Omar

Gender: Masculine
Origin: Arabic عمر
Meaning: “populous; flourishing; life.”

or

Gender: Masculine
Origin: Biblical Hebrew
Meaning: “speaker.”

The name can be of multiple origins and meanings, in Arabic, the name is derived from the word, عمر (umr) meaning, “life.”

The name was borne by the second caliphe of the Muslims as well as by a 12th-century Persian poet, Umar Khayyam.

In Hebrew, the name means “speaker” and is found Genesis 36:11 as the name of the son of Eliphaz.

The name may also be possibly related to the Hebrew, Omer, which means “sheaf of wheat” but was also the name of a unit of measuring in ancient times.

Omar is a popular name in Spanish-speaking countries, whether this is a leftover from Moorish occupied Spain or in reference to the Biblical Hebrew character is unknown.

As of 2010, Omar was the 54th most popular male name in Bosnia & Herzegovina. His rankings in other countries are as follows:

  • # 4 (Arab world (2011) (BabyCenter Arabia members)
  • # 4 (Pakistan)
  • # 6 (Iraq, 2007)
  • # 7 (Israel, Muslim boys, 2009)
  • # 7 (Umar, Malaysia, 2011)
  • # 8 (United Arab Emirates)
  • # 9 (Omer, Israel, Jewish intersex names (given to both boys and girls) 2008)
  • # 77 (Catalonia, 2010)
  • # 87 (Spain, 2010)
  • # 175 (United States, 2010)
  • # 252 (Netherlands, 2010)
  • # 289 (France, 2009)

Other forms include:

  • Omeri (Albanian)
  • Omer (Amharic/Kurdish)
  • Umar عمر (Arabic)
  • Omar Ома́р (Albanian/Arabic/Bosnian/Chechen/Dagestani/Kazakh/Kyrgyz/Persian/Russian/Spanish/Tajik/Tatar/Turkmen/Uzbek)
  • Ömər (Azeri)
  • Amar (Berber)
  • Úmar (Catalan)
  • Oumar/Oumarou (Sub-Saharan African)
  • Ömer (Turkish)

In France, the designated name-day for Omer is September 9.

Other notable bearers include: Egyptian born actor Omar Sharif (b.1932); Omar al-Bashir (b.1944) the president of Sudan; and American actor, Omar Epps (b. 1973).

Source

  1. http://www.behindthename.com/php/search.php?nmd=n&terms=Omar
  2. http://www.askoxford.com/firstnames/omar

Amin

Gender: Masculine
Origin: Arabic أمين
Meaning: “truthful.”
(AH-MEEN)

The name comes directly from the Arabic word امين (amin) meaning, “truthful.”

al-Amin was an epithet for the Prophet Mohammed and it was also borne by the sixth Abbasid Caliph.

As of 2010, Amin was the 76th most popular male name in Bosnia & Herzegovina, while in Belgium, his franconized form of Amine was the 93rd most popular male name, (2009). He is the 209th most popular male name in the Netherlands, (2010).

The name is prevalent throughout the Islamic world.

The feminine form is of course, Amina.

Mahir

Gender: Masculine
Origin: Arabic ماهر
Meaning: “skillful.”
(MAH-HEER)

The name comes directly from the Arabic adjective, محنك (mahir) meaning, “skillful.”

As of 2010, Mahir was the 41st most popular male name in Bosnia & Herzegovina, (2010).

The name is used throughout the Islamic world.

A variant transcription is Maher.

A Bosnian feminine form is Mahira.

Faruq

Gender: Masculine
Origin: Arabic فاروق
Meaning: “one who knows right from wrong.”
(FAH-ROOK)

The name comes from the Arabic epithet for the Muslim leader, Umar.

It was borne by the last king of Egypt, (1920-1965).

Its Balkan form of Faruk is currently the 68th most popular male name in Bosnia & Herzegovina, (2010).

Other forms of the name include:

  • Faruk (Albanian/Bosnian/Kurdish/Turkish)
  • Farouq (Persian)

Ansar

Gender: Masculine
Origin: Arabic
Meaning: “helpers.”
(AHN-SAHR)

The name is derived from the Arabic plural and Islamic term, al-Ansar (the helpers), which refers to a group of Medinian citizens who helped the Prophet Mohammed settle into the city of Medina.

Its Balkan and Turkish form of Ensar is currently the 33rd most popular male name in Bosnia & Herzegovina, (2010).

The name is used throughout the Islamic world.

Other forms include:

  • Anshar (Achinese, Javanese)
  • Ensar (Albanian, Bosnian, Turkish)
  • Ənsar (Azeri)
  • Ansor Ансор (Tajik, Uzbek)
  • Ansaar (Urdu)
  • Anzar (Uyghur)

Bilal

Gender: Masculine
Origin: Arabic بلال
Meaning: “moistening.”
(bee-LAHL)

The name is derived from the Arabic meaning, “moistening.”

It was borne by the first Muezzin (Caller to Prayer) and a disciple of the Prophet Mohammed. He was an Ethiopian slave who had been emancipated by Mohammed.

As of 2010, Bilal was the 37th most popular male name in Bosnia & Herzegovina. His rankings in other countries are as follows:

  • # 90 (Catalonia, 2010)
  • # 147 (France, 2009)
  • # 217 (Netherlands, 2010)

The name is used throughout the Islamic world.

Another notable bearer was Bilal Xhaferri (1935–1986), an Albanian poet, novelist and political dissident against the Albanian communist regime.

Naila

Gender: Feminine
Origin: Arabic نائلة
Meaning: “attainer.”

The name is derived from the Arabic male name, Nail, which comes directly from the Arabic word for “attainer.”

The name was borne by the wife of Caliph Uthman I, an Iraqi Christian convert, who tried to defend her husband while a mob was killing him and in the process, ended up getting her fingers cut off.

It is also the name of a town in Bavaria.

As of 2010, its Bosnian form of Najla was the 70th most popular female name in Bosnia & Herzegovina. Another Bosnian form is Naijla.

A Bosnian diminutive form is Naja (NYE-yah)

 

Samad

Gender: Masculine
Origin: Arabic  صمد
Meaning: “eternal.”

The name is derived from the Arabic Aṣ-Ṣamad (the eternal), one of the names of God.

Its Bosnian form of Samed is the 93rd most popular male name in Bosnia & Herzegovina, (2010).

The name was borne by Azeri-Russian General, Samad bey Mehmandarov (1855-1931) and Azeri poet, Samad Vurgun (1906-1956)

Other forms of the name include:

  • Samed (Albanian/Bosnian)
  • Səməd (Azeri)
  • Semed (Kurdish/Turkish)

Samad is used throughout the Islamic world.

Amil

Gender: Masculine
Origin: Arabic
Meaning: “worker.”
(AH-MEEL)

The name is derived from the Arabic  اّجير (al’emal) meaning, “worker.” The name shares the same etymology with the Biblical Hebrew male name, Amal.

As of 2010, Amil was the 98th most popular male name in Bosnia & Herzegovina.

Feminine form is Amila, which is the 12th most popular female name in Bosnia & Herzegovina, (2010).

Malik

Gender: Masculine
Origin: Arabic ملك
Meaning: “king.”
(MAH-LEEK)

The name is derived from the Arabic word ملك (malik) meaning, “king, chieftain.”

The same word appears in several Semitic languages, including Hebrew, in the form of Melek מֶלֶך. In the Old Testament, Melech is the name of a son of Micah.

In the Arabic-speaking world, this is the general term used to refer to a king or chieftain. It also a common male name among both Muslims and Middle Eastern Christians, usually used in reference to the term Al-Malik which means, “the king” an epithet for God among both Muslims and Christians.

The word also appears in the Armenian language in the form of Melik Մելիկ, which is also used a masculine given name, often shortened to Melo.

As of 2010, Malik was the 99th most popular male name in Bosnia & Herzegovina, (2010). His rankings in other countries are as follows:

  • # 283 (United States, 2010)
  • # 296 (France, 2009)

A feminine form is Malika.