1000 Most Common Last Names in Lebanon

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.’

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).

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 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 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’.

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.

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: variant spelling of Ahmad.

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: variant of Musa (Moses).

Muslim: variant spelling of Younes.

Muslim: see Youssef.

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’).

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.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic far?hat ‘joys’, plural of Arabic fara?h ‘happiness’, ‘joy’ (see Farah), or from Persian faerhaet ‘grandeur’, ‘splendor’, ‘status’. In Persian literature, Farhad is the name of a stonemason who rivals King Khusrau for the love of the Armenian princess Shirin.

Muslim: variant spelling of Abboud.

Arabic and Jewish (Sephardic): occupational name for a blacksmith, Arabic ?haddad.

Arabic: from an ancient Arabic personal name based on the word ?harb ‘war’. The Prophet Muhammad counseled against giving children names such as ?Harb, associated with violence. Nevertheless, the name has survived and flourishes in some places in the Arabic-speaking world. German: of uncertain derivation. Possibly a topographic name for someone living by a swamp, Old High German hor. It is also found in Switzerland, eastern Slovenia, and elsewhere.

Arabic: probably from a personal name based on Arabic dhi’b ‘wolf’.

Muslim: variant spelling of Husain.

Muslim: from Arabic Ayyub, the Arabic form of the Hebrew (Biblical) name Iyob ‘Job’. In the suras he is regarded as a messenger of Allah. This name is borne by Christians (in Lebanon and elsewhere) as well as by Muslims. The spread of the name among Muslims is partly due to the fame of ?Sala?h ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub (Saladin), founder of the Ayyubid dynasty.

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.

Arabic: variant of Salib.

Irish (especially northeastern Ulster): shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó hAnnaigh ‘descendant of Annach’, a byname of uncertain meaning. English: from the medieval female personal name Hannah or Anna, ultimately from Hebrew Chana ‘He (God) has favored me’ (i.e. with a child). The name is borne in the Bible by the mother of Samuel (1 Samuel 1: 1–28), and there is a tradition (unsupported by Biblical evidence) that it was the name of the mother of the Virgin Mary; this St. Anne was a popular figure in medieval art and legend. Scottish: variant of Hannay. German: from a pet form of the personal name Hans.

Muslim: variant of Mattar.

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.

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 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 a personal name based on Arabic jabir ‘comforter’, ‘healer’, ‘bone-setter’. Jabir ibn ?Abdullah was one of the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad. Jabir ibn Hayyan (c. 721–c. 815) is known as the father of Arabic alchemy.

Muslim: from an Arabic personal name, ?Hamdan ‘much praise’, a derivative of Hamid. ?Hamdan was the name of a tribe in Arabia. The Hamdani dynasty ruled al-Jazira and Syria from 905 to 1004.

Muslim and Christian Arabic: from an Arabic personal name asaf, of unknown etymology. This was the name of Suleiman’s grand wazir, whence it came to be used proverbially as a name for any wise counselor. Jewish (Sephardic): either an adoption of the Arabic name or from the Biblical name Asaph, name of a counselor of King David and King Solomon, to whom authorship of twelve of the Psalms is attributed (1 Chronicles 16:4–5; Psalms 50, 73–83).

Muslim: variant spelling of Yasin.

Muslim: see Hashim.

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’.

Muslim: variant of Muhammad. See also Mohammed.

Muslim: probably from a personal name based on Arabic dhi’b ‘wolf’.

Muslim: see Kassem.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic rizq ‘livelihood’, ‘subsistence’ (see the Qur’an 34:15). The combination Rizq Allah means ‘nourishment provided by Allah’.

Iranian: from a personal name based on Persian azer ‘fire’, also denoting the ninth month of Persian solar year. Ethnic name for an Azeri. The Azeri people (so named from Persian azer ‘fire’, because they were originally fire worshipers) are Shiite Muslims who mostly live in Azerbaijan, on the Caspian Sea to the north of Iran.

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’.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic salamah ‘peace’. Salamah ibn ?Amr ibn al-Akwa was one of the ten Companions of the Prophet Muhammad. A related name is Salamah, meaning ‘safety’, ‘security’, or ‘integrity’. This name is found in combinations such as Salamat Allah (Salamatullah) meaning ‘security of Allah’. Jewish (Sephardic): Arabic translation (see 1) of the Hebrew name Shlomoh (see Salomon, Solomon).

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’.

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.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic fara?h ‘joy’, ‘happiness’, ‘delight’.

Turkish: from the Turkish personal name Osman, Turkish form of Arabic ?Uthman. This was the name of the third of the ‘rightly guided’ khalifs (ruled 644–656), one of the ten Companions of the Prophet Muhammad, to whom he gave the good news of entering into paradise. English: variant of Osmond. Dutch: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements ans ‘god’ + man ‘man’. Dutch: occupational name for an ox driver, from os ‘ox’, ‘bullock’ + man ‘man’. German (Osmann): variant of Ossmann (see Ossman). Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): of uncertain origin; perhaps a variant of Oshman or Hausman.

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

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic ra’id ‘model’, ‘leader’, ‘pioneer’. Dutch: metonymic occupational name for an adviser, counselor, or member of a town council, from raad ‘advice’, ‘counsel’.

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.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic faris ‘horseman’, ‘knight’. English: variant spelling of Faires.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic na?sr ‘victory’. Al-Nasr ‘the Victory’ is the title of the 110th sura of the Qur’an.

Italian: patronymic from a short form of the medieval personal name Ademaro, Adimaro, derived from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements adal ‘noble’ + mari, meri ‘famous’. In southern Italy, it is more often from a short form of Amari, or a nickname from amaro, amaru, also maru ‘unlucky’. Italian: patronymic from the personal name Mario. Catalan (Marí): occupational name from marí ‘mariner’ or nickname for someone who lived by the sea. Hungarian: from the personal name Mári, a pet form of Márton (see Martin) or Márkus (see Mark), or of the female name Mária (see Maria).

Muslim: probably a variant of Saba. However, there is an Arabic word ?sa?b ‘difficult’, which may be the basis of a personal name.

Arabic: from a personal name based on kan?an ‘beauty’, or from a personal name bestowed with reference to the land of Canaan in the Bible.

Arabic: from a personal name based on Arabic na?s?sar ‘granter of victory’.

Muslim: variant of Salaam, found especially in North Africa and other areas of former French influence.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic shahadah ‘testimony’, ‘belief in Islam’. The shahadah is the declaration of faith by Muslims, ‘I testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.’ New converts recite the shahadah when they become Muslims.

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.

Muslim: variant of Mustafa.

Muslim: from Arabic ?abduh ‘his servant’, i.e. ‘his (Allah’s) servant’. ?Abduh is one of the epithets of the Prophet Muhammad.

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.

Arabic (Lebanon and Syria): from Arabic khuri ‘priest’, in particular a Christian priest.

From Anton, a vernacular form of Latin Antonius (see Anthony) in Spanish (Antón), German, Swedish, Czech (Anton or Anton, short forms of Antonín), and several other languages.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic thaman ‘price’, ‘value’.

Arabic (mainly North African): variant of Maloof.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic faya?d ‘generous’.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic wahba ‘gift’, ‘present’.

from a personal name based on ra?hil ‘explorer’, ‘one who udertakes a journey’. alternatively, perhaps, from the female personal name Rahel (Biblical Rachel).

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.

Japanese: ‘seashore rice paddy’; found in the island of Shikoku and in the Ryukyu Islands. Several unrelated families bearing this name descend from the Fujiwara, Taira, Kikuchi, Arakida, and other clans.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic fawaz ‘winner of victories’.

Muslim: variant of Jabbar.

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’.

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.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic fa?dil ‘virtuous’, ‘generous’, ‘excellent’.

Muslim: variant of Mahmood.

Arabic: variant of Girgis.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic faraj ‘remedy (for troubles or grief)’, ‘comfort’.

Muslim: see Daoud.

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.

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.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic yamin ‘right-hand side’ (see the Qur’an 56:38). Jewish (from Belarus): unexplained.

Muslim: from an Arabic personal name ?saba?h meaning ‘morning’. This is a popular name in Kuwait. Southern French: nickname from a variant of Occitan sabe ‘tasty’, ‘flavorsome’. Compare Sabourin.

Muslim: from the Arabic personal name Ya?qub, the name of a Prophet in Islam (the Biblical Jacob). This name is widespread in all Muslim countries.

Muslim: ethnic name for a Bedouin, a member of a nomadic Arab people, from a variant of standard Arabic Badawi.

Arabic: from a French spelling of the Arabic personal name Butros ‘Peter’ (Greek Petros), found among Christians, especially in Egypt.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic ammar ‘virtuous’, ‘pious’.

Southern Italian: from a feminine form of Matto. Slovak: from the personal name Matúš, Slovak form of Matthew. Hindu and Sikh name of unknown meaning, found among people from Sind, Pakistan.

Arabic and Jewish (Sephardic): occupational name from Arabic qa?s?sab ‘butcher’.

German: from the German personal name Stephan, a vernacular form of Latin Stephanus (see Steven).

Muslim: variant, under French influence, of a personal name based on Arabic marwan ‘granite’. It was the name of two Abbasid khalifs, Marwan I ben al-Hakam (ruled 684–5) and Marwan II al-Himar (ruled 744–750). Arabic (Marun): identifying name for a Maronite Christian.

Arabic (Egypt and Syria): probably from a personal name based on the Arabic root b?tr ‘wild’ or ‘proud’. Possibly an altered spelling of French Bitard, from a noun derivative of Middle French bite (from Old Norse biti ‘tooth’), later ‘piece of wood’, ‘tiller’, used as a nickname for a surly man, or possibly an occupational name for a boatman.

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.

Muslim: from an Arabic personal name, ?Hammad ‘much praising’, an intensive form of Hamid.

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.

Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): from the Yiddish male personal name Shaye, a pet form of Ishaye ‘Isaiah’.

Arabic: variant spelling, under French influence, of Tuma, Arabic form of Thomas.

Muslim: from the Arabic personal name Khalaf, literally ‘successor’, which is often used in combination with the father’s or the grandfather’s name. Khalaf bin Ahmad, an amir of the 10th century, was noted as a generous patron of learning.

English: from the personal name Francis (Old French form Franceis, Latin Franciscus, Italian Francisco). This was originally an ethnic name meaning ‘Frank’ and hence ‘Frenchman’. The personal name owed much of its popularity during the Middle Ages to the fame of St. Francis of Assisi (1181–1226), whose baptismal name was actually Giovanni but who was nicknamed Francisco because his father was absent in France at the time of his birth. As an American family name this has absorbed cognates from several other European languages (for forms, see Hanks and Hodges 1988). Jewish (American): an Americanization of one or more like-sounding Jewish surnames, or an adoption of the non-Jewish surname.

from Old Italian relationship name reda ‘heir’. from the feminine form of Redo, a reduced form of Redolfo or a short form of Manfredo, Alfredo, Goffredo, Loffredo, or directly from a reduced feminine form of any of these personal names.

Origin unidentified.

Muslim: probably a variant of Arabic ?A’idah ‘returning visitor’.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic ?zahir ‘knowing’ or ‘clear’, ‘evident’.

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’.

English and Scottish: nickname from Middle English king, Old English cyning ‘king’ (originally merely a tribal leader, from Old English cyn(n) ‘tribe’, ‘race’ + the Germanic suffix -ing). The word was already used as a byname before the Norman Conquest, and the nickname was common in the Middle Ages, being used to refer to someone who conducted himself in a kingly manner, or one who had played the part of a king in a pageant, or one who had won the title in a tournament. In other cases it may actually have referred to someone who served in the king’s household. The American surname has absorbed several European cognates and equivalents with the same meaning, for example German König (see Koenig), Swiss German Küng, French Leroy. It is also found as an Ashkenazic Jewish surname, of ornamental origin. Chinese : variant of Jin 1. Chinese , , , : see Jing.

Muslim: from an Arabic personal name, ?Azzam, meaning ‘very determined’, ‘resolute’.

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’.

Muslim: from the Arabic personal name Zakaria, name of a Prophet (the Biblical Zacharias), a messenger of Allah, father of the Prophet Yahya (the Biblical John the Baptist).

Arabic: occupational name from ghannam ‘shepherd’.

Iranian and Arabic: probably from Arabic baezii ‘foster brother(s)’, unrelated children breast-fed by the same wet nurse.

Muslim: variant of Masood. In this spelling the name is particularly common in North Africa.

English: habitational name from Great Bolas in Shropshire, named in Old English with an unidentified first element (possibly an unattested word bogel meaning ‘bend in a river’) + wæsse ‘land beside a river liable to flood’.

Muslim: probably a variant of Hakim.

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’.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic ghazal ‘gazelle’. Abu ?Hamid al-Ghazali (died 1111) was a famous Muslim sage.

Iranian: from the Persian form of Alexander.

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: variant of Amir. Variant of English Amar.

Italian: from the male personal name Nicola, from Greek Nikolaos (see Nicholas). This was a very common Italian name in the Middle Ages.

Altered spelling of Czech Hájek, a topographic name for someone living by a copse or small wood, hájek.

Muslim: variant of Shakir. English: unexplained.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic kamil ‘perfect’, ‘complete’. Compare Kamal. German, Dutch, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from kamel ‘camel’ (Latin camelus, Greek kamelos; cf. Hebrew gamal). This was a common house sign in central Europe in the later Middle Ages, and the surname generally denoted someone who lived in a house bearing this sign. It may also have been a nickname for an ill-tempered or clumsy person, or as a Jewish name it was probably ornamental.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic ma?hfu?z ‘safeguarded’, ‘well-protected’. This is a popular name throughout the Muslim world.

Altered spelling of Dutch Massaad, a variant of Massart.

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.

Arabic and Jewish (Sephardic): occupational name from Arabic najjar ‘carpenter’.

English: variant spelling of Allum. Muslim: variant spelling of Alam.

Muslim: from an Arabic personal name, ?Hatim, literally ‘decisive’ or ‘determined’. ?Hatim al-Ta?iy (died 605) was a personage living in Arabia immediately before the rise of Islam, famous for his benevolence and hospitality. The name is popular throughout the Muslim world. Dutch: habitational name from a place in Gelderland.

Arabic: from a personal name based on either fakhuri or fakhri, both meaning ‘proud’, ‘associated with a noble cause’.

Arabic: from the personal name ?Antar, a hero of Arabian romantic mythology, originating in Mecca. ?Antar is also the name of a tribal subdivision in Iraq.

Arabic and Jewish (Sephardic): occupational name from Arabic ?sabbagh ‘dyer’.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic ri?dwan ‘satisfaction’, ‘contentment’ (see Qur’an 48:29). Compare Iranian Reza. German (under Slavic influence): nickname for a captivating person, from Old Slavic radovati ‘to please or delight’.

Arabic: occupational name from hajjar ‘stonemason’.

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’.

North African (Muslim): probably from a personal name based on of Arabic ?diya? ‘light’, ‘glow’, ‘illumination’.

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).

Jewish (American): shortened form of Nemerovski or Nemirovski (see Nemeroff).

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.

Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): from Hebrew chazan, an occupational name for a cantor in a synagogue. Ukrainian, Belorussian, and Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): from a Turkish loanword in eastern Slavic languages kazan ‘kettle’, ‘boiler’, ‘furnace’. Greek: reduced form of Kazandzis, occupational name for a maker of cauldrons or for someone who used a cauldron for the distillation of ouzo or raki, from Turkish kazanci ‘cauldron worker’ or ‘furnace worker’, from kazan ‘cauldron’ + the agent noun suffix -ci, or of a patronymic derivative of this, e.g. Kazandzakis, Kazandzoglou.

English: occupational name for a maker of sacks or bags, from an agent derivative of Old English sacc ‘sack’, ‘bag’.

Muslim: see Hamid.

Japanese (Soma): habitational name taken from a village in Shimosa (now part of Chiba prefecture). It is found mostly in eastern Japan. Bearers are of Taira lineage, some being descended from the famous 10th-century rebel Masakado.

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.

English: from a pet form of the female personal name Barbara (see Barbara). Southern French: from a diminutive of Occitan barbari ‘barbarous’, ‘barbarian’. In particular, this word came to denote a Moor or Berber from the Barbary Coast in North Africa, and hence was then applied to a man of swarthy appearance or uncouth habits.

Muslim: variant of Sabir. English: variant of Seaberg. Southern French: nickname for a wise or knowledgeable man, from Occitan saber ‘to know’, which could also have the sense of ‘knowledge’.

Turkish and Greek: from Turkish mala ‘trowel’ (see Mallas) or mal ‘property’, both used metonymically.

Arabic and Jewish (Sephardic): occupational name from Arabic na?h?has ‘coppersmith’.

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).

V. O’Shea.

Norwegian and Swedish (Åker): from åker ‘plowed field’, applied either as an ornamental or a topographic name. Possibly a variant of English, German, and Dutch Acker or of German Eicher.

Arabic: habitational name from Arabic Halabi, adjectival derivative of Halab ‘Aleppo’, a city in Syria.

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’.

German: from a short form of a Germanic personal name formed either with rad, rat ‘advice’, ‘counsel’ or in some cases with hrad ‘quick’. Hungarian (Rádi): habitational name for someone from one of several places called Rád in Hungary. Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic ra?di ‘satisfied’, ‘pleased’ (see the Qur’an 19:6).

Muslim: unexplained.

Southern Italian: from the personal name Elia, Italian equivalent of Elias. Basque: habitational name from Elia, a town in Navarre, Basque Country.

Jewish: from the Biblical name meaning ‘one who cuts down’ in Hebrew. It was borne by an Israelite leader appointed to deliver his people from the Midianites (Judges 6:14).

Muslim: occupational name for a silk merchant, from Arabic ?hariri ‘related to or associated with silk’. Harir is also the name of an ancient region on the right bank of the Euphrates River in Syria. The Arabic scholar and writer Abu Mu?hammad al-Qasim ibn ?Ali al-?Hariri (1054–1152) was born, lived, and died in the city of Basra, in southern Iraq.

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.

English: from a medieval personal name, Latin Constantinus, a derivative of Constans (see Constant). The name was popular in Continental Europe, and to a lesser extent in England, as having been borne by the first Christian ruler of the Roman Empire, Constantine the Great (?280–337), in whose honor Byzantium was renamed Constantinople. In some cases the name may be an Americanized form of one of the many cognates in other languages, in particular Greek Konstantinos. English (of Norman origin): habitational name or regional name for someone from Cotentin (Coutances) in Manche, France (see Constance 2).

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.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic na?sr-ullah ‘victory through Allah’. See the Qur’an (sura 110): ‘With Allah’s help victory comes’.

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

Indian (Panjab): Sikh name derived from the name of a Jat tribe. Muslim: variant of Samara.

Dutch: nickname for a hunchback, from Middle Dutch crom ‘crooked’. Jewish (Ashkenazic): from Yiddish krom ‘shop’, ‘store’, hence a metonymic occupational name for a retailer.

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 (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.

(Munster and Connacht) reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Gráda ‘descendant of Gráda’, a byname meaning ‘noble’ (see O’Grady). reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic Mag Bhrádaigh (see McGrady).

French: habitational name from any of numerous places named Mons. Catalan: topographic name from the plural of mont ‘mountain’.

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.

Italian, Spanish (Milán), and French: habitational name from the Italian city of Milan (see Milano). Spanish (Milán): nickname from milán ‘kite’ (the bird of prey). Czech, Slovak, and Ukrainian: from the Slavic personal name Milan, a derivative of names such as Bohumil and Miloslav, containing the element mil ‘grace’, ‘favor’.

English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian (Dániel), Romanian, and Jewish: from the Hebrew personal name Daniel ‘God is my judge’, borne by a major prophet in the Bible. The major factor influencing the popularity of the personal name (and hence the frequency of the surname) was undoubtedly the dramatic story in the Book of Daniel, recounting the prophet’s steadfast adherence to his religious faith in spite of pressure and persecution from the Mesopotamian kings in whose court he served: Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar (at whose feast Daniel interpreted the mysterious message of doom that appeared on the wall, being thrown to the lions for his pains). The name was also borne by a 2nd-century Christian martyr and by a 9th-century hermit, the legend of whose life was popular among Christians during the Middle Ages; these had a minor additional influence on the adoption of the Christian name. Among Orthodox Christians in Eastern Europe the name was also popular as being that of a 4th-century Persian martyr, who was venerated in the Orthodox Church. Irish: reduced form of McDaniel, which is actually a variant of McDonnell, from the Gaelic form of Irish Donal (equivalent to Scottish Donald), erroneously associated with the Biblical personal name Daniel. See also O’Donnell.

Muslim: from an Arabic personal name, ?Hammad ‘much praising’, an intensive form of Hamid.

Armenian: variant of Keshishian.

Catalan: variant of Ferran. Irish: variant of Farren. English: variant of Farrand. Muslim: variant of Farhan, from a personal name based on Arabic far?han ‘glad’, ‘happy’, an adjectival derivative of fara?h ‘joy’ (see Farah).

English: from the medieval personal name Classe, a short form of Nicholas. See also Clayson. Variant of Klaas or Klass, North German forms of Claus.

German: from the river of this name in central Europe, denoting someone who lived on its banks. German (Öder): variant of Eder. Jewish (Ashkenazic): possibly as in 1, or from a western or northeastern Yiddish pronunciation of adar, the name of a month of the Jewish calendar. This is considered a happy time of year mainly because the festival of Purim is celebrated during this month and because Jewish tradition has it that Moses was born in this month.

English: occupational name for a barber, Anglo-Norman French barber, Old French barbier, from Late Latin barbarius, a derivative of barba ‘beard’. In the Middle Ages barbers not only cut hair and shaved beards, but also practised surgery and pulled teeth. Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name from German Barbier ‘barber’. Catalan: occupational name for a barber, barber (see 1). Americanized form of any of numerous cognates of 1 in different languages, for example Spanish Barbero, Portuguese Barbeiro, French Barbier, Italian Barbieri.

English: nickname denoting someone with very white hair or an exceptionally pale complexion, from Old English snaw ‘snow’. Americanized and shortened form of any of the Jewish ornamental names composed with German Schnee, Schnei, Schneu ‘snow’ as the first element.

Muslim: from the Arabic female personal name Zahra’, feminine of Azhar ‘bright’, ‘brilliant’, ‘radiant’. Zahra’ is an epithet of Fatima, daughter of Muhammad.

Arabic: status name in the Christian community from shammas ‘deacon’, ‘sexton’.

Indian (Gujarat and Bombay): Parsi name based on the Old Persian royal name Darayavahush ‘possessor’ (see Darius). Indian (Panjab): Sikh name of unknown meaning.

Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic zaki ‘pure’, ‘chaste’, ‘sinless’. See the Qur’an 19:19: ‘He said: I am only a Messenger of your Lord, to give you (Mariam) a son most pure’.

Muslim: variant of Salaam.

French: Americanized spelling of Hemard. Hindu name found among people from Sind, Pakistan, derived from a personal name based on Sanskrit amar ‘immortal’. Jewish (Sephardic): ornamental name from ’amr, Levantine or Egyptian form of Arabic qamar ‘moon’, or from an Arabic personal name based on ?amr ’long-lived’.

Arabic: from Arabic qisis ‘priest’ (see Cassis). Jewish (Sephardic): status name (from Arabic qisis ‘priest’), designating a Jewish community leader in North Africa.

Muslim (A?t?tar): occupational name from Arabic a?t?tar ‘perfumer’.

probably from the adjective ?asfur ‘yellow’, ‘saffron-colored’. alternatively, a nickname from Arabic ?usfur ‘sparrow’, ‘small bird’.

Muslim and Jewish (Sephardic): from a personal name or nickname based on Arabic ?tawil ‘tall’.

Muslim and Parsi: ethnic name for an Iranian, from Persian irani ‘of or relating to Iran’. This name is common in Gujarat and Bombay city.

Muslim: probably from a personal name based on Arabic sadat ‘princes’, ‘lords’, plural of sayyid ‘lord’, ‘master’ (see Sayed). This is a title of respect used in particular for descendants of the Prophet Muhammad.

Arabic: from Morqus, Arabic form of the name of the apostle Mark.

Chinese : of uncertain origin, originating in Shaanxi province. It may be a variant of another name from the same region and pronounced the same way (see 4 below, ). Chinese : the origin of this name is closely tied up with that of Zhuang. During the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 bc), many members of the ruling class of the state of Chu adopted as their surname Zhuang, the posthumously given name of a king of Chu. The name Zhuang was kept until the Eastern Han dynasty (25–220), when, to avoid a taboo on having the same name as the ruler (then Liu Zhuang), many people changed their surname from Zhuang to Yan. Chinese : from the ‘style name’ Yan. Yi Fu, a descendant of the grantee of the fief of Zhu (see Zhu 1) during the Zhou dynasty had the ‘style name’ Yan. Descendants adopted his style name as their surname. Chinese : there are two accounts of the origin of this name: one a place named Yan Village and the other Yan Town. Both places existed during the Zhou dynasty (1122–221 bc). Chinese : variant of Zhen. Chinese : from the name of a person called Yan An from the state of Qi during the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 bc). Chinese : variant of Yin 1. Chinese : from the name of a state of Yan that existed during the Zhou dynasty (1122–221 bc). Americanized spelling of Jan.