Thoughts on these Arabic names

[name_m]Hi[/name_m] all. I received a wonderfully warm response to my daughter’s middle name, [name_f]Noor[/name_f]. If we have future children (most definitely none in the works now) I would like to like to give them Arabic middles as well. Since we’re largely an English-speaking community here with no knowledge of Arabic, I wanted to run these by you. Which do you like? Which sound pretty to the average English speaker? Which look strange or difficult to pronounce?

[name_f]Sahar[/name_f] (“dawn”)
Hayat (“life”)
[name_f]Nadra[/name_f] (“radiance”)
[name_f]Farah[/name_f] (“joy”)
[name_m]Hanan[/name_m] (“mercy”)
[name_f]Iman[/name_f] (“faith”)
Manaar (“guiding light”)
Najat (“safety”)
Nasrine (a wild rose)
[name_m]Nasim[/name_m] (“fresh breeze”)
[name_m]Qamar[/name_m] (“full moon”)
[name_u]Raja[/name_u] (“hope”)
Rahma (“God’s mercy”)
Sahla (“soft, flowing”)
Safaa (“purity, serenity”)
[name_f]Sanaa[/name_f] (“brilliance, splendor”)
[name_f]Zahra[/name_f] (“white;” “flower”)

As you can see these are all 2-syllable names. Many Arabic female names are three syllables ending in -a, but for a middle slot I think this phonetic pattern fits best. Please suggest others that you like, but keep in mind our family is not Muslim so anything overtly linked to Islam probably won’t work.

I absolutely love [name_f]Iman[/name_f], [name_f]Sanaa[/name_f], [name_f]Sahar[/name_f], Rahma, [name_f]Zahra[/name_f] and [name_m]Qamar[/name_m]. I think the majority are fairly easy to pronounce though, since they’re mostly phonetically spelt. Maybe a couple of ‘unusually’ placed Hs and ‘extra’ As might throw people, and the Q or I sounds might confuse a couple, but you shouldn’t have many issues. Plus if it’s in the middle, it doesn’t matter a lot, surely? The ones which translate best I think…
[name_f]Nadra[/name_f], [name_f]Farah[/name_f], [name_m]Hanan[/name_m], Nasrine and [name_f]Zahra[/name_f] (especially with it’s recent celeb-endorsement). They’re at least the easiest to spell.

I can’t offer much in way of suggestions - but one of my favourite Arabic names is [name_f]Noor[/name_f] (I’ve always thought it was beautifully placed in your daughter’s name). I also like [name_f]Imani[/name_f] a lot, but I agree [name_f]Iman[/name_f] would probably work best for a middle name. I know a couple of Laylas with Arabic-speaking parents, since it translates so well into English and I believe it has several other origins - it’s Arabic meaning of ‘‘night’’ is lovely though.

I discovered [name_f]Taja[/name_f] on Nameberry a while ago which I think is lovely.

Thank you, olivia! I knew the male name [name_u]Taj[/name_u] (meaning ‘crown’) but had not heard [name_f]Taja[/name_f]. The problem with Hs is that they are nearly always voiced in Arabic (an actual “hah” breathy sound) whereas in English they’re mainly silent, except at the beginning of words. Hmm. Maybe avoid Hs except at syllable breaks like [name_f]Sahar[/name_f].

These are the ones I think sound nicest…

[name_f]Farah[/name_f] (reminds me of [name_f]Farrah[/name_f] Fawcett)
[name_f]Iman[/name_f] (reminds me of the model)
[name_f]Nadra[/name_f]
Nasrine
Rahma
[name_f]Sahar[/name_f]
Sahla
[name_f]Zahra[/name_f]

These are the ones I don’t really like…

[name_m]Hanan[/name_m]
Hayat
Manaar
Najat
[name_m]Nasim[/name_m]
[name_m]Qamar[/name_m]
[name_u]Raja[/name_u]
Safaa (dislike the double letter ending)
[name_f]Sanaa[/name_f] (see above)

A lot of the ones in the “don’t really like” section sound masculine to me, even though I know they’re girls names.

That’s great feedback, thanks [name_f]Sarah[/name_f].

I really like:
[name_f]Sahar[/name_f]
[name_f]Nadra[/name_f]
[name_f]Farah[/name_f]
Nasrine (love the meaning)
[name_f]Zahra[/name_f]

I have an Arabian friend who is named [name_f]Samya[/name_f] and I always thought it was pretty :slight_smile:

Thanks [name_u]Shilo[/name_u]. It seems there are definite front-runners!
[name_f]Samya[/name_f] / [name_f]Samia[/name_f] is a nice name, meaning ‘exalted.’

[name_f]Farah[/name_f] and [name_f]Zahra[/name_f] are gorgeous.

The only one I’d nix is Manaar–sounds to close to a term for fertilizer. The rest are lovely!

Easiest to pronounce correctly in [name_u]America[/name_u]:

[name_f]Farah[/name_f], [name_f]Iman[/name_f], [name_m]Nasim[/name_m], Nasrine, [name_m]Qamar[/name_m], Rahma, [name_u]Raja[/name_u], [name_f]Zahra[/name_f]

Hardest to pronounce correctly in [name_u]America[/name_u]:

[name_m]Hanan[/name_m], Havat, Manaar, [name_f]Nadra[/name_f], Najat, Safaa, [name_f]Sahar[/name_f], Sahla, [name_f]Sanaa[/name_f]

Suggestion:

Fayruz / “turquoise (the gemstone)”

Ha! Manaar does sound like manure, you’re right! And now I’ve gone off Rahma since it rhymes with ‘comma.’ (kind of).

I like Fayruz but it’s the name of the most famous singer in the Arab world, and it totally belongs to her. It’s like [name_f]Madonna[/name_f] or [name_f]Beyonce[/name_f].

So new shortlist:

[name_f]Sahar[/name_f] (“dawn”)
[name_f]Nadra[/name_f] (“radiance”)
[name_f]Farah[/name_f] (“joy”)
[name_f]Iman[/name_f] (“faith”)
Nasrine (a wild rose)
[name_m]Qamar[/name_m] (“full moon”)
[name_f]Zahra[/name_f] (“white;” “flower”)

[name_f]Sahar[/name_f] is lovely. I would go all the way and use [name_f]Sahara[/name_f]. It’s just gorgeous.

[name_f]Zahra[/name_f] too. [name_m]Both[/name_m] of those names are very beautiful.

Thank you, I like [name_f]Sahar[/name_f] very much but was worried people would automatically think ‘desert.’

I just came across [name_f]Tahira[/name_f] and thought of your thread. [name_f]Zahra[/name_f] is probably my favourite. I’ve heard [name_f]Sahar[/name_f] quite a few times but I don’t think I’ve heard of or met a [name_f]Zahra[/name_f].
I’m not sure if people will automatically think about the desert. I named my daughter [name_f]Maya[/name_f] and was briefly worried people might think Mayan ruins or Mayan calendar, it hasn’t happened though. Actually once or twice I’ve referenced Mayan ruins to show pronunciation/spelling of [name_f]Maya[/name_f].

You can say “[name_f]Sahar[/name_f] like [name_f]Sahara[/name_f] desert” if anyone has trouble hearing or spelling the name. But if the thought of that bothers you, maybe it’s not the best choice?

[name_f]My[/name_f] general feeling is that any middle would be fine since it is unlikely to be used regularly, especially if you are honoring your culture and especially in a place as cosmopolitan as LA (even if most people don’t know Arabic). That said, my favorites from your list are:

[name_f]Sahar[/name_f]
[name_f]Farah[/name_f]
[name_f]Iman[/name_f]
Nasrine
[name_m]Nasim[/name_m]
[name_u]Raja[/name_u]
Rahma
Sahla
[name_f]Zahra[/name_f]

I think most of them would be relatively intuitive in terms of pronunciation for a native english speaker.

The ones I like the most & think are totally usable:
[name_f]Nadra[/name_f] (“radiance”)
[name_f]Farah[/name_f] (“joy”)
[name_f]Iman[/name_f] (“faith”)
Nasrine (a wild rose) ----- this one’s my fave
[name_u]Raja[/name_u] (“hope”)
Sahla (“soft, flowing”)
[name_f]Zahra[/name_f] (“white;” “flower”)

I’m actually adding some of these to my list right now :slight_smile:

As an English speaker, these are the ones that sound the prettiest to me (side note: Hayat makes me think of [name_m]Hyatt[/name_m] hotels, [name_u]Raja[/name_u] makes me think of the lion in Disney’s [name_m]Aladdin[/name_m] and [name_f]Farah[/name_f] makes me think of the awful Teen Mom):

[name_f]Sahar[/name_f]
[name_m]Hanan[/name_m]
Manaar*
Nasrine
Rahma
Sahla (“soft, flowing”)
[name_f]Sanaa[/name_f]*
[name_f]Zahra[/name_f] (“white;” “flower”)

*not sure how the double A is pronounced, but if I’m right, I think they are pretty.

[name_f]My[/name_f] favorites, which I absolutely love, are [name_f]Sahar[/name_f] and Rhama. They are feminine, but not too frilly. They just bring up thoughts of a beautiful desert oasis.

  • double post *

Thanks all for your very constructive feedback. @tfzolghadr-- I thought Nasrine was a Persian name, actually! It was borrowed into Arabic since it’s so pretty.

The double-As are pronounced as long aaah sounds, and they get the stress (so [name_f]Sanaa[/name_f] is sun-[name_m]AH[/name_m], as opposed to [name_f]SUN[/name_f]-uh).