325+ Arabic Names (with Meanings and Popularity)

Amal is an attractive name with a wonderful meaning that has long been used in many Middle Eastern countries, especially Lebanon (and migrant communities). It is of course getting a lot more coverage now since the fame of international human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin Clooney, who's singlehandedly made this one of the best-known Arabic names for girls.

Well used by Muslim parents across the world, Ibrahim is the Arabic variation of Abraham. Significant in multiple religions and with an international and well-travelled feel about it, Ibrahim has been in the US Top 1000 since the 1990s, and is currently popular in Azerbaijan, France, the UK, and Turkey.

This phonetic version is occasionally used and removes any confusion about whether the X is fully pronounced or not.

Hassan is among the more familiar Arabic choices, and also one with an attractive meaning. It has appeared in the US Top 1000 every year since 1971.

Popular with Muslim and African-American parents, this virtue name also fits in with the trendy i ending names being seen at the moment. It debuted on the US Top 1000 in 1996.

Not a spunkier version of Merlin, Zerlin has roots in the Middle East, Spain and Eastern Europe and is thought to mean "beautiful dawn". The countries where this name is most heard are Israel, Romania and the US, though it has never made it into the Top 1000. Italian and Spanish variant Zerlina and the French Zerline were once popular in the theatre for pretty and clever female characters.

Zariyah has several possible origins: the Arabic Zahrah which means "flower" or Zariya "scattering wind"; the Hebrew name Azariah, meaning "God has helped"; or the Russian word Zaria which means "sunrise, dawn."

This female form of Sa'id is one of several eminently usable Arabic S names.

Zayd (or its most common variant Zaid), an old and still well used Arabic name, was a enslaved man whom Muhammad adopted as his son.

Spelled in various ways, this name was first brought into the American consciousness by the Lebanese-American poet and artist Kahlil Gibran, author of The Prophet.

A cute nickname name that's risen high over the past decade or so, more especially as Kaylee, this name combines the attributes of Hailey and Kayla, Kylie and Callie.

Nahla is a lovely name chosen by Halle Berry for her daughter. Not to be confused with the Disneyfied Nala.

Sari is a cute spin on Sarah, though some may hear it as "sorry," and it is also an item of clothing worn in India. These days many people will also confuse Sari with Suri, the lovely and unsual name of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' much-publicized young daughter.

Scheherazade -- or Sheherazade --is a legendary Persian queen immortalized as the narrator of all one thousand stories in the One Thousand and One Nights. Her story is even more remarkable than the tales she tells.

Aza is an excellent Arabic choice: elegant and simple. Too simple for you? Consider Aziza.

A popular name in the Middle East and one of the most evocative choices of its genre. One of the 99 names of Allah. The feminine form is Zahira.

Yusuf is the Arabic form of Joseph, used in the Middle East, as well as internationally from France and the US, to the UK, Turkey and Azerbaijan - where, as of 2023, it ranked in the Top 100.

This pretty name found in Spanish-speaking countries shares the diminutive of Romy—also spelled Romi—with Rosemary. It joined the US Top 1000 for the first time in 2015.

Popular girls' name in Syria. In Yiddish, pronounced ZAE-dah, this is a term for grandfather.

The meaning of intelligent elevates this A-starting name for girls above other similar possibilities.