Egyptian names: 180+ modern, ancient and last names with meanings

Mohamed and Mariam led Egypt's 2018 birth registrations, and Ahmed, Youssef and Mahmoud are also very common for boys. Many Egyptian last names are a forefather's first name, like Mostafa or Hafez, while others, like El-Masry (the Egyptian), name a place.

In Egyptian Arabic, the letter jim is said as a hard g, as in go. So Jamal becomes Gamal, Najib becomes Naguib and Rajab becomes Ragab, and Egyptians usually keep that sound in English spellings.

They are names of pharaohs, queens and officials, like Hatshepsut (foremost of noble women) and Tutankhamun (living image of Amun). Most honor a god, so they read like short prayers.

In Egypt the second name is usually the father's first name, and the third is the grandfather's. So Ahmed Mohamed Hassan is Ahmed, son of Mohamed, grandson of Hassan, and some families add an inherited surname at the end.

Egypt's Coptic Christians often use saints' names in Arabic or Coptic form, such as Girgis (George), Boutros (Peter) and Shenouda (son of God). Some come straight from ancient Egyptian: Bishoy means the fate, and Mina is probably tied to the old god Min.

No. An Egyptian woman keeps her own name chain, her given name followed by her father's and grandfather's names, after marriage.

Ancient Egyptian gods belong to a religion no longer practiced, so names like Amun or Thoth are mostly used for characters and pets. Check how a name reads today first: Isis fell from 501 US girls in 2013 to 53 in 2016, when it was also a militant group's name.