Kunya (Arabic)

A kunya (Arabic: كُنيَة)^[1] is an Arabic teknonym, which is an epithet named after a first born son, or sometimes daughter. Abū or Umm precedes the son's or daughter's name, using the genitive case (iḍāfah).^[2] It is often used as a component of an Arabic name, and implies a familiar, but respectful relationship.

Etymology

From the root ك ن ي (k n y), related to giving epithets.

General use

A kunya serves as an honorific in place of, or alongside, given names in the Arab and Islamic worlds.^[3] Use of the epithet usually signifies some closeness between the speaker and the addressee, but is more formal than using a first name. The English equivalent would be to call a man "Father of John", if his eldest son is named John.^{[citation needed]}

When also using a person's birth name, the honorific precedes the proper name. Mahmoud Abbas would go by abū Māzen Maħmūd, for "Mahmud, the father of Mazen".^{[citation needed]} In Classical Arabic and Modern Standard Arabic, abū can change into the forms abā and abī (accusative and genitive, respectively), depending on its position in the sentence.^[2] In romanizations of Arabic names, the words abū and abū l- are sometimes perceived as a separate part of the full name.^{[citation needed]}

It may also have metaphorical meaning, such as Abu Hurayra, one of the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad, meaning "father of the kitten", who was known for his pet cat. Also common are a reflection of qualities, such as "abu al-Afiya" (the Healthy) and "abu al-Barakat" (the Blessed). The epithet may also express the bearer's attachment to something, as in Abu Bakr, "father of the camel foal", for his love of camels. The honorific may also be a nickname expressing a characteristic of an individual, as in Umm Kulthum, "mother of the beautiful face", "Kulthum" being a name with that meaning. It is also frequently used to refer to politicians and other celebrities to indicate respect.^[2]^{[citation needed]}

Men who do not yet have a child are often addressed by a made-up kunya, usually from a popular or notable figure in Muslim or Arab history. Arabs would take the given name and the patronymic of those famous figures and attribute it to that person. For example, the kunya of a man with the given name Khalid who has no male heir would be Abu Walid, because of the famous Muslim military commander Khalid ibn al-Walid. The converse is also true: if someone's given name was Walid, his kunya would be Abu Khalid. Less commonly, it is the name of his father, because it is tradition for men to name their firstborns after their fathers.^{[citation needed]}

Jewish use

Medieval Jewish names generally had stock kunyas referencing a biblical eponym and not any relative. Those named Abraham received "abu Ishaq", those named Jacob, "abu Yusuf," and so on. In some cases the word abu is construed beyond the traditional sense of "father," so a person named Isaac received "abu Ibrahim" ("father" loses its meaning metaphorically), and one named Moses received "abu Imran" (son of Amram).^[2]

Nom de guerre

Arab guerrillas, Islamist terrorists, and others, sometimes use real or fictional kunyas as a nom de guerre. Examples of this include Islamic State leader "Abu Bakr" al-Baghdadi, and "Abu Abdullah" for Osama bin Laden. Additionally, Palestinian militants, such as Abu Jihad, Abu Nidal, Abu Ali Iyad are known by theirs. Abu Arz ('Father of the Cedar') was used by Etienne Saqr, the leader of Guardians of the Cedars, Lebanese Christian political party.^{[citation needed]}

References

^ Hodivala, Shahpurshah Hormash (1923). Historical Studies in Mug̲h̲al Numismatics. Numismatic Society of India. Retrieved June 16, 2025.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Ginzberg, Louis (1906). "Abu". In Singer, Isidore (ed.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. Funk & Wagnalls. p. 137.
^ Schimmel, Annemarie (1989). Islamic Names: An Introduction. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 0852245637.

Steinschneider, Moritz (1901). An Introduction to the Arabic Literature of the Jews.
Landman, Isaac (1939). "Abu". The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia in 10 Volumes: An Authoritative and Popular Presentation of Jews and Judaism Since the Earliest Times. Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, Incorporated.
מימון, יהודה ליב הכהן (1960). רבי משה בן מימון: תולדות חייו ויצירתו הספרותית (in Hebrew). הוצאת מוסד הרב קוק. pp. 20 n. 9.
מימון, אברהם בן משה בן (2019). פירוש התורה להחסיד הנגיד רבנו אברהם בן הרמב"ם: ספר ... : מהדורה מדויקת ע"פ כת"י ודפו"ר כולל תיקונים ושיפורי תרגום רבים בליווי ביאורים והערות, השוואות ומקבילות (in Hebrew). Makhon le-ḥeḳer Torat ha-ḳadmonim she-ʻa.y. k.k. Even Shelomoh. p. 500.
מאמאן, רפאל (2006). ספר עם ר״ם: תולדות משפחת מאמאן ק"ק צפרו ושושלת יחוחסין של רבני משפחת מאמאן לבית הרמב"ם מראשית הישוב היהודי בצפרו (מרוקו) (in Hebrew). מכון "אמרי שלום". p. 72.
Klatzkin, Jakob (1929). ‏אשכול:: ‏אנציקלופדיה ישראלית. כרך א־ב (in Hebrew). ‏הוצאת אשכול. p. 63.

[1] Hodivala, Shahpurshah Hormash (1923). Historical Studies in Mug̲h̲al Numismatics. Numismatic Society of India. Retrieved June 16, 2025.

[ginzberg-2] Ginzberg, Louis (1906). "Abu". In Singer, Isidore (ed.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. Funk & Wagnalls. p. 137.

[3] Schimmel, Annemarie (1989). Islamic Names: An Introduction. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 0852245637.

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