Sample Names

A number of sample isms, laqabs, and nisbas are given here. Other Muslim names may be found both in this book and in many history books about the Middle East.

Men: 'Abd Allah, 'Abd al-Rahman, Ahmad, 'Ali, Asad, Ayyub, Bakr, Badar, Dawud, Dirgham, Fadl, Ghassan, Ghazi, Harith, Harun, al-Hasan, al-Husayn, Ibrahim, 'Isa, Ishaq, Isma'il, Ja'far, Jamil, Kathir, Khalid, Khalil, Labid, Mahmud, Muhammad, Nu'man, Qasim, Rashid, Ridwan, Salih, Salim, Shibl, Sulayman, Tahir, Tamim, Tariq, Thabit, 'Umar, Usama, 'Uthman, Wahhab, Yahya, Yusuf, Zayd, Zibyan, Zubayr.

Women: 'A'isha, Amina, Anisa, Bilqis, Busra, Dhakira, Duba'a, Dujaja, Durra, Fadila, Fatima, Ghazala, Ghaytha, Habiba, Hajir, Hakima, Hind, Jamila, Jumana, Kabira, Kabsha, Khadija, Khalila, Layla, Lubaba, Maryam, Maymuna, Nasiba, Nawal, Nawar, Qamra', Rabi'a, Rahima, Sa'da, Safiyya, Salma, al-Shafa', Shayma', Sumayta, Taliha, Tarifa, Tayma, Thubayta, 'Unayza, Walida, Yasira, Yasmina, Zahira, Zahra, Zaynab.

Men: Alborz, Arash, Arastoo, Ardashir, Babak, Bahadur, Bahman, Bahram, Baraz, Behnam, Behram, Behruz, Dariush, Daryush, Delshad, Ebrahim, Esmail, Faridoon, Firdaus, Firuz, Gulzar, Heydar, Jahan, Jahangir, Jamshad, Javaid, Khodadad, Khorshid, Khwaja, Kianoush, Massoud, Mehrdad, Mirza, Navid, Omid, Papak, Parvaiz, Payam, Rashne, Roshan, Rustam, Shahin, Shahjahan, Shahpur, Shahriar, Shahrivar, Shahriyar, Shahrokh, Shahzad, Sher, Siavush, Sohrab, Urvakhsha, Zhubin

Women: Arzu, Atefeh, Azar, Bahar, Banu, Elaheh, Firuza, Ghoncheh, Gul, Gulbahar, Gulistan, Jaleh, Laleh, Mahin, Mahine, Mahtab, Mahvash, Minoo, Minu, Mojgan, Morvarid, Naheed, Nahid, Nasrin, Nilofer, Nousha, Paniz, Parastu, Pari, Parisa, Parvana, Parvin, Roshanak, Roshanara, Roshni, Sahar, Sanaz, Shabnam, Shahnaz, Shahrazad, Shideh, Shirin, Shohreh, Shokufeh, Simin, Tahirih, Yasamin, Zareen, Ziba

Men: Adem, Ahmed, Ahmet, Alp, Altan, Asil, Aslan, Aydin, Bariş, Berk, Berkant, Berker, Bulut, Bünyamin, Burak, Çağatay, Can, Coskun, Direnç, Ediz, Emin, Emir, Emre, Ender, Engin, Erdem, Eren, Erol, Firat, Göker, Hakan, Hikmet, İbrahim, İlhami, İlker, İlkin, Kadri, Koray, Kudret, Levent, Mehmed, Mehmet, Metin, Muhammet, Murat, Musa, Ömer, Onur, Osman, Ozan, Özgür, Savas, Selim, Serhan, Serhat, Serkan, Soner, Temel, Tolga, Tunç, Turgay, Ufuk, Umut, Volkan, Yakup, Yavuz, Zeki

Women: Asli, Aygül, Aylin, Ayşe, Aysel, Aysu, Aysun, Basak, Belgin, Berna, Bilge, Burcu, Canan, Ceren, Deniz, Derya, Dilara, Dilek, Ebru, Ece, Eda, Ekin, Elif, Elmas, Emel, Emine, Esen, Esin, Fidan, Filiz, Gizem, Gonca, Gözde, Gül, Gülay, Gülbahar, Gülistan, Hande, Havva, Hazan, Ipek, Irmak, Kelebek, Kiraz, Meryem, Müge, Nergis, Nesrin, Nilüfer, Nuray, Özge, Özlem, Pembe, Pinar, Şebnem, Sevda, Sevgi, Simge, Tülay, Tutku, Yağmur, Yeter, Yildiz, Yonca, Zeynep

Given their predominance in government, laqabs are most commonly used by men.

Men: 'Imad al-Din (Support of the Faith), 'Izz al-Din (Power of the Faith), Nur al-Din (Light of the Faith), Salah al-Din (Righteousness of the Faith), Sharaf al-Din (Honor of the Faith), Baha' al-Dawla (Beauty of the State), Majd al-Dawla (Glory of the State), Nasir al-Dawla (Aid of the State), Sayf al-Dawla (Sword of the State), Shams al-Dawla (Sun of the State),

Nizam al-Mulk (Order of the Kingdom), Fakhr al-Mulk (Pride of the Kingdom), Taj al-Muluk (Crown of Kings), al-Malik al-'Adil (the Just King), al-Malik al-Afdal (the Most Excellent King), al-Malik al-Kamil (the Perfect King), al-Malik al-Nasir (the King who Aids), al-Malik al-Salih (the Righteous King).

Women: Walidat Khalil (Mother of Khalil — used by the Mamluk sultana Shajar al-Durr (r. 1250), indicating her being mother to the son of al-Salih II Ayyub), Radiyyat al-Din (Approval of the Faith).

Men: al-Kufi (of Kufa), al-Makki (of Mecca), al-Isfahani (of Isfahan), al-Farisi (of Persia), al-Khwarizmi (of Khwarizm), al-Kalbi (of the tribe of Kalb), al-Khazraji (of the tribe of Khazraj), al-Qaysi (of the tribe of Qays), al-Shaybani (of the tribe of Shayban), al-Ayyubi (of the family of Ayyub), al-Kutubi (the bookseller), al-Qalanisi (the hat-maker), al-Suyufi (the swordmaker), al-Shafi'i (follower of the Shafi'i school of law), al-Mutanabbi (claiming to be a prophet).

Women: Women's nisbas appear in the masculine or feminine forms in historical sources, depending on whether the author regards them as being part of the woman's name or the patrilineal genealogy. Generally if the kunya is placed after the nasabs, the nisbas will be in the feminine. The feminine forms of the earlier nisbas are: al-Kufiyya, al-Makkiyya, al-Isfahaniyya, al-Farisiyya, al-Khwarizmiyya, al-Kalbiyya, al-Khazrajiyya, al-Qaysiyya, al-Shaybaniyya, al-Ayyubiyya, al-Kutubiyya, al-Qalanisiyya, al-Suyufiyya, al-Shafi'iyya, al-Mutanabbiyya.