Abd Allah (), also spelled Abdullah, Abdhullah, Abdellah, Abdollah, Abdallah, Abdulla, Abdalla and many others, is an
Arabic theophoric name meaning ''servant of
God
In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...
'' or "God's follower". It is built from the Arabic words ''
abd'' () and ''
Allāh'' ().
Although the first letter "a" in ''Allāh'', as the first letter of the article ''
al-'', is usually unstressed in Arabic, it is usually stressed in the pronunciation of this name. The variants ''Abdollah'' and ''Abdullah'' represent the
elision
In linguistics, an elision or deletion is the omission of one or more sounds (such as a vowel, a consonant, or a whole syllable) in a word or phrase. However, these terms are also used to refer more narrowly to cases where two words are run to ...
of this "a" following the "u" of the
Classical Arabic
Classical Arabic or Quranic Arabic () is the standardized literary form of Arabic used from the 7th century and throughout the Middle Ages, most notably in Umayyad Caliphate, Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphate, Abbasid literary texts such as poetry, e ...
nominative case
In grammar, the nominative case ( abbreviated ), subjective case, straight case, or upright case is one of the grammatical cases of a noun or other part of speech, which generally marks the subject of a verb, or (in Latin and formal variants ...
(pronounced in
Persian).
Humility before
God
In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...
is an essential value of
Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
, hence ''Abdullah'' is a common name among
Muslims
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
. The name of the Islamic prophet
Muhammad
Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
's father was
Abdullah. As the prophet's father died before his birth, this indicates that the name was already in use in pre-Islamic Arabia.
It is also common among
Mizrahi Jews and
Sephardic Jews, especially
Iraqi Jews and
Syrian Jews. Among the latter, the name holds historical significance in
Sephardic communities, particularly those from Aleppo, Syria, where the variant "Abdalla" was traditionally used as a surname. The name is cognate to, and has the same meaning as, the Hebrew
Abdiel,
Obadiah and also,
Ovadia. A notable bearer was
Abdallah Somekh (1813–1889), who was an influential Sephardic rabbi in Ottoman Iraq. Two Jewish rabbis were present in Medina before the advent of Islam:
Abdullah ibn Salam and
Abdullah ibn Saba.
Ovadia Yosef
Ovadia Yosef (, ; September 24, 1920 – October 7, 2013) also known as Maran (Hebrew language, Hebrew: מרן) "Our Master", was an History of the Jews in Iraq#Otoman rule, Iraqi-born Talmudic scholar, hakham, posek, and the Sephardi Jews, Sephar ...
, the former Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel, was born Abdalla Youssef.
The variant used in the
Russian language
Russian is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language belonging to the Balto-Slavic languages, Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. It is one of the four extant East Slavic languages, and is ...
is "" (''Abdulla'') (cf.
Fedul, which has similar origins), with "" (''
Abdul'') and "" (''Gabdulla'') often used in
Adyghe.
[Superanskaya, p. 20] The
Spanish variant is
Abdala. The Turkic
Tatar language spells it as Ğabdulla (Габдулла).
The
Christian Arabic Bible uses the word ''Allah'' for God. Presently in the
Middle East
The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq.
The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
, the name is sometimes used by Christians as a given or family name.
Given name
Abd Allah
*
Abd Allah ibn Muhammad (611–613), son of
Muhammad
Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
*
Abd Allah ibn Uthman (620–625), son of third caliph
Uthman
*
Abd Allah ibn Abd Allah (died 633), companion of Muhammad
*
Abd Allah ibn Abi Bakr (608–633), son of caliph
Abu Bakr
Abd Allah ibn Abi Quhafa (23 August 634), better known by his ''Kunya (Arabic), kunya'' Abu Bakr, was a senior Sahaba, companion, the closest friend, and father-in-law of Muhammad. He served as the first caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, ruli ...
*
Abd Allah ibn Saba, Jewish anti-Rashidun rebel
*
Abd Allah ibn Salam (died 663), Jewish companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad
*
Abd Allah ibn Ubayy (died 631), leading inhabitant of Medina and contemporary of Muhammad
*
Abd Allah ibn Umar (610–693), narrator of hadith
*
Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, (624–692), ruler of the 8th-century
Zubayrid Caliphate
*
Abd Allah ibn Yazid, an Umayyad prince and Military leader
*
Abu Abd Allah Muhammad al-Bukhari, Persian muhaddith
Abdalla
*
Abdalla El-Masri (born 1962), Lebanese composer
*
Abdalla Hamdok (born 1956), most recent Sudanese president, who was deposed in a coup
*
Ovadia Yosef
Ovadia Yosef (, ; September 24, 1920 – October 7, 2013) also known as Maran (Hebrew language, Hebrew: מרן) "Our Master", was an History of the Jews in Iraq#Otoman rule, Iraqi-born Talmudic scholar, hakham, posek, and the Sephardi Jews, Sephar ...
(1920–2013), Israeli rabbi, born Abdalla Youssef
Abdallah
*
Abdallah Somekh (1813–1889), Iraqi Sephardic rabbi
*
Abdallah Abdalsalam (born 1983), Egyptian volleyball player
*
Abdallah al-Adil (1224–1227), Caliph of Morocco
*
Abdallah Aich (born 1995), Lebanese footballer
*
Abdallah ibn Amir (626–678), Rashidun politician and military officer
*
Abdallah Djaballah (born 1956), Algerian politician
*
Abdallah Al-Fakhouri (born 2000), Jordanian footballer
*
Abdallah Kamal (1965–2014), Egyptian journalist and politician
*
Abdallah El Maaroufi (1944–2011), Moroccan diplomat
*
Abdallah ibn al-Mu'tazz (861–908), Arab poet
*
Abdallah Saaf (born 1949), Moroccan academic and politician
*
Abdallah ibn Sa'd, Arab administrator and commander
*
Abdallah Shihiri (1868–1931), politician of the
Somali Dervish movement
*
Abdallah El-Yafi (1901–1986), Lebanese politician
*
Abdallah al-Fadil al-Mahdi (1890–1966), Sudanese politician
Abdelilah
*
Abdelilah Saber (born 1974), Moroccan association football player
Abdellah
*
Abdellah Béhar (born 1963), French runner
*
Abdellah Blinda (born 1951), Moroccan association football manager
*
Abdellah Liegeon (born 1957), Algerian association football player
Abdollah
*
Abdollah Jassbi (born 1944), Iranian academic
*
Abdollah Mojtabavi (1925–2012), Iranian sport wrestler
*
Abdollah Movahed (born 1940), Iranian sport wrestler
*
Abdollah Nouri (born 1950), Iranian reformist politician
*
Abdollah Ramezanzadeh (born 1954), Iranian academic
*
Abdollah Shahbazi (born 1955), Iranian researcher
*
Seyyed Abdollah Fateminia (1946–2022), Iranian Cleric
*
Abdollah Javadi-Amoli (born 1933), Iranian Cleric
Abdulai
*
Abdulai Bell-Baggie (born 1992), English association football player
*
Abdulai Conteh (1945–2024), Sierra Leonean politician
Abdulah
*
Abdulah Gegić (1924–2008), Yugoslav football coach and doctor of sciences in the veterinary field
*
Abdulah Ibraković (born 1970), Bosnian professional football manager
*
Abdulah Muhasilović (1898-??), Bosnian army chaplain
*
Abdulah Mutapčić (1932–2013), Bosnian politician
*
Abdulah Nakaš (1944–2005), Bosnian surgeon
*
Abdulah Oruč (born 1955), Bosnian professional football manager
*
Abdulah Sidran (1944–2024), Bosnian poet
*
Abdulah Skaka (born 1983), Bosnian politician
Abdullah
*
Abdullah ibn Abd al-Muttalib (545–570), the father of
Muhammad
Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
*
Abdullah (Chagatai Khanate) (died 1359), ruler of the Chagatai
*
Abdullah (Ismaili Mustaali Missionary), first Ismaili, Fatimid, mustaali saint to reach India, c. 1067 AD
*
Abdullah ibn Abbas (619–687), narrator of hadith
*
Abdullah Nur (1910–1997), Indonesian ulama
*
Abdullah Abdullah (born 1960), the former foreign minister of Afghanistan
*
Abdullah al-Amiri, judge in the trial of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein
*
Abdulla Aripov (born 1962), Prime minister of Uzbekistan
*
Abdullah Tahir, Ethiopian-Yemeni governor
*
Abdullah Anderson (born 1996), American football player
*
Abdullah Atalar (born 1954), Turkish academic
*
Abdullah Avcı (born 1963), Turkish association football manager
*
Abdullah Aydoğdu (born 1991), Turkish Paralympian goalball player
*
Abdullah Yusuf Azzam (1941–1989), Islamist leader, assassinated in 1989
*
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (1939–2025), Prime Minister of Malaysia (2003–2009)
*
Abdullah el Baqui (1886–1952), Bengali Islamic scholar, writer and politician
*
Abdullah Baybaşin (born 1960), Turkish mob boss
*
Abdullah Bishara (born 1936), Kuwaiti diplomat
*
Abdullah Bughra (died 1934),
Emir
Emir (; ' (), also Romanization of Arabic, transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic language, Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocratic, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person po ...
of the
First East Turkestan Republic
*
Abdullah Cevdet (1869–1932), Turkish physician
*
Abdullah Çatlı (1956–1996), Turkish secret government agent
*
Abdullah Al Damluji (1890–1970), Iraqi physician and politician
*
Abdullah Demirbaş (born 1966), Turkish politician
*
Abdullah Durak (born 1987), Turkish association football player
*
Abdullah Ercan (born 1971), Turkish association football player
*
Abdullah Franji (born 1943), Palestinian politician and Fatah member
*
Abdullah Gül (born 1950), Turkish politician and 11th President of Turkey
*
Abdullah Halman (born 1987), Turkish association football player
*
Abdullah bin Suleiman Al Hamdan (1887–1965), Saudi Arabian politician and businessman
*
Abdullah Hanafi, Bruneian administrator
*
Abdullah al-Harari (1906–2008), Islamic scholar
*
Abdullah I of Jordan (1882–1951), Emir of Transjordan (1921–1946) and King of Jordan (1946–1951)
*
Abdullah II of Jordan (born 1962), King of Jordan since 1999
*
Abdullah İçel (born 1982), Turkish-Belgian futsal player
*
Abdullah Abdul Kadir (1796–1854), early 19th century Malay writer
*
Abdullah Kayapınar (born 1992), Turkish Paralympian para powerlifter
*
Abdullah bin Ahmad Al Khalifa (1769–1849), ruler of Bahrain between 1821 and 1843
*
Abdullah Khan , an Indian author and scriptwriter
*
Abdullah Kobayashi (born 1976), born ''Yosuke Kobayashi'', Japanese wrestler
*
Abdullah al Mahmood (1900–1975), Bengali politician and former minister in Pakistan
*
Abdullah Malallah (born 1983), Emirati association football player
*
Abdullah al Mamun (1942–2008), Bangladeshi playwright, actor, and filmmaker
*
Abdullah Mando (born 1971), Syrian footballer
*
Abdullah ibn Masud (594–652), a companion of Muhammad
*
Abdullah Mirza (1410–1451), ruler of the Timurid Empire
*
Abdullah Morsi (1994–2019), son of former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi
*
Abdullah Muhammad Shah II of Perak (1842–1922), one of the parties to the
Pangkor Treaty of 1874
*
Abdullah Abbas Nadwi (1925–2006), Indian Islamic scholar
*
Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan (born 1972), United Arab Emirati politician
*
Abdullah Nangyal (born 1986), Pashtun human rights activist and one of the leaders of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement
*
Abdullah Al Noman (1942–2025), Bangladeshi politician
*
Abdullah Al Nuaimi, Emirati engineer and politician
*
Abdullah Oğuz (born 1958), Turkish film director
*
Abdullah Öcalan (born 1948), Kurdish opposition leader and founder of the Kurdistan Workers Party
*
Abdullah Öztürk (born 1989), Turkish para table tennis player
*
Abdullah of Pahang (born 1959), King of Malaysia and Sultan of Pahang
*
Abdullah bin Ali Al Rashid (1788–1848), founder of the Emirate of Jabal Shammar
*
Abdullah bin Ghazi (1935–1998), Pakistani religious scholar and founder of
Faridia University, Islamabad
*
Abdullah Al Rasi (1929–1994), Lebanese physician and politician
*
Abdullah ibn Rawaha (590–629), general in the Battle of Mut'ah
*
Abdullah bin Saud Al Saud (died 1819), Ruler of the First Saudi State
*
Abdullah bin Faisal Al Saud (1831–1889) (1831–1889), Ruler of the Emirate of Diriyah
*
Abdullah bin Faisal Al Saud (1923–2007) (1923–2007), Saudi royal and businessman
*
Abdullah bin Thunayan Al Saud (died 1843), Emir of Nejd
*
Abdullah bin Abdullah Al Saud (1843-??), Saudi royal
*
Abdullah of Saudi Arabia
Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (, ; 1 August 1924 – 23 January 2015) was King of Saudi Arabia, King and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia from 1 August 2005 until his death in 2015. Prior to his accession, he was Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia si ...
(1924–2015), Former ruler of Saudi Arabia
*
Abdullah bin Muhammad Al Sheikh (1751–1829), Wahhabi scholar
*
Abdullah Elyasa Süme (born 1983), Turkish association football player
*
Abdullah Tal (1918–1973), Jordanian soldier
*
Abdullah al-Theni (born 1988), Deputy Emir of Qatar and unofficial heir presumptive to the Emir of Qatar
*
Abdullah bin Muhammad Al Sheikh, (1751–1829), Head of Saudi religious establishment after Ibn Abd al-Wahhab died
*
Abdullah Bukhari, (1922–2009), 12th Shahi Imam of the Jama Masjid, Delhi
Surname
Abdalla
*
Ahmad Abdalla (born 1979), Egyptian film director
*
Ali Abdalla (born 1982), Eritrean long-distance runner
*
Asha Ahmed Abdalla (born 1958), Somali politician
*
Khalid Abdalla (born 1980), British actor
*
José João Abdalla Filho (born 1945), Brazilian-Lebanese Jewish billionaire banker
[https://www.forbes.com/profile/jose-joao-abdalla-filho/]
Abdallah
*
Sallamah Umm Abdallah, was the spouse of
Muhammad ibn Ali and mother of
Al-Mansur.
*
Marajil also known as ''Umm Abdallah'' (died 786), mother of Abbasid caliph
Al-Ma'mun.
*
Abu Makhlad Abdallah, Iranian statesman from Tabaristan
*
Ali al-Abdallah, Syrian writer and human rights activist
*
Gene G. Abdallah (1934–2019), American politician
*
Georges Ibrahim Abdallah (born 1951), Lebanese communist militant serving a life sentence for complicity in murder
*
Mohamed Abdallah (born 1975), British citizen with African origin, A Chartered Accountant with ACCA and CPA(T)
Abdellah
*
Faye Glenn Abdellah (1919–2017), American nurse
*
Nacer Abdellah (born 1966), Moroccan footballer
Abdulah
*
Clive Abdulah (born 1927), former Bishop of Trinidad
*
David Abdulah, Trinidad and Tobago trade unionist, economist and politician
Abdullah
*
Abdul Abdullah (born 1986), Australian artist, brother of artist Abdul-Rahman Abdullah
*
Abdul Rahman Abdullah, Muslim name of Donny Meluda, armed robber
*
Abdul-Rahman Abdullah (born 1977), Australian artist, brother of artist Abdul Abdullah
*
Abdullah Abdullah (born 1960), former foreign minister of Afghanistan
*
Adel Abdullah (born 1984), Syrian association football player
*
Ameer Abdullah (born 1993), American football running back
*
Chelsea Abdullah, Kuwaiti American novelist
*
Farah Zeynep Abdullah (born 1989), Turkish actress
*
Husain Abdullah (born 1985), American football player
*
Ismail Sabri Abdullah (1924–2006), Egyptian economist and politician
*
Khalid Abdullah (born 1995), American former professional football running back
*
Majed Abdullah
Majed Ahmed Abdullah (; born 11 January 1959) is a Saudi Arabian former professional association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker for Al Nassr FC, Al-Nassr and the Saudi Arabia national football team, ...
(born 1959), Saudi Arabian football player
*
Muhammad Kho Abdullah (1984–2016), Muslim name of Kho Jabing, convicted Malaysian killer
*
Omar Abdullah (born 1970), last Chief Minister of
Jammu and Kashmir
*
Rahim Abdullah (born 1976), American football player
*
Roshdi bin Abdullah Altway (1959–2025), a Singaporean convicted killer and drug trafficker
*
Salwa Abdullah (born 1953), Syrian politician
*
Sheikh Abdullah (1905–1982), known as Sher-e-Kashmir, first Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir
*
Tewfik Abdullah (1896–1963), Egyptian footballer
*
Yasir Abdullah (born 2000), American football player
Fictional characters
*
Abdul Alhazred, sometimes referred to as ''Abdullah Alhazred''
*
Abdullah (comics), from ''The Adventures of Tintin'' by Hergé
*
Abdullah the Butcher, born ''Lawrence Shreve'', Canadian wrestler
*
Abdullah ibn al-Wahhab from the
Amelia Peabody series, foreman for the Emerson family's archeological excavation sites
*Abdullah, main protagonist of ''
Castle in the Air'', the sequel to ''
Howl's Moving Castle''
See also
Related names
*
Abdala
*
Abdollah (disambiguation)
*
Abdullah (disambiguation)
*
Abdullah I (disambiguation)
*
Abdullah II (disambiguation)
*
Abdullah Al Mamun (disambiguation)
*
Abdullah Khan (disambiguation)
*
Abdullah Al Thani (disambiguation)
*
Abdullahi
*
Abu Abdullah
*
Khalid Abdullah (disambiguation)
*
King Abdullah (disambiguation)
*
Mohamed Abdullah (disambiguation)
*
Mohammed Abdullah (disambiguation)
*
Raja Abdullah (disambiguation)
*
Salem Abdullah (disambiguation)
Other
*
Arabic name
Arabic names have historically been based on a long naming system. Many people from Arabic-speaking and also non-Arab Muslim countries have not had given name, given, middle name, middle, and family names but rather a chain of names. This system ...
*
Dasa
DASA (officially Deutsche AeroSpace AG, later Daimler-Benz AeroSpace AG, then DaimlerChrysler AeroSpace AG) was a German aerospace manufacturer.
It was created during 1989 as the aerospace subsidiary arm of Daimler-Benz, Daimler-Benz AG (later D ...
*
Turkish name
A Turkish name consists of an ''ad'' or an ''isim'' (given name; plural ''adlar'' and ''isimler'') and a ''soyadı'' or ''soyisim'' (surname). Turkish names exist in a "full name" format. While there is only one ''soyadı'' (surname) in the full ...
*
List of Arabic theophoric names
References
Notes
Sources
*А. В. Суперанская (A. V. Superanskaya). "Современный словарь личных имён: Сравнение. Происхождение. Написание" (''Modern Dictionary of First Names: Comparison. Origins. Spelling''). Айрис-пресс. Москва, 2005.
*Zenner, W. P. (2000). A global community: The Jews from Aleppo, Syria. Wayne State University Press.
*Faiguenboim, G., Valadares, P., & Campagnano, A. R. (2009). Dicionário sefaradi de sobrenomes. Avotaynu Inc.
*
*
{{Given name, type=both
Masculine given names
Arabic-language surnames
Arabic-language masculine given names
Bosniak masculine given names
Iranian masculine given names
Turkish masculine given names
Pakistani masculine given names
Theophoric names