Middle Eastern surnames reflect centuries of rich cultural, linguistic, and religious traditions. Shaped by Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, and Turkish influences, Middle Eastern surnames offer valuable clues to family lineage, regional identity, and historical migration across this diverse region.
Middle Eastern surnames naming conventions
Surnames in the Middle East reflect a rich mosaic of Semitic, Turkic and Persian traditions, deeply shaped by Islamic culture, tribal affiliations, and centuries of migration and empire-building. Arabic naming customs have been particularly influential across the region, structuring surnames around lineage, place, and honorifics.
Arabic surnames often use elements like the -i suffix or the al- prefix (“the”) before a place name, occupation, or attribute—for example, Boustani or Al-Masri. Many surnames reflect ancestry (Hashimi), professions (Haddad – blacksmith), or religious titles (Sharif – noble). The ibn or bin (“son of”) and bint (“daughter of”) are the Nasab, the patronymic or matronymic part of an arabic name, which sometimes is recorded in a series, which can be useful to trace a person's heritage backwards in time. Hebrew surnames, sharing Semitic roots with Arabic, similarly incorporate patronymics (Ben-David – “son of David”) and can reflect tribal ancestry (Kohen, Levi) religious status (Dayan) or geographic ties (Vilnai, Yerushalmi). Maltese surnames, while rooted in a Semitic language, are predominantly of Italian or Sicilian origin due to centuries of European influence, creating a unique blend where Latin surnames coexist with Semitic linguistic heritage, like Buttigieg, Borg, Azzopardi and Zammit.
Turkish surnames were formalized in the 20th century following the Surname Law of 1934. Modern Turkish surnames often reflect nature (Yıldız – “star”), virtues (Demir – “iron”), or nationalism (Öztürk – “pure Turk”), alongside older clan and occupational identities.
Persian surnames in Iran commonly use suffixes like -zadeh (descendant), -pour (son of), or -i (from), as in Ahmadzadeh or Esfahani. Many surnames denote ancestry, place of origin, or religious affiliation, especially within Shia Islamic traditions.
Across the Middle East, surnames offer powerful insights into family lineage, regional identity, religious history, and the cultural crosscurrents that have shaped the region for millennia.
