Boustani is a Levantine surname. Variations of the name, due to transliteration, include Boustani as well as Boustany, Bisteni, Bistany, Bostany, Bustani, Besteni, Bestani and Bestene ( /

ALA-LC ALA-LC (American Library AssociationLibrary of Congress) is a set of standards for romanization, the representation of text in other writing systems using the Latin script. Applications The system is used to represent bibliographic information by ...

: ''Bustānī''). The name, a nisba, derives from the Arabic word for "garden" (a loanword from

Middle Persian Middle Persian, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg ( Inscriptional Pahlavi script: , Manichaean script: , Avestan script: ) in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasania ...

''bōyestān''). The family has its roots in a place named El-Bassatin, in the

Jableh Jableh (; ', also spelt ''Jebleh'', ''Jabala'', ''Jablah, Gabala'' or ''Gibellum'') is a Mediterranean coastal city in Syria, north of Baniyas and south of Latakia, with c. 80,000 inhabitants (2004 census). As Ancient ''Gabala'', it was a By ...

Latakia Latakia (; ; Syrian Arabic, Syrian pronunciation: ) is the principal port city of Syria and capital city of the Latakia Governorate located on the Mediterranean coast. Historically, it has also been known as Laodicea in Syria or Laodicea ad Mar ...

on the Syrian coast. In the beginning of the 16th century, and after the Ottoman conquest of the Middle East, Muqim (Abu Mahfouz) left his home town and went towards Mount-Lebanon, stopping at Dahr Safra, then Bqerqacha, a village at the foot of the Cedars of Lebanon. Muqim had three sons, Mahfouz, Abd el Aziz and Nader. Abd el Aziz resided in Deir el Kamar. Nader and his family settled in the Chouf region, principally Deir el Kamar and Debbiyé. Muqim and his eldest son Mahfouz went back to the northern regions of the country. His descendants still bear the name Mahfouz. Following social and political upheavals, the Boustanis settled in every single region of Lebanon – in Giyeh, Marj, Jounieh, Tripoli, in the Koura and the Beqaa – as well as in Syria (Damascus and Aleppo), Turkey and Egypt. Throughout the two last centuries, and especially in the beginning of the 20th, the great migration of the Boustanis towards Europe and the New World began. During the two last centuries, members of the family emigrated from different Lebanese cities to numerous countries around the world. However, the Boustanis who presently live in Lebanon, as well as those of the Diaspora, constitute one sole family. The Boustanis were a family of many talents, to which were born eminent archbishops, great statesmen, businessmen, writers and poets in Lebanon and in the Diaspora countries. Among the bishops were: Abdallah (1780–1866),

Boutros Boutros, Botros or Butrus () is the Arabic form of the name '' Peter'', derived from Greek (''Petros''). It is generally used as a male given name, but may also be used as a surname. Notable persons with the name Boutros or variants include: ...

(1819–1883) and Augustin (1875–1957).

Notable people

* Alberto Bustani Adem, Mexican academic and former President of the Monterrey Campus of Tecnologico de Monterrey * Augustin Bostani (1876–1957), Eparch of Sidon * Boutros al-Boustani, Lebanese intellectual poet, writer, encyclopaedist and pioneer of the Arabic literary renaissance *

Charles Boustany Charles William Boustany Jr. (; born February 21, 1956) is an American politician, physician, and former congressman from Lafayette, Louisiana, who served as the U.S. representative from Louisiana's 3rd congressional district from 2005 to 2017 ( ...

, former Congressman from Louisiana, United States of America * Don Bustany (born 1928), American radio and television producer * Emile Bustani, Lebanese tycoon, entrepreneur, astro-physicist (American University of Beirut) and civil engineer (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), philanthropist and politician *

Emile Boustany Emile Boustany (1909–2002) was a Lebanese military general who served as the Commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces from 1 July 1965 until 6 January 1970. Biography Boustany was born in Jounieh to a poor Lebanese family. He served as a comman ...

, former Commander of General rank in the Lebanese Armed Forces * Fouad Ephrem Boustany, president of

Lebanese University The Lebanese University (LU; ) is the only state-funded public university in Lebanon. It was established in 1951. The university's main campus was originally located in Beirut, but a few satellite campuses were opened due to travel restriction ...

from 1953 to 1970 * José Maurício Bustani, Brazilian Ambassador to the United Kingdom and former director-general of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons * Myrna Bustani, daughter of Emile Bustani, and first female in the Lebanese Parliament * Nora Boustany, Lebanese educator and journalist * Salim Al Bustani (1847–1884), Lebanese journalist and writer *

Suleyman al-Boustani Suleyman al-Boustani (Arabic: سليمان البـسـتاني / ALA-LC: ''Sulaymān al-Bustānī'', ; 1856–1925) was a statesman, teacher, poet and historian born in Bkheshtin, Lebanon. He was a Maronite Catholic and hailed from a promine ...

(Effendi) (1856–1925), nephew of Boutros al-Boustani, translator of Homer's ''Iliad'' into Arabic, and Minister of Commerce and Agriculture in the last Ottoman Government * Pierre Bostani (1819–1899), Assistant to the Pontifical Throne, Archbishop of Tyre, Count of Rome, Bishop of Saint-John-Acre, Council Father of the First Vatican Council * Don Bustany, American radio and television broadcaster * Wissam Boustany, Lebanese/British concert flautist * Lisa al-Boustani, mother of

Fairuz Nouhad Wadie Haddad (, ; born November 20, 1934 or November 21, 1935), known as Fairuz (, ), is a Lebanese singer. She is widely considered an iconic vocalist and one of the most celebrated singers in the history of the Arab world. She is pop ...

References

{{surname Lebanese people of Syrian descent Arabic-language surnames