Sawdah, name meaning in Islam

Sawdah (سَوْدَة) is an Arabic name for girls. It means a name of the Arabs. Parents choose it for the Mother of the Believers.

Meaning and root

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

Is Sawdah in the Quran?

No. Sawdah 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 Sawdah

Say it SAW-dah. The capital letters show the stressed part. In English it is also spelled Sauda and Sawda. In Arabic it is written with 4 letters, from right to left: س sin + و waw + د dal + ة ta marbuta.

Choosing Sawdah

Sawdah is a name with a good meaning, which is what the Sunnah asks for. The Prophet ﷺ said: "The most beloved of your names to Allah are Abdullah and Abdur-Rahman",³ and after these, any name with a good meaning is a sound choice. With the father's name it becomes Sawdah bint (and the father's name): see what bin, bint and abu mean.

Famous people named Sawdah

• Sawdah bint Zamah, the wife the Prophet ﷺ married after Khadijah

Names like Sawdah

• Khadijah
• Aishah
• Hafsah

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.