Bassam is an Arabic name and a given name roughly meaning "one who smiles". More accurately, it is the Arabic name "Basem" (often incorrectly written in English as Bassem) that translates to "one who smiles". Basem is the

agent noun In linguistics, an agent noun (in Latin, ) is a word that is derived from another word denoting an action, and that identifies an entity that does that action. For example, ''driver'' is an agent noun formed from the verb ''drive''. Usually, '' ...

of the Arabic verb with the root ba-sa-ma, which means to smile. The name "Bassam" is the ''exaggerated form'' of the agent noun (Arabic: صيغه مبالغه), and would therefore roughly translates to "one who smiles profusely". The name is most common in the

Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

. Notable people with the name include:

Notable people named Bassam

Bassam Frangieh Bassam Frangieh (born 1949, Arabic: بسام فرنجيه) is a Palestinian scholar of contemporary Arabic literature and culture. He is best known for his pedagogical innovations in the study of the Arabic language, as well as his translations ...

(born 1950), scholar of Arabic literature and culture * Bassam Jamous, Syrian archaeologist *

Bassam Kousa Bassam Kousa (; born 7 November 1954) is a Syrian Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural an ...

(born 1963), Syrian actor * Bassam Abdel Majeed (born 1950), Syrian minister * Bassam Abdullah bin Bushar al-Nahdi (born 1976), Yemeni wanted by the US FBI * Bassam Saba (1958–2020), Lebanese musician *

Bassam Shakaa Bassam Shakaa () (1930 – 22 July 2019) was mayor of Nablus from 1976 to 1982. Biography Early life Bassam Shakaa was a member of a distinguished family in Nablus. He became a member of the Jordanian regional branch of the Ba'ath Party ...

(1930-2019), Palestinian politician *

Bassam as-Salhi Bassam as-Salhi (born 1960) is a Palestinian politician and the Secretary-General of the Palestinian People's Party (PPP), a left-wing political party, since 2008. Born in the Al-Am'ari Refugee Camp near Ramallah to a family originally from Lydda, ...

(born 1960), General Secretary of the Palestinian People's Party *

Bassam Abu Sharif Bassam Abu Sharif (; born August 9, 1946 in Jerusalem) is a former senior adviser to Yasser Arafat and leading cadre of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). He was previously a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine ...

(born 1946), Palestinian politician * Bassam el-Shammaa (born 1962), Egyptian Egyptologist *

Bassam Al-Soukaria Bassam Al-Soukaria (; May 14, 1580 – April 13, 1667) was a Lebanese army commander-in-chief, son of Prince Nazim el Maany from the Maan Druze dynasty. Bassam Al-Soukaria is considered one of the most powerful army commanders to rule Mount L ...

(1580–1667), Lebanese army commander *

Bassam Tahhan Bassam Tahhan is a Syrian-born French professor of Arabic literature and expert on the Quran. he taught at the Henri IV secondary school in Paris. Tahhan advocates a Protestant reformation in Islam. He defines a "Protestant Islam," as "Islam that a ...

, professor of Arabic literature *

Bassam Talhouni Bassam Talhouni (; born 1964) is the Jordanian Minister of Justice. He is a lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature o ...

(born 1964), Jordanian lawyer, academic and politician *

Bassam Tibi Bassam Tibi (), is a Syrian-born German political scientist and professor of international relations specializing in Islamic studies and Middle Eastern studies. He was born in 1944 in Damascus, Syria to an aristocratic family, and moved to West ...

(born 1944), Syrian-German political scientist *

Bassam Yammine Bassam Yammine (; born 1968) is a Lebanese economist and former CEO of Credit Suisse Saudi Arabia. Early life and education Yammine was born into a Maronite family. He obtained bachelor of arts and master's degrees from Loyola Marymount Universi ...

(born 1968), Lebanese businessman *

Bassam Zuamut Bassam Zuamut (, ; 27 March 1951 – 16 October 2004) was a Palestinian Israeli Arab actor and screenwriter. Biography Zuamut was born in Jerusalem. He studied acting at Beth Rothschild. Zuamut participated in many theater productions of the Je ...

(1951–2004), Israeli Arab Actor

Surname

Ibn Bassam Ibn Bassām or Ibn Bassām al-Shantarīnī (; 1058-1147) was an Arab-Andalusian poet and historian from al-Andalus. He was born in Santarém (sometimes spelled Shantarin or Xantarin) and hailed from the Banu Taghlib tribe. He died in 1147. Ibn ...

(1058-1147), Moorish writer *

Rehab Bassam Rehab Bassam (), is an Egyptian blog A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in ...

(born 1977), Egyptian blogger *

Steve Bassam, Baron Bassam of Brighton John Steven Bassam, Baron Bassam of Brighton (born 11 June 1953) is a British Labour and Co-operative politician and a member of the House of Lords. Background Bassam grew up on a council estate in Great Bentley, Essex and went to the local ...

(born 1953), British politician *

Sulayman Al-Bassam Sulayman Al Bassam (born 1 June 1972), is a Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the ...

, (born 1972), Anglo-Kuwaiti playwright

References

{{Reflist

Notable people named Bassam

Surname

See also

References