Muslim Names

A short and sweet Hindi name which has been relatively popular in the UK – peaking at #280 there in 2003.

Zuberi has separate origins as a Swahili given name meaning "strong," and an Arabic surname — primarily among Sunni Muslims in Pakistan — meaning "superior."

Soft and appealing, with a whiff of vanilla.

This variation of the popular Arabic name has now been in the Top 500 for several years. It wasn't even in the Top 1000 before the 1980s.

Most names with the Ab beginning, including the more familiar Abigail and Abner, mean father, as does this streamlined Arabic choice. American children might recognize Abu as the name of Aladdin's pet monkey in the Disney film.

As a form of the popular Arabic name, Hamid, Ahmad could be seen as a contraction for one of the 99 names for Allah, al-Ḥamīd, however, it might also be a variation of Muhammad as they share the same roots. Either way, the name has many variants of its own, the Urdu Ahmed, the Kazakh Akhmet, and West African Amadou.

Although popular in the Muslim community as representing one of the 99 qualities of God listed in the Quran, this could be confused with the female Camille.

A modern English variant of the Arabic name Aaliyah, Alayah was likely inspired by the names Amaia, Amaya and Alannah. It could also be an alternative spelling of the Basque name, Alaia, which means "joyful", and it coincides with Alaya, a type of consciousness in Buddhism.

Delicate yet strong, Amira has been a cross-cultural sensation in recent year, rising fast both in the US and several European nations. Spelling variation Amyra is joining in on the love, amongst one of the newest additions to the US Top 1000 in 2023.

Appealing in part because of its similarity to the likable Omar.

Zafreen variant used by Stephenie Meyer in the Twilight saga.

Siya is a sweet and simple looking choice with a variety of origins. In South Africa, it derives from the Zulu and Ndebele Siyabonga, meaning "we thank you", and is predominantly used as a masculine name. In Sanskrit, it is associated with the the Hindu Goddess Sita, whose name means "furrow", while as an American name it is likely a spelling variation of Sia, which can mean "victory" in relation to the Old Norse element sigr. Alternatively, it is a diminutive of any names including the substring -iya, such as Siyana meaning "shining" or Anastasiya meaning "resurrection".

While Yusuf is the more popular Arabic form of Joseph, Yousef is the Persian variant and is sometimes used as an Arabic transcription. Currently in the Top 500 in the UK and the Top 1000 in the US, it is still a familiar choice.

This unisex Arabic name is most frequently used for baby boys in the US, although a significant number of girls are named Rayan each year as well. The emphasis belongs on the second syllable.

The meaning derives from the traditional Arab act of crushing bread into crumbs in order to share it. Recently heard in the hit French Netflix series Call My Agent in its French form Hicham.

This Arabic names has many spelling variations but this is the one that of the more phonetic transliterations and is therefore most used in English-speaking countries.