How Arabic Names Work: A Guide to Ism, Nasab, Laqab, Nisba, and Kunya

In the Arab world, family names are structured differently from Western conventions, typically reflecting a detailed paternal genealogy that forms a “chain.”

This article explains how family names are constructed in Arabic, breaking down the five key components of a full Arabic name: the Ism (first name), Laqab (epithet), Nasab (genealogy), Nisba (indication of origin), and Kunya (honorific name), revealing the rich cultural information they convey.

How names in Arab countries work

Arab names reflect the genealogy on the father’s side. A person’s name consists of his or her first name and his or her “middle name” which is that of the father. For example, Amira Mohamed Ali is a German politician of the party Die Linke (left-wing party) and member of the Bundestag. Mohamed is her father’s name who is from Egypt. Usually, the “middle name” is initiated by اين (ibn/son) or بنت (bint/daughter) plus the father’s name which is grammatically a إِضافة-construction.

This can lead to a very long chain of names. In the full form of a name, often written in legal documents, a person’s name may also indicate the name of the grandfather, great-grandfather, etc. But they are omitted in everyday use.

It is customary to call someone you have just met by their first name. Therefore, Saudis will often address you as Mr. Gerald, etc.

What about the family name? Every family has its family name. This name identifies the extended family whose members consider themselves bound by bonds of kinship and who see the group as their primary source of identification.

Family names can relate to:

• Places: al-Makkawi (from Mecca), Shami (from Syria)
• Jobs: حدّاد (Haddad/blacksmith), نَجّار (Najjarcarpenter);
• Tribes: القحطاني (al-Qahtani/from the قحطان tribe)

A woman’s name does not change after marriage, since she cannot, of course, take over her husband’s genealogy. Names, therefore, may give no indication that two people are husband and wife. Socially, she may be referred to as “the wife of” using her husband’s first name.

Since only the person’s first name is really his or hers, it is the most important name which his used together with a title (e.g. Mr., Doctor, Professor). Strangely, in Egypt, the name of former ruler Muhammad Husnī Mubārak (مُحَمَّد حُسْنِي مُبارَك) was used in the Western media to an extent that the Egyptian people adopted it and spoke of President Mubarak.

Since names reflect only the father’s side, women have masculine names after their first name! The word ابن between ancestral names is especially common in the Arabian Peninsula. But that is not the end of the story.

Muhammad al-Farūq ’Ibn Khālid al-Baghdādīy
(’Abū Karīm)

مُحَمَّد الْفارُوق ابن خالِد الْبَغْدَادِيّ
(أَبُو كَرِيمٍ)

In general, Arabic names consist of five parts which don’t necessarily have to follow a particular order. However, you will often find the following order:

First name: Ism

This could be a traditional Arab name that is found in the Qur’an, a (nice) attribute, a foreign name, or a compound with the most common prefix عَبْد which means servant of and is fol­lowed by one of the 99 names (attributes) of Allah.

If you don’t speak Arabic, the following hints may be useful:

The Laqab

The لَقَبٌ is defined as an epithet, usually a religious, honorific, or descriptive title. The لَقَبٌ can pre­cede the اِسْمٌ and some­times comes to replace it. There are mainly three possibili­ties:

• physical qualities: الطَّوِيلُ – the tall
• virtues: الْفارُوقُ – he who distinguishes truth from false­hood or الرَّاشِدُ – the rightly guided.
• compounds with الدِّين (religion): light of the religion (نُورُ الذَِينِ)

Arabs like to use nicknames. The most common type of nickname is formed by repeating a consonant sound in the person’s name, using a double syllable. Common nicknames include Fifi, Susu, Bobo, Mimi, etc. These are more often used for women and young children, but not always.

The Nasab

Genealogy (family origin): son of… son of… son of…

The نَسَبٌ is the patronymic. It is more or less a list of ancestors, each introduced with son of (اِبْن) or daughter of (بِنْت).

It often relates back to two or three generations. That’s why Ara­bic names can be very long: أُبَىُّ بْنُ عَبَّاسِ بْنِ سَهْلِ بْنِ سَعْدٍ

In this example, ‘Abbās is the father and Sahl the grandfather and Sa‘d the grand-grandfather.

The Nisba

Indication of origin. The Nisba is usu­ally preceded by the definite article الْ.

The نِسْبةٌ is similar to what people in the West may call the sur­name. It is rarely used in Egypt and in Lebanon where the لَقَبٌ incorporates its meaning. A person may have several نِسْبةٌ

It is usually an adjective (نِسْبةٌ) derived from:

• the place of birth, origin: الْبَغْدَادِيُّ (from Bagh­dad);
• the name of a reli­gious sect or tribe or family: التَّمِيمِيُّ (be­longing to the Tamīm tribe);
• a profession: الْعَطّاريُّ (the per­fume vendor);

The Kunya

Honorific name (street name) – to identify a person by his first-born child.

Name under which people call somebody on the street; mostly named after the first child: father of; mother of. For example, a man may be called “Abu Karim” if that is the name of his eldest son. He is called after his eldest daughter only if he has no sons.

The كُنْيةٌ is a honorific name. It is not part of a person’s formal name and is usu­ally not printed in documents. The كُنْيةٌ is very important in Ar­abic culture – even a person who has no child might have a كُنْيةٌ which makes him (or her) symbolically the par­ent of a special qual­ity, such as father of good deeds.

Watch out: In the Arab world, wo­men don’t take their hus­band’s surname when they get married. They keep their names they were given at birth.

Children, how­ever, do take their father’s name which is ex­pressed in the نَسَبٌ: daughter of (name of the father).