Category Archives: Amazigh Names

Nabil

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Gender: Masculine
Origin: Arabic نبيل
Meaning: “noble”
(NAH-BEEL)

The name comes from the Arabic meaning, “noble”, and is popular among Christians, Muslims and even Baha’i.

It was borne by a an early Christian saint and martyr, a king of Mauretania, who was martyred under his brother Gildon, who took the side of the Pagan Romans.

It was also borne by Nabíl-i-Akbar (1829-1892), one of the 19 Apostles of Bahá’u’lláh and the Great Nabíl (1831–1892), a renowned Bahai historian.

As of 2009, Nabil was the 399th most popular male name in France.

A Berber form is Navil and a feminine form is Nabila.

Badis

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Gender: Masculine
Origin: Berber
Meaning: unknown
(BAH-dees)

The name is a Berber name of ancient origins but of uncertain meaning. This was the original name of the Spanish island of Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, which lies off the coast of Morocco.

The name was borne by a few Amazigh kings, the most notable being, Badis the Hammadit.

As of 2009, Badis was the 443rd most popular male name in France.

Said

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Gender: Masculine
Origin: Arabic سعيد
Meaning: “happy.”
(sah-EED)

The name comes directly from the Arabic meaning, “happy.”

As of 2009, Said was the 459th most popular male name in France.

Other forms of the name include:

  • Said سعيد Саид (Albanian/Arabic/Azeri/Bosnian/Bulgarian/Chechen/Circassian/Dagestani/Egyptian/Indonesian/Iranian/Javanese/Kazakh/Kyrgyz/Lebanese/Ossetian/Pashtun/Syrian/Tatar/Turkmen/Uzbek)
  • Saïd (Algerian/Moroccan/Tunisian)
  • Sead (Bosnian)
  • Sejad (Bosnian)
  • Sait (Kurdish/Turkish)
The feminine form is Saida.
 

Idris

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Gender: Masculine
Origin: Arabic إدريس‎ or Welsh
Welsh Meaning: “ardent lord.”
Arabic Meaning: uncertain

Idris is of two different origins and is used in two separate cultures. In Welsh, it is composed of the elements, udd (lord; prince) and ris (ardent, enthusiastic.” In Welsh mythology it was borne by a giant who used the mountain peak of Cadair Idris (Seat of Idris) as an observatory. Legends claims that if you spend one night on the mountain peak you wake up either as a madmen or as a great poet. The name was also borne by a 7th-century Welsh prince, Idris ap Gwyddno.

In the Qu’ran, the name is borne by a prophet, traditionally ascribed to being the same as the Biblical prophet Enoch. Many modern Islamic scholars now believe that Idris was a separate person from Enoch. In this case, the name is believed to be of pre-Islamic and possibly of non-Arabic roots of undeterminate etymology, some, however have connected the name with the Arabic root d-r-s, meaning, “study.”

As of 2009, Idris was the 479th most popular male name in France. In France it is used both among the Bretons and among recent Muslim immigrants.

Other forms of the Arabic include:

  • Idris إدريس‎) Идрис (Albanian/Arabic/Baloch/Bosnian/Bulgarian/Circassian/Dagestani/Ethiopian/Indonesian/Javanese/Malaysian)
  • İdris (Azeri/Turkish)
  • Idriss (Chadian)
  • Driss (Berber/Maghrebi Arabic)
  • Ydyrys Ыдырыс (Chechen/Kazakh/Kyrgyz/Tajik/Tatar/Turkmen/Uzbek)
  • Idrîs (Kurdish)
  • Idriis (Somali)
  • Idrissa (West African)

Lana

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The name appears in various languages. It could be from the Arabic meaning, “tender.”

In Russia and the Ukraine, it is used as a short form of Svetlana and Ruslana.

In South Eastern Europe this short form has carried over as a popular independent given name. As of 2009, Lana was the most popular female name in Croatia. Her rankings in other countries are as follows:

  • # 2 (Slovenia, 2010)
  • # 19 (Bosnia & Herzegovina, 2010)
  • # 52 (France, 2009)
  • # 90 (Belgium, 2009)
  • # 169 (Netherlands, 2010)
  • # 480 (United States, 2010)
It is the name of a river in Albania and this fact may also be the inspiration behind the name’s popularity in South Eastern Europe.

Lana can also be Hawaiian, meaning, “floating; calm; still as water.” It has even been linked with the Spanish word for wool.

In the United States, it was brought to attention via actress, Lana Turner (1921-1995).

Faris

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Gender: Masculine
Origin: Arabic فارس
Meaning: “knight.”

The name comes directly from the Arabic word  فارس (faris) meaning, “knight.”

As of 2018, Faris was the 24th Most Popular Male Name in Bosnia & Herzegovina. It peaked at #8 in 2010.

Its Maghrebi form of Farès appeared in the French Top 500, coming in as the 469th most popular male name in France (2018).

Ammar

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Gender: Masculine
Origin: Arabic  عمّار
Meaning: “pious; virtuous.”

The name is from the Arabic meaning, “pious; virtuous.”

It was borne by Ammar ibn Yasir al-Ansi, a desciple of the Prophet Mohammed.

As of 2010, its Bosnian form of Amar was the most popular male name in Bosnia & Herzegovina. His rankings in other countries are as follows:

  • # 10 (Iraq, 2007)
  • # 10 (United Arab Emirates)
  • # 45 (Amer, Bosnia & Herzegovina, 2010)
  • # 80 (Ammar, Bosnia & Herzegovia, 2010)

Other forms of the name include:

  • Amar (Bosnian)
  • Əmmar (Azeri)
  • Gammer Гаммәр (Tatar)
The name is used throughout the Islamic world.
A Bosnian feminine form is Amera.

Tariq

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Gender: Masculine
Origin: Arabic طارق
Meaning: “morning star; messenger; the knocking one; traveller, path finder.”
طارق

The name is of Arabic origins and can have several different interpretations, one is that it is from the Arabic verb ṭaraqa meaning “to knock” or “to pound.” In this case, the name would take on the meaning of “messenger” or “bringer of news.”

In the Qu’ran, the morning star is named ṭāriq and is described as something that shines and leads the way and in this case, the name can take on the meaning of “someone who leads the way” “traveller” or “pathfinder.”

As of 2010, Tarik was the 2nd most popular male name in Bosnia & Herzegovina, while Tareq is the 8th most popular male name in Libya.

The name was most notably borne by Tariq ibn Ziyad, the Islamic general who helped conquer Spain in the 8th-century.

The name is used by both Muslim and Christian Arabs.

Other forms of the name include:

  • Tarik (Albanian/Bosnian)
  • Tarak/Tarek (Algerian/Lebanese/Moroccan/Tunisian: these are usually the way the name is transcribed in French and hence is most often used in the Francophone world)
  • Tarık (Azeri/Kurdish/Turkish)

The name is also transliterated as Tareq and Tareeq.

Saira

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Gender: Feminine
Origin: Arabic
Meaning: “traveler.”
(SYE-rah)

The name comes from the Arabic meaning, “traveler.”

This was the Muslim name of Scottish-Afghan writer, Saira Shah, (neé Elizabeth Louise Mackenzie 1900-1960), sometimes writing under the pseudonym of Morag Murray Abdullah. It is also borne by her grand-daughter, the author, reporter and documentary film-maker, Saira Shah (b.1964). It is also borne by Canadian fashion model, Saira Mohan (b.1978)

Its Bosnian form of Sajra is currently the 14th most popular female name in Bosnia & Herzegovina, (2010).

A Turkish and Azeri form is Saire.

Leila, Layla

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Gender: Feminine
Origin: Arabic לילה‎ ليلى
Meaning: “night.”
(LAY-la)

The name is derived from the Arabic and has a variety of different meanings depending on its spelling, the most popular etymology is that it is from a Semitic root, l-y-l, meaning, “night” and shares the same etymology as the name Lilith.

The name has always been popular in the Middle East and is found in the 7th-century romantic poem, Qays & Layla also known as Layla & Majnun (written by Persian poet, Nizami Ganjavi). The legend trickled down to throughout the Middle East, Near East, Central Asia and South Eastern Europe, making the name a long time classic in all those regions.

It was introduced into the English-speaking world via Lord Byron in which the name appears in two of his works, The Gaiour (1813) and Don Juan (1819). It was further popularized in the 1970s when the name was the subject of two songs, one being the famous Eric Clapton song and the other being “Layla” by Derek and the Dominos.

Her Bosnian form of Lejla is the 7th most popular female name in Bosnia & Herzegovina, (2010). Her rankings in other countries are as follows:

  • # 3 (Leyla, Azerbaijan, 2010)
  • # 36 (Layla, Australia, 2010)
  • # 37 (Layla, United States, 2010)
  • # 44 (Layla, England/Wales, 2010)
  • # 50 (Layla, Ireland, 2010)
  • # 50 (Layla, Scotland, 2010)
  • # 71 (Leila, Hungary, 2010)
  • # 76 (Layla, Canada, BC, 2010)
  • # 95 (Laila, England/Wales, 2010)
  • # 138 (Laila, United States, 2010)
  • # 143 (Leila, France, 2009)
  • # 204 (Leila, United States, 2010)
  • # 304 (Layla, Netherlands, 2010)
  • # 478 (Laila, Netherlands, 2010)
  • # 747 (Leyla, United States, 2010)

The name is also common in Iran, Israel, the Balkans and in the Turkic world.

In the Middle East, the name was popularized by a 7th-century poet by the name of Qays, whose lady love was named Layla. His story became a popular Medieval Arabic romance.

Other forms of the name include:

  • Lejla Лейла (Albanian/Bosnian/Dagestani/Kazakh/Maltese/Tatar)
  • Laïla (Algerian/Moroccan/Tunisian)
  • Leïla (Algerian/Moroccan/Tunisian)
  • Leyli Լեյլի (Armenian)
  • Leyla (Azeri/English/Kurdish/Turkish)
  • Lajla Лайла (Chechen)
  • Leila ლეილა (Circassian/English/Ethiopian/French/Georgian/Hungarian)
  • Laila (Dutch/English/Estonian/Finnish/Hindi/German/Latvian/Scandinavian/Urdu)
  • Layla (English/Italian/Uzbek)
  • Lejli Лейли (Kazakh)
  • Ljajlim Ляйлим (Kazakh)
Laila can also be a Sami form of Helga.