Language, religion and culture are different things
A name can come from one language, be used by people of several religions, and be popular in a region whose language is a third one. Our data keeps these apart. 14,583 records carry the Muslim religion label, and their origin labels look like this:
| Origin label | Records | Share | Names a language? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Muslim | 10,493 | 72.0% | no |
| Arabic | 3,026 | 20.8% | yes |
| Persian | 730 | 5.0% | yes |
| Quranic | 226 | 1.5% | no |
| Kurdish | 58 | 0.4% | yes |
| Turkish | 43 | 0.3% | yes |
| Urdu | 6 | 0.0% | yes |
| Hindi | 1 | 0.0% | yes |
14,583 records carry the Muslim religion label. "Muslim" as an origin is the dataset's fallback when no language was recorded, and "Quranic" records a phrase in the source text; neither is a language.
Muslim-list records: MuslimNames.com via the CC0 Muslim Names Dataset (Hugging Face, takiuddinahmed/muslim-names-dataset). Variant groups and Quranic flags come from the audit overlay in src/data/overlays/muslim/.
The origin "Muslim" is the dataset's fallback where no language was recorded; it is not a language. "Quranic" records a phrase in the source text and is not a language either. So a Muslim name list is not a list of Arabic names: it includes Persian, Kurdish, Turkish and other origins where the source recorded them.
Reading Arabic spellings in Latin letters
Arabic has no single English spelling. The same name appears under several spellings, and each is a separate entry in most lists. Our audit groups 1,286 sets of Latin spellings that fold to the same key under fixed letter-alternation rules and share the same Arabic script form. The largest:
| Spellings in the dataset | Count | Gender |
|---|---|---|
| Haadee, Haadi, Haadii, Hadee, Hadi | 5 | boys |
| Haaroon, Haarun, Haroon, Haroun, Harun | 5 | boys |
| Ameera, Ameerah, Amira, Amiraa | 4 | girls |
| Fairoz, Fairuz, Fayrooz, Fayruz | 4 | boys |
| Feeroz, Firouz, Firoz, Firuz | 4 | boys |
| Feerouzah, Feerozah, Firouzah, Firoza | 4 | girls |
| Golzaar, Golzar, Gulzaar, Gulzar | 4 | girls |
| Haneefa, Haneefah, Hanifa, Hanifah | 4 | girls |
The 8 largest of 1,286 groups. Spellings are grouped only when they fold to the same key under a fixed letter-alternation table and share the same Arabic script form.
Muslim-list records: MuslimNames.com via the CC0 Muslim Names Dataset (Hugging Face, takiuddinahmed/muslim-names-dataset). Variant groups and Quranic flags come from the audit overlay in src/data/overlays/muslim/.
And a few common ones by key:
| Spellings in the dataset | Count | Gender |
|---|---|---|
| Mohammad, Mohammed, Muhammad, Muhammed | 4 | boys |
| Yoosuf, Yusuf | 2 | boys |
| Haadee, Haadi, Haadii, Hadee, Hadi | 5 | boys |
Groups chosen by key. Spellings are grouped only when they fold to the same key under a fixed letter-alternation table and share the same Arabic script form.
Muslim-list records: MuslimNames.com via the CC0 Muslim Names Dataset (Hugging Face, takiuddinahmed/muslim-names-dataset). Variant groups and Quranic flags come from the audit overlay in src/data/overlays/muslim/.
What this means in practice:
- Pick one spelling and use it everywhere. Official documents, records and school forms will be easier to match.
- Check how it will be read. Spelling choices such as doubled vowels or a final h can change how English readers say the name.
- Look at the whole group. A spelling that looks rare may belong to a group of common names, so search by the group before you decide.
On name pages, an Arabic script form is shown only where our audit did not flag it as unreliable, and it is labeled with who lists it.
Quranic names
The source marks 226 records as Quranic: 47 as direct and 179 as indirect. We repeat that label as what the source says. We have not checked it against the Quran, so confirm it with a scholar or a reference you trust before treating it as settled.
Choosing a name
- Confirm the meaning. Meanings in the dataset are short glosses. Ask a family elder, a teacher or a scholar.
- Think about pronunciation where you live. A name that is easy in one country can be mispronounced in another.
- Decide on the spelling before the birth certificate.
- Consider the nickname.
Browse Muslim baby names, Muslim boy names and Muslim girl names, or the Arabic and Persian lists by language.