Opinions on Muslim names

[junsab]

Hello All,

My first ever post so here goes:
My son is due on the 30th of September (soon!). We are muslim and have a shortlist of names. Islamic names are usually of arab origin and are chosen according to their meaning and/or significance in islamic history/culture.

I just wanted to know how they sounded to an English ear! I'm not that fussed really about school or anything like that and will happily call him whatever we think is best but I'm just interested (perhaps the English teacher in me) in how non-English names sound to others :)

Hamza
Sufyaan
Hisham
Zaid

As someone asked about meanings:
Hamza: Lion/Historically Uncle of the prophet. But I think opinion is pretty much set on that one!

Hisham: Generous/Generosity (I like this as it's a great personal quality)

Zaid: Growth/to progress/To be in abundance (This makes me think of someone who fulfills their potential, has high aspirations etc)

Sufyaan: Various meanings but from the Persian it means thunderstorm/sandstorm. Also historically famous as a warrior/ leader/companion of the prophet

saadia I'm not quite sure what you meant about 'outing' the meaning of Abu Sufyaan. This is as I understand the meaning and historical relevance of the name

Also thanks for input everyone. This is all really interesting :)

junsaab my understanding was that Abu Sufyaan was intially an opponent of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

Zaid is nice, I know a Zeyd which I think is a nicer spelling and easier to know how to pronounce. Good luck!

Saadia He was but later converted and was an ally, friend and warrior in many Islamic battles :)

I do know a Zaid, and really love the name. Everybody calls Zaid, Zee though. I don't think Zee is anglicised? He has an Iraqi father, English mother and English wife.

My dad is called Hamzah so obviously I'm biased in thinking it's a great name. And it has a great meaning as you say. We did consider it for DS too. It gets shortened to 'Ham' by friends and colleagues in the UK (I've never asked if it's annoying for him ) I love your other names too. Congrats on your pregnancy!

I was just saying to my husband tonight how much I love the name Ravi.

Ravi is lovely, but I think it's usually a Hindu name?

I adore Hamza, I know two, one 5 year old who is the cutest, loveliest little boy I've ever met, and another who is 18 and probably the most sensible, kind and mature teenager I've ever met. So maybe I'm a bit biased!

Zaid is a lovely name.
What about Adil pronounced Ar-del or Ar-dl. We knew a lovely one, also Hilal. Both cracking men although I am not sure what the names mean. Sorry.

Sufyaan and Hisham are my favourites from your list. I'm not keen on Zaid due to pronunciation issues. When we picked my DS's name (muslim dad) we wanted one which was easy to pronouce and spell phonetically. We went for Anwar which has the added bonus of not shortening very easily! Though I do call him Ani-war sometimes as a nickname.

Don't think I would like DS's name to be shortened to 'ham' if we named him Hamza. I really dislike nicknames anyway but that one is just

Ravi is nice but definitely Hindu

Anwar is lovely :)

Sufyaan is definitely at the top of our list though so glad it is getting quite a few thumbs up!

Do you especially want muslim names? I know a lot of Iranians (who are muslim) and they especially love old Persian names rather than particularly religious ones.

Def Zaid all the way, sounds manly and is short and crisp.
Hamza is too reminiscent of abu hamza, as many posters have commented above.

What will go best with the surname?

A relative (abroad) named his daughted Fatima. Unfortunately the girl answers to Farty (I have axplained this when he comes over!)

Depends where you live/ go to school. In my ds school none of these names would give anyone a moments trouble saying or spelling as more than half the boys are Asian in origin. Just avoid fateh - poor fateh gets teased mercilessly. He has a Muslim friend calked Idris too which I love but always thought it was a welsh name- Idris Mohammed opened my eyes here ( though the lads joke it was just cos his parents want him to play rugby for Wales !)

I don't like any of them. But Zaid is the best. I dislike Hamza most of all. REminds me of that horror of a human being, the one with a hook for a hand.

Sufyaan is nice but I think that most people will not know how to spell it, if that bothers you.

Sufyaan is a lovely sounding name.

there are lots of Muslim names that sound lovely to me. Others I like include -

Elyas
Hanif
Kassim
Salim

I think Zain is a brilliant name, and means good looking, as I'm sure he will be! I prefer it to Zaid, and I think is easier to pronounce properly for English speakers.

Deffo Zaid

I teach in a multi-cultural school, and teach a few Hamzas. I never knew it should be pronounced Hum-za, and have always pronounced it Ham-za, the poor kids obviously didn't dare correct me! Now I feel guilty. I have also taught a Safyyan and a Sufyyan (not sure if I have spelt them correctly). Is there a difference in pronunciation between these 2? I always made a distinction between the two, but am now wondering if I was wrong to do so. I really like this name, both boys were great kids! Other Muslim boys names I have come across in school that I like are Rafic and Ubaid, no idea what they mean though!

I really like the name Hamza - I teach in South London and used to work in a school with a lot of Muslim children. We had one little Hamza who was particularly cute so that's what I think of! I think it depends on where you live and where he's likely to go to school because it wasn't an issue for this pupil at all...

How about Saleem, Khalid, or I knew a very handsome Ishmael - quite cool n.n's for the later two - Kal/Ish. Or there's Samir - which has a lovely meaning and eeeeeveryone in the UK will be able to pron it.
Congrats and let us know what you go for.