Abdul

Abdul
Pronunciation	/ˈæbdʊl/; Arabic: [ʕæbdel, ʕabdɪl, ʕæbdʊl]
Gender	Male
Language(s)	Arabic
Origin
Meaning	servant of
Other names
See also	Abdu, Abdi

Abdul (also transliterated as Abdal, Abdel, Abdil, Abdol, Abdool, or Abdoul; Arabic: عبد ال, ʿAbd al-) is the most frequent transliteration of the combination of the Arabic word Abd (عبد, meaning "Servant") and the definite prefix al / el (ال, meaning "the").^[2]

It is the initial component of many compound names, names made of two words. For example, عبد الحميد, ʿAbd el-Ḥamīd, usually spelled Abdel Hamid, Abdelhamid, Abd El Hamid or Abdul Hamid, which means "servant of The Praised" (God).

The most common use for Abdul by far, is as part of a male given name, written in English. When written in English, Abdul is subject to variable spacing, spelling, and hyphenation.

The meaning of Abdul literally and normally means "Slave of the", but English translations also often translate it to "Servant of the".^[3]^[4]

Spelling variations

Variations in spelling are primarily because of the variation in pronunciation. Arabic speakers normally pronounce and transcribe their names of Arabic origin according to their spoken Arabic dialects. Therefore, it is pronounced /ʕabdel/ and written Abdel... or Abd El.... However, non-Arabic speakers or Arabic speakers may choose to transcribe the name according to the Literary Arabic pronunciation, which is the language of Quran, pronounced as /ʕabdul/ and written Abdul.... For other variations in spelling, see the Arabic grammar section.

Etymology

In Arabic language, the word عبد ʿabd means "slave" or "servant", from the triliteral root ع-ب-د ʕ-B-D, which is also related to the word عبادة ʿibādah, "worshiping". Therefore, the word has the positive connotation, in an Islamic sense, of worshiping and praising God, i.e. being a servant to God rather than idols.

Theophoric naming

Essentially there is no Abdul, without the second part when written in Arabic, thus it appears as a component of many Arabic and specifically Muslim names, where it is the opening of a religiously based name, meaning: "Servant of..." with the last component of the name being one of the names of God in Islam, which would form a Muslim Arabic theophoric name. Such as Abdullah simply meaning "Servant of God" while "Abdul Aziz" means "Servant of the Almighty" and so on. The name Abdul Masih, ("Servant of the Messiah") is an Arabic Christian equivalent.

In addition, Abdul is occasionally, though much more rarely, used in reference to a figure other than God. For example, the Indian name Abdul Mughal, ("Servant of the Mughal Empire").

Derived theophoric names

The most common names are listed below

Abdullah, Servant of Allah
Abdulaziz, Servant of the Almighty
Abdulkarim, Servant of the most Generous
Abdurrahim, Servant of the Merciful
Abdurrahman, Servant of the Benevolent
Abdussalam, Servant of the Peaceful
Abdulqadir, Servant of the Powerful
Abdul Latif, Servant of the Gentle

Arabic grammar

When followed by a sun letter, the l in al (normally pronounced colloquially el) assimilates to the initial consonant of the following noun, resulting in a doubled consonant. For example, "Abdul Rahman", would be pronounced in Literary Arabic: Abdur-Rahman [ʕæbdʊr ræħˈmæːn]. When the definite article is followed by a moon letter, no assimilation takes place.

Therefore, Abdul is not always used as the opening part of the name; if the second part starts with a sun letter, it may become forms including Abdun, Abdur, Abdus, or Abdush, the vowel in each name, similarly with Abdul, is also open to differing transliterations.

Independent naming

Abdul does not appear on its own as a male given name when written in Arabic. In some cultures, the theophoric part may appear to be a stand-alone middle name, or surname, thus confusing people as to whether Abdul is an accepted given name. Often if someone shortens his/her name, he may equally choose the theophoric part or Abdul. However, Abdul by itself is sometimes used as an independent full given first name outside of Arabic-speaking societies. Sometimes Abdul is followed by a word describing Muhammad the Prophet, for example "Abd un Nabi", which means "slave/servant of the prophet".

Given name

DJ Abdel, French DJ and producer of Moroccan descent playing hip hop, funk and contemporary R&B
Abdul Diallo (born 1985), Burkina Faso footballer
Abdul "Duke" Fakir (born 1935), American singer, best known as a member of the Four Tops
Abdul Gaddy (born 1992), American basketball player
Abdul Hodge (born 1983), American football linebacker
Abdul Salis (born 1979), British actor
Abdul Thompson Conteh (born 1970), Sierra Leonean footballer
Abdul Vas (born 1981), Venezuelan artist
A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (1931 – 2015), 11th President of India

This page or section lists people that share the same given name.
If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.

Surname

David Abdul (born 1989), Aruban footballer
Lida Abdul (born 1973), Persian artist
Paula Abdul (born 1962), American singer and television personality

This page lists people with the surname Abdul.
If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.

Fictional characters

Abdul Alhazred, character created by American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft
Abdul ibn Shareef, fictional politician on The West Wing
Mohammed Avdol (also spelled Abdul), fictional character in the manga and anime JoJo's Bizarre Adventure created by Hirohiko Araki

References

^ Wells, John C. (2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.). Longman. ISBN 978-1-4058-8118-0.
^ Hanks, P. (2003). Dictionary of American Family Names: 3-Volume Set. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 3. ISBN 978-0-19-508137-4. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
^ Salahuddin Ahmed (1999). A Dictionary of Muslim Names. London: Hurst & Company.
^ S. A. Rahman (2001). A Dictionary of Muslim Names. New Delhi: Goodword Books.

[1] Wells, John C. (2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.). Longman. ISBN 978-1-4058-8118-0.

[Hanks_2003-2] Hanks, P. (2003). Dictionary of American Family Names: 3-Volume Set. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 3. ISBN 978-0-19-508137-4. Retrieved 2 September 2018.

[ahmed-3] Salahuddin Ahmed (1999). A Dictionary of Muslim Names. London: Hurst & Company.

[rahman-4] S. A. Rahman (2001). A Dictionary of Muslim Names. New Delhi: Goodword Books.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]