Arabic baby names
Search over 400 well-known Arabic names for boys and girls. See each name in Arabic, what it really means, how it's usually spelled in English, and whether the word appears in the Quran.
Runs on your phone. Your searches are not uploaded or saved. Favourites are saved only on this device, in this browser.
Before you choose
Under the UAE's Child Rights Law (Federal Law No. 3 of 2016, known as Wadeema's Law), every child has the right from birth to a name that is not humiliating or insulting to their dignity, and not contrary to religious beliefs or social customs. The law gives no list of banned names.
There's no single official English spelling. Pick one and use it the same way on the birth certificate, passport and Emirates ID, because a letter's difference can cause trouble later with visas and bank records.
Meanings come from classical Arabic dictionaries. Where a name comes from another language, such as most prophets' names, we say so and don't guess its meaning. Names we couldn't source with confidence were left out.
This tag means the word itself appears in the Quran, sometimes in a slightly different form. It doesn't mean the Quran uses it as a person's name.
Sources: meanings from classical Arabic dictionaries: Lisan al-Arab (Ibn Manzur), al-Sihah (al-Jawhari), al-Muhkam (Ibn Sida), al-Qamus al-Muhit (al-Firuzabadi) and Taj al-Arus (al-Zabidi), consulted through the Arabic Lexicon (arabiclexicon.hawramani.com), and al-Mu'jam al-Wasit (Arabic Language Academy, Cairo); words in the Quran checked against the Quranic text. UAE naming rule: Federal Law No. 3 of 2016 on Child Rights (Wadeema's Law), Article 8, as reported by Gulf News ("How not to name your child in the UAE", updated 9 June 2025). English spellings are the common ones, not official forms. Some old names have more than one meaning in the dictionaries; we give the main one.