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Jewish (Ashkenazic): from the Yiddish male personal name Ber (see Baer). Variant spelling of German Bahr or Baer. Polish and Czech: from a short form of the personal name Bartolomaeus (Polish Bartlomiej, Czech Bartolomej; see Bartholomew). Hungarian (Bár): from the old secular personal name Bár.

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Muslim: status name for a judge, from a Persian form of Arabic qa?di.

Indian: Hindu name found in several communities meaning ‘chief’, ‘leader’, from Sanskrit nayaka.

North German: from Middle Low German bar(e) ‘bear’, hence a nickname for someone thought to resemble the animal, a metonymic occupational name for someone who kept a performing bear, or a habitational name for someone who lived at a house distinguished by the sign of a bear. In some cases, it may derive from a personal name containing this element.

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Dutch or German: variant of Ater. Filipino: unexplained.

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For the meaning of this name, see: Lal, Ud & Din.

Muslim: Arabic family name meaning ‘descended from or associated with Amin’ (see Amin).

Muslim: from a derivative of Murad.

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English and French: from an Old Norse personal name, Farmaðr, denoting a seafarer or traveling merchant. English: occupational name for a peddler or itinerant merchant, Middle English far(e)man, from an Old Norse word meaning ‘traveling man’ (see 1). Muslim: from the Arabic personal name based on faraman ‘command’, ‘order’, ‘decree’. It is also found in compound names such as Faraman-ullah ‘order of Allah’.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname for someone with white hair or a remarkably pale complexion, from Middle High German wiz ‘white’, German weiss. German: variant of Weis. German: habitational name from any of various places named Weis(s) or Weissen. German: from a short form of a Germanic personal name formed with wig ‘battle’ or widu ‘wood’ as the first element.

Bashi is a surname of the Bemba tribe, meaning: prefix meaning father of-.

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Jewish (from Belarus): habitational name from the village of Zhary in Belarus + the eastern Slavic possessive suffix -in.

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For the meaning of this name, see: Rahm & E.

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