Afghan Names - Behind the Name

Abdul عبدال m Arabic, Urdu, Punjabi, Pashto, Uzbek, Bengali, Indonesian, Malay
First part of compound Arabic names beginning with عبد ال (ʿAbd al) meaning "servant of the" (such as عبد العزيز (ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz) meaning "servant of the powerful").

Ahmad احمد m Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Bengali, Pashto, Indonesian, Malay, Avar, Uzbek
Means "most commendable, most praiseworthy" in Arabic (a superlative form of Hamid 1).

Ahmed احمد m Turkish, Bosnian, Dhivehi, Bengali, Arabic, Urdu, Pashto
Variant of Ahmad. This was the name of three Ottoman sultans.

Akbar اکبر m Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Pashto, Indonesian, Indian (Muslim)
Means "greater, greatest" in Arabic, a derivative of كبير (kabīr) meaning "great, big". This was the name of a 16th-century Mughal ruler who expanded the empire to include most of India.

Ali 1 علي m Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Urdu, Pashto, Indonesian, Malay, Avar, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Tajik, Dhivehi, Albanian, Bosnian
Means "lofty, sublime" in Arabic, from the root علا (ʿalā) meaning "to be high". Ali ibn Abi Talib was a cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad and the fourth caliph to rule the Muslim world. His followers were the original Shia Muslims, who regard him as the first rightful caliph.... [more]

Asadullah اسد الله m Arabic, Pashto
Means "lion of Allah", derived from Arabic أسد (ʾasad) meaning "lion" combined with الله (Allah).

Farzana فرزانه f Pashto, Urdu, Bengali
Pashto, Urdu and Bengali form of Farzaneh.

Ghulam غلام m Arabic, Urdu, Pashto
Means "servant, boy" in Arabic. It is often used as the first part of compound names.

Gul ګُل m & f Urdu, Pashto
Means "flower, rose" in Urdu and Pashto, ultimately from Persian.

Habibullah حبيب الله m Arabic, Pashto
Means "friend of Allah", from Arabic حبيب (ḥabīb) meaning "friend" combined with الله (Allah).

Hamid 1 حميد m Arabic, Persian, Pashto, Urdu, Uzbek, Malay, Bosnian
Means "praiseworthy" in Arabic, from the root حمد (ḥamida) meaning "to praise". In Islamic tradition الحميد (al-Ḥamīd) is one of the 99 names of Allah.

Hamidullah حميد الله m Arabic, Pashto
Means "praiseworthy of Allah", derived from Arabic حميد (ḥamīd) meaning "praiseworthy" combined with الله (Allah).

Ibrahim ابراهيم m Arabic, Malay, Indonesian, Pashto, Urdu, Kazakh, Tatar, Bashkir, Avar, Bosnian, Dhivehi, Albanian, Hausa, Swahili
Arabic form of Abraham, also used in several other languages. This form appears in the Quran.

Inayatullah عنايت الله m Arabic, Pashto, Urdu
Means "care of Allah", derived from Arabic عناية (ʿināya) meaning "care, concern" combined with الله (Allah).

Juma جمعه m Arabic, Pashto, Swahili
Means "Friday" or "week" in Arabic.

Khan خان m Urdu, Pashto
From a title meaning "king, ruler". Its origin is probably Mongolian, though the word has been transmitted into many other languages.

Mahmud محمود m Arabic, Persian, Pashto, Uzbek, Bengali, Indonesian, Malay
Means "praised" in Arabic, from the same root as Muhammad. This was the name of the first Muslim ruler of India (11th century). It was also borne by two Ottoman sultans.

Malalai ملالۍ f Pashto
Means "sad, grieved" in Pashto. This was the name of a Pashtun woman who encouraged the Afghan forces during the 1880 Battle of Maiwand against the British.

Masuma معصومه f Arabic, Pashto, Urdu
Means "innocent, sinless" in Arabic, derived from the root عصم (ʿaṣama) meaning "to protect". After her death, this name was applied to Fatima, a daughter of the 9th-century Shia imam Musa al-Kazim.

Mohammad محمّد m Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Punjabi, Pashto, Bengali, Tatar, Indonesian, Malay
Persian form of Muhammad, as well as an alternate transcription for Arabic and several other languages.

Muhammad محمّد m Arabic, Urdu, Punjabi, Pashto, Bengali, Tajik, Uzbek, Indonesian, Malay, Avar
Means "praised, commendable" in Arabic, derived from the root حمد (ḥamida) meaning "to praise". This was the name of the prophet who founded the Islamic religion in the 7th century. According to Islamic belief, at age 40 Muhammad was visited by the angel Gabriel, who provided him with the first verses of the Quran. Approximately 20 years later he conquered Mecca, the city of his birth, and his followers controlled most of the Arabian Peninsula at the time of his death in 632.... [more]

Najibullah نجيب الله m Arabic, Pashto
Means "distinguished of Allah", derived from Arabic نجيب (najīb) meaning "noble, distinguished" combined with الله (Allah).

Rahim رحيم m Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Pashto, Bengali, Malay
Means "merciful, kind, compassionate" in Arabic. In Islamic tradition الرحيم (al-Raḥīm) is one of the 99 names of Allah.

Rahman رحمان m Arabic, Persian, Pashto, Indonesian, Malay, Bengali
Means "merciful" in Arabic. In Islamic tradition الرحمٰن (al-Raḥmān) is one of the 99 names of Allah.

Rahmatullah رحمت الله m Arabic, Pashto
Means "mercy of Allah", derived from Arabic رحْمة (raḥma) meaning "mercy" combined with الله (Allah).

Sardar سردار m Persian, Urdu, Pashto
From a title meaning "chief, leader", derived from Persian سر (sar) meaning "head, authority" and the suffix دار (dār) meaning "possessor".

Sharif شريف m Arabic, Urdu, Pashto, Persian, Tajik, Uzbek, Malay
Means "noble, eminent" in Arabic, a derivative of شرف (sharufa) meaning "to be noble, to be illustrious". This was a title used by the descendants of Muhammad.

Sher شېر m Urdu, Pashto
Means "lion" in Persian. A famous bearer of this name was Sher Shah, a 16th-century Mughal ruler.

Sikandar سکندر m Urdu, Pashto
Urdu and Pashto form of Alexander.

Yama 2 يما m Pashto
Pashto form of Jam.

Yusuf يوسف m Arabic, Turkish, Indonesian, Pashto, Tajik, Uzbek, Bengali
Arabic form of Yosef (see Joseph) appearing in the Quran. This is also the form used in several other languages.

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the description is the meaning and history write-up for the name separate search terms with spaces search for an exact phrase by surrounding it with double quotes example: "lord of the rings" matches names from the novel 'The Lord of the Rings' this field understands simple boolean logic force a term to be included by preceding it with a + sign force a term to be excluded by preceding it with a - sign example: +greek +(legend myth) -zeus matches Greek names of myths or legends not about Zeus ignore name meanings: keywords from the name meanings are ignored

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the "relationship" is how the name relates to its parent name example: searching for diminutive matches Betsy because it is a diminutive of its parent Elizabeth selecting *(all core forms)* excludes peripheral forms such as diminutives, short forms, and combinations expand search to ancestral names: relationships between names further up the family tree are included

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name impressions are based on the ratings left by the behindthename.com community
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name impressions are based on the ratings left by the behindthename.com community
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name impressions are based on the ratings left by the behindthename.com community

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