Babar (), also variously spelled as Baber, Babur, and Babor is a male given name of

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

origin, and a popular male given name in

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. It is generally taken in reference to the

''babr'' (

: ببر), meaning "tiger". There is a similar name in

connotation A connotation is a commonly understood cultural or emotional association that any given word or phrase carries, in addition to its explicit or literal meaning, which is its denotation. A connotation is frequently described as either positive or ...

to the Arabic male given form and generic name of the animal by the name " Nimr" (

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

: نَمِر ''namir'') which means "yellow-black stripped cat", i.e. "tiger". The word repeatedly appears in

Ferdowsi Abu'l-Qâsem Ferdowsi Tusi (also Firdawsi, ; 940 – 1019/1025) was a Persians, Persian poet and the author of ''Shahnameh'' ("Book of Kings"), which is one of the world's longest epic poetry, epic poems created by a single poet, and the gre ...

's ''

Shahnameh The ''Shahnameh'' (, ), also transliterated ''Shahnama'', is a long epic poem written by the Persian literature, Persian poet Ferdowsi between and 1010 CE and is the national epic of Greater Iran. Consisting of some 50,000 distichs or couple ...

'' and was borrowed into the

Turkic languages The Turkic languages are a language family of more than 35 documented languages, spoken by the Turkic peoples of Eurasia from Eastern Europe and Southern Europe to Central Asia, East Asia, North Asia (Siberia), and West Asia. The Turkic langua ...

of Central Asia.Thumb, Albert, ''Handbuch des Sanskrit, mit Texten und Glossar'', German original, ed. C. Winter, 1953
Snippet, p. 318
/ref> Thackston argues for an alternate derivation from the

PIE A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients. Sweet pies may be filled with fruit (as in an apple pie), nuts ( pecan pie), fruit preserves ( jam tart ...

word "

beaver Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...

", pointing to similarities between the pronunciation ''Bābor'' and the Russian ''bobr'' (, "beaver"). The most famous bearer of this name was Zahiruddin Muhammad Babur, known popularly as

Babur Babur (; 14 February 148326 December 1530; born Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad) was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through his father and mother respectively. He was also ...

, a prince of the

Timurid dynasty The Timurid dynasty, self-designated as Gurkani (), was the ruling dynasty of the Timurid Empire (1370–1507). It was a Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslim dynasty or Barlās clan of Turco-Mongol originB.F. Manz, ''"Tīmūr Lang"'', in Encyclopaedia of I ...

who founded the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

, and the name is popular in

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

, as well as Muslim communities in South and Central Asia.

Geographical

Babar Islands The Babar Islands (; ) are located in Maluku Province, Indonesia between latitudes 7 degrees 31 minutes South to 8 degrees 13 minutes South and from longitudes 129 degrees 30 minutes East to 130 degrees 05 minutes East. The group now constitutes ...

, a group of islands in the

Southwest Maluku Regency Southwest Maluku Regency (; ) is a regency of Maluku Province, Indonesia. Geographically it forms the most eastern portion of the Lesser Sunda Islands, although it has never been administratively included with them, and politically has always com ...

in Maluku, Indonesia.

People

(1483–1530), also spelled Baber or Babar, Turkic ruler of present-day India and founder of the Mughal Empire which encompassed territories outside of India. * Babar Ahmed (director), Pakistani-born American film director * Babar Ali (disambiguation) **

Babar Ali Babar Ali (; born 30 June 1972) is a Pakistani film and television actor. He started his career in the late 1980s at the age of 16. Babar Ali is known for playing ‘Bali’ in the drama serial ''Landa Bazaar'' (2002-2003) written by Khalil ...

(born 1975), Pakistani actor **

Babar Ali (cricketer) Babar Ali (born 8 November 1986) is a Pakistani first-class cricketer who plays for Multan cricket team The Multan cricket team is a first-class cricket team based in Multan, Punjab, Pakistan. Their home ground is the Multan Cricket Stadium ...

(born 1986), Pakistani cricketer **

Babar Ali (teacher) Babar Ali (born 18 March 1993) is a teacher from Murshidabad in West Bengal. He was called the "youngest headmaster in the world" by BBC in October 2009, at the age of sixteen. He had begun teaching at nine years of age, mostly as a game, and t ...

, Indian educator **

Babar Ali Khan Sayyid Babar Ali Khan Bahadur (; died 28 April 1810) was the Nawab of Bengal and Bihar. He succeeded to the Nawab's ''Masnad'' (throne) after his father, Mubarak Ali Khan died on 6 September 1793. He reigned from 1793 until 1810, when he died ...

(), Nawab of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa **

Babar Ali Khan Mohmand Babar Ali Khan Mohmand is a Pakistani politician (born 1 January 1983). He was a Member of the Provincial Assembly of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, elected from Shabqadar. Babar Ali Khan Mohmand holds a master's degree from Queen Mary, University of London ...

(born 1983), Pakistani politician *

Babar Awan Zaheer-ud-din Babar Awan (; SI), is a Pakistani politician, senior lawyer, author, analyst, columnist, and leftist writer who served as Adviser to Prime Minister for Parliamentary Affairs from April 2020 to 10 April 2022, and before that as ...

(born 1958), Pakistani writer and politician *

Babar Azam Mohammad Babar Azam (Urdu, ; ; born 15 October 1994) is a Pakistani international cricketer and a former Captain (cricket), captain of the Pakistan national cricket team , national team in all three formats of the game. A right-handed top-orde ...

(born 1994), Pakistani cricketer *

Babar Bhatti Barbar Bhatti (born 14 February 1949), also spelled Babar Bhatti is a British actor of Pakistani origin. He was born in Southall to parents from Pakistan on 14 February 1949. He is best known for the part of punkah wallah Rumzan in the BBC sitco ...

(born 1949), British actor *

Babar Hayat Babar Hayat (born 5 January 1992) is a Pakistani-born Hong Kong cricketer, who plays for the Hong Kong cricket team. He is a right-handed batsman and a former captain of the national team. International career Babar made his T20I cricket comple ...

(born 1992), Pakistani-born Hong Kong cricketer *

Babar Khan Babar Khan is a Pakistani TV actor and model. He is best known for his role in Hum TV serial '' Ek Tamanna Lahasil Si'' which earned him a nomination for best supporting actor at the 1st Hum awards. Khan attended Bahria College in Karachi, P ...

, Pakistani actor and model *

Babar Khan (cricketer) Babar Khan is a Pakistani TV actor and model. He is best known for his role in Hum TV serial '' Ek Tamanna Lahasil Si'' which earned him a nomination for best supporting actor at the 1st Hum awards. Khan attended Bahria College in Karachi, P ...

(born 1993), Pakistani cricketer *

Babar Luck Babar Luck is a songwriter and musician based in the UK. Born in Pakistan in 1970 he moved to London at the age of eight years and was educated in East London He is known for his ‘unique’ personality and contradictory views. Background Fo ...

(born 1970), Pakistani-born British musician *

Babar Khan Ghauri Babar Khan Ghauri () (born 16 September 1961) is a Pakistani politician from Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. He also served as Ministry of Ports and Shipping, Minister for Ports and Shipping Pakistan in former Prime Ministers of Pakistan Yousaf Raza ...

, Pakistani politician * Babar Nawaz Khan, Pakistani politician * Babar Naeem (born 1983), Pakistani cricketer *

Babar Rehman Babar Rehman (born 14 August 1984) is a Pakistani first-class cricketer who plays for Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by popula ...

(born 1984), Pakistani cricketer * Diana Babar, British solicitor *

Fahad Babar Fahad Babar (born 19 February 1992 in Karachi, Pakistan) is an American cricketer. Babar has played two Twenty20s for the USA cricket team after qualifying to play for the United States because of the International Cricket Council's (ICC) seven- ...

(born 1992), Pakistani-born American cricketer *

Farhatullah Babar Farhatullah Babar (Urdu, Pashto: ) is a Pakistani leftist politician, engineer and former senator. He is a prominent member of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), having served as a spokesperson for the party. He is a supporter of the Pashtun Ta ...

, Pakistani politician * Ilyas Babar (1926–2002), Indian athletic coach *

Lutfozzaman Babar Lutfozzaman Babar (Bengali language, Bengali: লুৎফুজ্জামান বাবর, born 10 October 1958) is a Bangladeshi politician, who served as the Ministry of Home Affairs (Bangladesh), Minister of Home Affairs in the Second ...

, Bangladeshi politician *

Naseerullah Babar Naseerullah Khan Babar (Urdu: نصیر اللہ خان بابر; born 1928 – 10 January 2011) was a Pakistani army officer, diplomat, and politician who served as the 28th Interior Minister of Pakistan from 1993 to 1996. A member of the Paki ...

(1928–2011), Pakistani general and cabinet minister *

Wali Khan Babar Wali Khan Babar (Urdu, ; 5 April 1982 – 13 January 2011) was a Pakistani journalist working for GEO News who was killed by gunmen in the Liaquatabad area of Karachi. His murderers Saulat Mirza and Faisal Mota (who are target killers of MQM) ...

(1982–2011), Pakistani journalist *

Zulfiqar Babar Zulfiqar Babar (born 10 December 1978) is a Pakistani former cricketer who played for the Pakistan national cricket team between 2013 and 2016. Domestic career The lack of top-class facilities, though, didn't diminish his hunger or ambition. ...

(born 1978), Pakistani cricketer (Bowler)

Clans

Babar (Pashtun tribe) Babar or Bāborī are a tribe of Pashtuns residing in Afghanistan as well as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan in Pakistan.''Encyclopædia Iranica'' BĀBORĪ' (Dec 1988, updated 2011) The Babar tribe residing east of the Takht-e-Sulaiman were e ...

, Pashtun tribe *

Babbar (tribe) Babbar, Babur, Babar is a Baloch tribe which lives in Northern Sindh, Balochistan and Dera Ghazi Khan division of Punjab. It is also found in the Pishin District of Rask County, Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iran. A sizeable population ...

, Baloch tribe

Fiction

Babar the Elephant Babar the Elephant ( , , ) is an elephant character named Babar who first appeared in 1931 in the French children's book ''Histoire de Babar'' by Jean de Brunhoff. The book is based on a tale that Brunhoff's wife, Cécile, had invented for ...

, fictional character from a French children's book series

References

Sources

* * * {{given name, type=both