Abbas, name meaning in Islam.

Abbas (عَبَّاس) is an Arabic name for boys. It means lion; stern. Abbas was a name for the lion, for its stern face.

Meaning and root

In Arabic, words are built from a root of usually three letters. Abbas comes from the root ع ب س, and words from the same root share its core meaning. Similar names from the same family of words are listed below.

Is Abbas in the Quran?

No. Abbas is not a word in the Quran. A name does not need to be in the Quran to be a good Muslim name: what matters is that its meaning is good. The Prophet ﷺ changed names with bad meanings and kept names with good ones.¹

How to say and write Abbas

Say it ab-BAAS. The capital letters show the stressed part. In English it is also spelled Abas. In Arabic it is written with 4 letters, from right to left: ع ʿayn + ب ba + ا alif + س sin.

Choosing Abbas

Many parents choose Abbas to name their child after someone from the early generations of Islam, hoping the child will grow up with the same qualities. With the father's name it becomes Abbas bin (and the father's name): see what bin, bint and abu mean.

Famous people named Abbas

• Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, uncle of the Prophet ﷺ
• Abdullah ibn Abbas, his son, the great scholar of tafsir

Names like Abbas

• Hamza
• Laith
• Usama

1. Sahih Muslim 2139, the Prophet ﷺ changing a name with a bad meaning.
2. Sahih Muslim 2315.
3. Sahih Muslim 2132.
4. Meanings follow classical Arabic usage and the standard name dictionaries; our teachers will check each one.

Our teachers will check the Arabic spelling and meaning on this page before launch.