Category Archives: Assyrian Names

Nadia

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Gender: Feminine
Origin: Slavonic/Arabic نديّة
Meaning: see below
(NAHD-yah); (NAH-dee-uh)

Nadia has a touch of class, a mysterious vibe and an exotic appeal. Nadia is also very cross-cultural, she has two different origins and meanings and can easily be used in virtually every country in the world.

First, we have Slavic Nadia, a derivative of the Russian Nadezhda, meaning, “hope.” If that meaning isn’t sweet enough for you, then you might like Nadia’s meaning in Arabic, “delicate; tender; moist.” Though its Arabic version is sometimes transliterated as Nadiyya نديّة, its pronounced exactly the same way as its Slavic homonym.

During the Soviet era of Russia, Nadia was used as a neologism, that is one of the hundreds of Russian given names created during the Russian Revolution to celebrate communistic ideas. In this case, Nadia was suppose to be a formation of nad (above) and ia/ija (era).

Nadia has enjoyed popularity outside of the East. It suddenly became vogue in France in the 19th century, possibly due to the Ballet Russe, where it was later francanized to Nadine. In Germany, it is often rendered as Nadja (NAHD-yah). The name is very popular throughout Eastern Europe.

The name is borne by Nadia Comaneci a famous Romanian Olympic gold gymnast.

Currently, Nadja is the 86th most popular female name in Bosnia & Herzegovina. Her Nadia counterpart’s rankings in other countries are as follows:

  • # 22 (Poland, 2010)
  • # 69 (Catalonia, 2010)
  • # 96 (Spain, 2010)
  • # 240 (Netherlands, 2010)
  • # 247 (United States, 2010)
  • # 444 (France, 2009)

Other forms include:

  • Nadia Надя Ναδια Nადია (Albanian/Bulgarian/Dutch/English/Georgian/German/Greek/Lithuanian/Macedonian/Polish/Romanian/Scandinavian/Spanish)
  • Nadiyya (Arabic: variant transcripted form)
  • NadyaՆադյա (Arabic/Armenian/Persian)
  • Nadiye (Azeri/Kurdish/Turkish)
  • Nadja Надя (Bosnian/Chechen/Circassian/Croatian/Estonian/German/Kazakh/Kyrgyz/Latvian/Serbian/Slovene/Russian/Tatar/Turkmen/Ukrainian)
  • Naďa (Czech/Slovak)
  • Nadine (French/English)
  • Nádja (Hungarian)
  • Nadinka (Hungarian)
  • Nadea (Italian: obscure)
  • Nadiana (Italian: obscure)
  • Nadina (Italian)
  • Nádia (Portuguese)
  • Nodja Нодя (Tajik/Uzbek)

Unusual Italian masculine forms are: Naddo/Naddo, Nadio and Nadino.

Designated name-days are: January 17 (Italy), August 1 (Hungary/Spain), August 18 (Poland), September 30/December 18 (German),

Rayan

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Gender: Masculine
Origin: Arabic
Meaning: “door to heaven”
(RAH-yahn)

The name is a franconized form of the Arabic male name, Rayyan, which is found in Hadith 643 as Ar-Rayyan, which is one of the gates of heaven through which only those who have participated in Ramadan will be able to enter on Judgement Day.

As of 2008, he was the 35th most popular male name in Belgium. His rankings in other countries are as follows:

  • # 38 (France, 2009)
  • # 63 (Netherlands, 2010)
  • # 65 (Spain, 2010)
  • # 758 (United States, 2010)

Other forms of the name include:

  • Rajan (Albanian/Chechen/Bosnian/Kazakh/Tatar)
  • Rayyan (Arabic)
Feminine forms include:
  • Rajana (Albanian/Bosnian/Chechen/Kazakh/Tatar)
  • Raja (Kazakh)

Noor

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Gender: Feminine
Origin: Dutch
(NOOR)

The usage of this name is actually somewhat debated. It could be a Dutch short form of Eleanor, or it could be a variant transcription of the Arabic unisex name نور which is derived from the Arabic word for “light.”

Its usage as a male or female name shifts throughout the Islamic world, in the Arabic-speaking world, it tends to be used as a female name, while in the Turkic world, it tends to be used as a masculine name. Its original usage was in reference to the 24th sura of the Qu’ran.

The name is borne by the former Queen Noor of Jordan who was born as Lisa Najeeb Halaby (b.1951). Upon her marriage to King Hussein she took the Islamic name of Noor Al-Hussein (Light of Hussein).

Other notable and interesting bearers include: Noor Inayat Khan (1914-1944) a British British Special Operations Executive agent and heroin of WWII.

It was also borne by a Mughal Empress, Nur Jahan (1577-1645)

Nur is often used more as a name element in many Kazakh, Tatar and Uzbek given names, both male and female depending on the second element of the name.

Feminine offshoots of its Arabic version include:

  • Nour (Algerian/Moroccan/Tunisian)
  • Nuriya (Amharic)
  • Nura نورة (Arabic/Azeri)
  • Nur Нур (Chechen/Tatar)
  • Nuret Нурет (Circassian)
  • Nuraj Нурай (Kazakh. NOO-rye)
  • Nurija Нурія (Kazakh. NOO-ree-yah)
  • Nursha Нурша (Kazakh: NOOR-shah)
  • Nura Нурa (Tatar)
  • Nuru (Swahili)

Male forms

  • Nur (Afghan/Amharic/Kyrgyz/Ughur/Urdu/Turkish)
  • Nuri (Amharic)
  • Nuru (Amharic/Azeri)
  • Nuro (Kurdish)
Noor is also the name of a river in Belgium.
As of 2008, Noor was the 15th most popular female name in Belgium and the 31st most popular in the Netherlands, (2010).

Sumayya

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Gender: Feminine
Origin: Arabic  سميّة Сумаыя
Meaning: “high above.”
(soo-MAY-yah)

The name was borne by Sumayya bint Khayyat (died 615 C.E.) an early convert to Islam and also considered the first Muslim Martyr.

As of 2009, Sumayya was the most popular female name in Tajikistan.

Other forms of the name include:

  • Sumejja (Albanian/Bosnian)
  • Soumaia (Algerian/Moroccan)
  • Sumayyah (Indonesian/Malaysian)
  • Sümeyye (Turkish)

Anahita

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Gender: Feminine
Origin: Persian
Meaning: “immaculate.”

The name is composed of the Avestan elements, a (not) and ahit (unclean).

It was borne in Persian and Armenian mythology by a fertility goddess associated with water, wisdom and healing.

The name’s usage has survived both Christianity and Islam, being a popular name throughout the Near East and Central Asia.

As of 2009, its Tajik variant of Anohito was the 5th most popular female name in Tajikistan, (2009).

Other forms of the name include:

  • Anahid/Anahit Անահիդ (Armenian/Azeri)
  • Anahita (Assyrian/Lebanese/Persian/Syrian)
  • Anais (Azeri)
  • Anaitis (Greek)
  • Anahîta (Kurdish)
  • Nahid  ناهید (Persian)
  • Anohito Анохито (Tajik/Uzbek)
  • Noxid Ноҳид (Tajik)

  • Onoxito Оноҳито (Tajik)

Islam

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Gender: Masculine
Origin: Arabic
Meaning: “voluntary submission to God.”
(IS-lahm)

The name comes from the Arabic verbal noun meaning, “obedience, subjugation of someone or something, or the voluntary submissal to the Almighty.”

The name is technically unisex, but is more often used for males throughout the Islamic world.

As of 2010, Islam was the 14th most popular male name in Kazakhstan, (2010).

It is borne by the current president of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov (b.1938).

Amir

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Gender: Masculine
Origin: Arabic أمير Амир
Meaning: “prince; commander”
(uh-MEER)
The name is derived from the Arabic word for a prince, ruler, commander or admiral. In the Islamic world, it is used as an honorific title of nobility, office or someone of high eminence. The word itself is derived from the Arabic root amr meaning, “to command.”
The early Islamic caliphs used the title Amir al-Muninin meaning, “Commander of the Faithful”, a reference of their leadership over the adherants of the Islamic faith.
The title was assumed by other Islamic rulers, including sheiks and sultans throughout Central Asia all the way into Saudi Arabic.
The leader of a group of pilgrims to Mecca is often referred to as an amir.
It is used as a given name throughout the Islamic world.
As of 2010, Amir was the 20th most popular male name in Kazakhstan, (2010). His rankings in other other countries are as follows:
  • # 13 (Emir, Bosnia & Herzegovina, 2010)
  • # 28 (Emir, Turkey, 2010)
  • # 66 (Bosnia & Herzegovina, 2010)
  • # 155 (the Netherlands, 2010)
  • # 221 (France, 2009)
  • # 278 (United States, 2010)
Other forms of the name include:
  • Emir (Albanian/Bosnian/Turkish)
  • Əmir (Azeri)
  • Amirs (Latvian)
Feminine forms include, Emira (Albanian/Bosnian/Turkish) and Amira.
Amir can also be a Hebrew male אָמִיר name meaning, “tree top.”

Medina

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Gender: Feminine
Origin: Arabic
Meaning: “city.”
(meh-DEE-nah)

The name comes from the name of a city in Saudi Arabia known fully as  المدينة المنورة‎, al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah, “the radiant city.”

It is considered the second holiest city in Islam and is the burial place of the Islamic prophet Mohammed. As a result, the name has been used as a feminine name throughout the Islamic world.

Currently, Madinah (Kazakh) is the 7th most popular female name in Kazakhstan, (2010) while Medina is the 17th most popular in Turkey (2010) and Medina is the 42nd most popular in Bosnia & Herzegovina, (2010).

Other forms of the name include:

  • Medina (Albanian/Bosnian)
  • Madinah Мадинах (Arabic/Kazakh/Indonesian/Iranian/Javanese/Urdu)
  • Mədinə Мәдинә (Azeri/Kyrgyz/Tatar/Tajik/Turkmen)
  • Madina Мадина (Chechen)
  • Medîne (Kurdish)
  • Medine Медине (Turkish/Uzbek)

Sabina

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Gender: Feminine
Origin: Latin Сабина
Meaning: “Sabine.”
Eng (suh-BEE-nah; suh-BYE-nah).

The name comes from a Roman cognomen, Sabinus, which was usually carried by people of Sabine origins. The Sabines were an ancient Italic people who lived in Central Italy and whose culture was eventually absorbed by the Romans.

The name was borne by an early Christian saint and martyr. It is also the name of a region in Italy which takes its name from the tribe.

It is also the name of a genus of tree, which has probably further popularized the name.

The name could also be from the Arabic, sometimes transliterated as Sabeen, meaning “follower of another religion” and was said to be a name given to the Prophet Mohammed by non-Muslims.

Currently, Sabina is the 13th most popular female name in Kazakhstan, (2010), while Sabine is the 392nd most popular in the Netherlands, (2010).

The name is used throughout Europe and Central Asia.

Other forms include:

  • Sabien (Dutch)
  • Sabine (German/French)
  • Szabina (Hungarian)
  • Sabeena (Indian)
  • Savina (Italian)

Masculine forms include:

  • Sabino (Italian)
  • Savino (Italian)
  • Sabinus (Latin)
  • Sabin (Romanian)

A Czech and Polish diminutive is Sabinka.