Moroccan boys’ names

A

• Abbesعباس

  “stern, austere”; the name of an uncle of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) رضي الله عنه (may Allah be pleased with him)⁷

  Arabic

• Abdelazizعبد العزيز

  “servant of the Mighty”, from ʿabd “servant” and ʿazīz “mighty”⁸; al-ʿAzīz is one of the 99 names of Allah سبحانه وتعالى (glorified and exalted be He)⁹

  Arabic

• Abdelghaniعبد الغني

  “servant of the Rich, the Self-Sufficient”¹⁰

  Arabic

• Abdelhadiعبد الهادي

  “servant of the Guide”, from ʿabd “servant” and hādī “leader”¹¹

  Arabic

• Abdelhakعبد الحق

  “servant of the Truth”¹²; also Abdelhaq¹³

  Arabic

• Abdelhamidعبد الحميد

  “servant of the Praiseworthy”¹⁴

  Arabic

• Abdelkaderعبد القادر

  “servant of the Capable, the Powerful”¹⁵

  Arabic

• Abdelkrimعبد الكريم

  “servant of the Generous”¹⁶; also Abdelkarim¹⁷

  Arabic

• Abdellahعبد الله

  “servant of Allah”, from ʿabd “servant” and Allah سبحانه وتعالى; the name of the father of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ¹⁸. Abdellah is the transcription usual in North Africa¹⁹; Abdallah also occurs in Morocco²⁰

  Arabic

• Abdellatifعبد اللطيف

  “servant of the Kind”, from laṭīf “gentle, kind”²¹

  Arabic

• Abdelmajidعبد المجيد

  “servant of the Glorious”²²

  Arabic

• Abdelmalekعبد الملك

  “servant of the King”²³

  Arabic

• Abderrahimعبد الرحيم

  “servant of the Merciful”, from raḥīm “merciful”²⁴

  Arabic

• Abderrahmaneعبد الرحمن

  “servant of the Compassionate”, from raḥmān “merciful”²⁵; also Abderrahman²⁶

  Arabic

• Abdeslamعبد السلام

  “servant of Peace”, from salām “peace”²⁷; also Abdesselam and Abdessalam²⁸

  Arabic

• Achrafأشرف

  “more noble, more distinguished”, a comparative form of Sharif²⁹

  Arabic

• Adilعادل

  “just, honest”, from ʿadala “to act justly”³⁰

  Arabic

• Adnaneعدنان

  “settler”; according to tradition an ancestor of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ³¹

  Arabic

• Ahmedأحمد

  “most commendable”, a superlative form of Hamid³²

  Arabic

• Aliعلي

  “lofty, high”, from ʿalā “to be high”; Ali ibn Abi Talib رضي الله عنه was the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and the fourth caliph³³

  Arabic

• Amineأمين

  “truthful”, from Arabic ʾamīn³⁴

  Arabic

• Amnayأمناي

  “horseman”, the meaning of the Amazigh word amnay³⁵. Very common in Morocco in the first decade after independence³⁶; IRCAM gives the name as an example in its book of Amazigh first names³⁷

  AmazighIn Tifinagh ⴰⵎⵏⴰⵢ

• Anasأنس

  “friendliness”, from ʾanisa “to be friendly”; Anas ibn Malik رضي الله عنه was a companion of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ; also Anass³⁸

  Arabic

• Anouarأنور

  “brighter, more radiant”, related to nūr “light”³⁹

  Arabic

• Aymanأيمن

  “right-handed, blessed, lucky”, from yamīn “right hand”⁴⁰; also Aymane⁴¹

  Arabic

• Azizعزيز

  “mighty, respected, beloved”; al-ʿAzīz is one of the 99 names of Allah سبحانه وتعالى⁴²

  Arabic

B

• Bachirبشير

  “bringer of good news”, from bashshara “to bring good tidings”⁴³

  Arabic

• Badrبدر

  “full moon”⁴⁴

  Arabic

• Bilalبلال

  “wetting, moistening”; the name of a companion of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ رضي الله عنه⁴⁵

  Arabic

D

• Drissإدريس

  the transcription of Idris usual in North Africa; in the Quran the name of a prophet; also Idriss⁴⁶

  Arabic

F

• Fahdفهد

  “panther”⁴⁷

  Arabic

• Faridفريد

  “unique, precious”, from farada “to be unique”⁴⁸

  Arabic

• Fouadفؤاد

  “heart”⁴⁹

  Arabic

H

• Habibحبيب

  “beloved, darling”⁵⁰

  Arabic

• Hakimحكيم

  “wise”, from ḥakama “to judge, to decide”; al-Ḥakīm is one of the 99 names of Allah سبحانه وتعالى⁵¹

  Arabic

• Hamidحميد

  “praiseworthy”, from ḥamida “to praise”; al-Ḥamīd is one of the 99 names of Allah سبحانه وتعالى⁵²

  Arabic

• Hamzaحمزة

  “lion”, derived from ḥamuza “strong, powerful”; the name of an uncle of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ رضي الله عنه⁵³

  Arabic

• Hassanحسن

  “beautiful, good-looking”, from ḥasuna “to be beautiful, good”; Hassan رضي الله عنه was a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, and two kings of Morocco also bore the name⁵⁴

  Arabic

• Hatimحاتم

  “determined”, from ḥatama “to determine, to decide”⁵⁵

  Arabic

• Hichamهشام

  the transcription of Hisham usual in North Africa⁵⁶: “generous”, originally from hashama “to crumble”, after the custom of crumbling bread to share it⁵⁷

  Arabic

• Houssamحسام

  “sword”, from ḥasama “to cut off, to decide”⁵⁸

  Arabic

• Houssineحسين

  diminutive of Hassan; Hussein ibn Ali رضي الله عنه was a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ; also Houcine⁵⁹

  Arabic

I

• Iderإيدر

  “he has lived, he has survived”, in the form Yidir “may he live, may he live long”, from edder “to live”⁶⁰; the IRCAM dictionary gives “to live, to be alive” for idir⁶¹. Very common in Morocco in the first decade after independence⁶²; the spelling Idir appears as an example in IRCAM’s book of Amazigh first names⁶³

  AmazighIn Tifinagh ⵉⴷⴻⵔ

• Imadعماد

  “support, pillar”, from ʿamada “to support”⁶⁴

  Arabic

• Issamعصام

  transcription of Isam⁶⁵: “protection, pledge”, from ʿaṣama “to protect”⁶⁶

  Arabic

J

• Jaafarجعفر

  “stream”; Jafar ibn Abi Talib رضي الله عنه was a cousin of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ⁶⁷

  Arabic

• Jalalجلال

  “greatness”, from jalla “to be great”⁶⁸

  Arabic

• Jalilجليل

  “important, exalted”, from jalla “to be great”⁶⁹

  Arabic

• Jamalجمال

  “beauty”, from jamala “to be beautiful”⁷⁰

  Arabic

• Jaouadجواد

  “generous”, from jāda “to be excellent, open-handed”⁷¹; also Jawad⁷²

  Arabic

K

• Kacemقاسم

  “one who distributes goods among the people”, from qasama “to divide”; the name of a son of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ who died young⁷³

  Arabic

• Kamalكمال

  “perfection”⁷⁴

  Arabic

• Karimكريم

  “generous, noble”, from karuma “to be generous”; al-Karīm is one of the 99 names of Allah سبحانه وتعالى⁷⁵

  Arabic

• Khalidخالد

  “eternal”, from khalada “to last for ever”⁷⁶; also Khaled⁷⁷

  Arabic

• Khalilخليل

  “friend”⁷⁸

  Arabic

M

• Mahmoudمحمود

  “praised”, from the same root as Muhammad⁷⁹

  Arabic

• Mbarekمبارك

  “blessed”, from baraka “to kneel down, to be blessed”⁸⁰

  Arabic

• Mehdiمهدي

  North African form of Mahdi⁸¹: “the guided one”, from hadā “to show the right way”⁸²; also El Mehdi⁸³

  Arabic

• Mimounميمون

  “blessed, fortunate, auspicious”, from the root y-m-n as in yamīn, “right side”⁸⁴; widespread in Morocco with around 21,000 bearers⁸⁵

  Arabic

• Mohammedمحمد

  “praised, commendable”, from ḥamida “to praise”; the name of the Prophet ﷺ of Islam⁸⁶. In Morocco the spelling Mohamed is even more common: Forebears counts around 1.73 million Mohamed and around 879,000 Mohammed⁸⁷

  Arabic

• Mohcineمحسن

  “charitable”, from ḥasuna “to be good”⁸⁸; also Mouhcine⁸⁹

  Arabic

• Mokhtarمختار

  “chosen”, from ikhtāra “to choose”⁹⁰

  Arabic

• Mounirمنير

  “bright, radiant”, from nawwara “to illuminate”⁹¹

  Arabic

• Mouradمراد

  “wish, what is longed for”⁹²

  Arabic

• Mustaphaمصطفى

  transcription of Mustafa⁹³: “chosen”, an epithet of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ⁹⁴; also Mostafa⁹⁵

  Arabic

N

• Nabilنبيل

  “noble”⁹⁶

  Arabic

• Najibنجيب

  “noble, distinguished”⁹⁷

  Arabic

• Noureddineنور الدين

  “light of the faith”, from nūr “light” and dīn “religion, faith”⁹⁸

  Arabic

O

• Omarعمر

  “flourishing, long-lived”, related to ʿumr “life”; Omar رضي الله عنه was a companion of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and the second caliph⁹⁹

  Arabic

• Othmaneعثمان

  the transcription of Othman usual in North Africa: “young bustard” (a large running bird); Othman رضي الله عنه was a companion of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and the third caliph; also Otmane and Othman¹⁰⁰

  Arabic

• Oussamaأسامة

  the transcription of Usama usual in North Africa¹⁰¹: “lion”¹⁰²

  Arabic

R

• Rachidرشيد

  the transcription of Rashid usual in North Africa¹⁰³: “rightly guided”; al-Rashīd is one of the 99 names of Allah سبحانه وتعالى¹⁰⁴

  Arabic

• Redaرضا

  transcription of Rida¹⁰⁵: “contentment”¹⁰⁶; also Rida¹⁰⁷

  Arabic

• Redouaneرضوان

  “approval, good pleasure”, from raḍiya “to be content”¹⁰⁸; also Radouane¹⁰⁹

  Arabic

S

• Saadسعد

  transcription of Saʿd: “good fortune”, from saʿida “to be happy”; Saʿd ibn Abi Waqqas رضي الله عنه was a military commander in the early period of Islam¹¹⁰

  Arabic

• Saidسعيد

  “happy”, from saʿida “to be happy”; the name of a companion of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ رضي الله عنه¹¹¹

  Arabic

• Salahصلاح

  “righteousness”¹¹²

  Arabic

• Salaheddineصلاح الدين

  “righteousness of the faith”, from ṣalāḥ “righteousness” and dīn “religion, faith”; its best-known bearer is the sultan Saladin (12th century)¹¹³

  Arabic

• Salimسليم

  “unharmed, safe and sound”, from salima “to be safe”¹¹⁴

  Arabic

• Samirسمير

  “companion in evening conversation”, from samara “to chat in the evening”¹¹⁵

  Arabic

• Soufianeسفيان

  “nimble, quick, light-footed”¹¹⁶

  Arabic

T

• Tahaطه

  after the Arabic letters Ṭa and Ha, with which the 20th sura of the Quran begins¹¹⁷

  Arabic

• Taharطاهر

  “pure, virtuous”¹¹⁸

  Arabic

• Taoufikتوفيق

  “success, good fortune”, from wafiqa “to succeed”¹¹⁹; also Toufik and Taoufiq¹²⁰

  Arabic

• Tarikطارق

  “visitor who knocks at the door”, from ṭaraqa “to knock”; in Arabic also the name of the morning star¹²¹; also Tariq¹²²

  Arabic

• Tayebطيب

  “pleasant, good-natured”¹²³

  Arabic

W

• Walidوليد

  “newborn”, from walada “to give birth”¹²⁴

  Arabic

Y

• Yassineياسين

  the transcription of Yasin usual in North Africa¹²⁵: after the letters Ya and Sin, with which the 36th sura of the Quran begins¹²⁶; also Yassin¹²⁷

  Arabic

• Yassirياسر

  “easy, wealthy”, from yasira “to be easy, to be rich”¹²⁸; also Yasser¹²⁹

  Arabic

• Youssefيوسف

  the Arabic form of the name Joseph as it appears in the Quran¹³⁰; according to Forebears the sixth most common first name in Morocco, with around 418,000 bearers¹³¹

  Arabic

Z

• Zaidزيد

  “growth”, from zāda “to grow, to increase”; the name of the adopted son of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ رضي الله عنه¹³²

  Arabic

The Tifinagh spelling is given only for names of Amazigh origin.

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Last checked on 26 Oct 2026.