A kunya is a component of an Arabic name, a type of epithet, in theory referring to the bearer's first-born son or daughter. By extension, it may also have hypothetical or metaphorical references, e.g. in a nom de guerre or a nickname, without literally referring to a son or a daughter.[2] Use of a kunya implies a familiar but respectful setting.
Medieval Jewish names generally had stock kunyas referencing the biblical eponym and not any relative. Those named Abraham received "abu Ishaq", those named Jacob, "abu Yusuf," and so on. In some cases the word abu is construed beyond the traditional sense of "father," so a person named Isaac received "abu Ibrahim" (son of Abraham) and one named Moses received "abu Imran" (son of Amram). Also common are kunyas which reflect qualities, such as "abu al-Afiya" (the Healthy) and "abu al-Barakat" (the Blessed).[4][5][6]
Abū or Umm precedes the son's or daughter's name, in a genitive construction (ʼiḍāfa). For example, the English equivalent would be to call a man "Father of John" if his eldest son is named John. Use of the kunya normally signifies some closeness between the speaker and the person so addressed, but is more formal than use of the first name. The kunya is also frequently used with reference to politicians and other celebrities to indicate respect.
A kunya may also be a nickname expressing the attachment of an individual to a certain thing: as in Abu Bakr, "father of the camel foal", given because of this person's love for camels; or Abu Hurairah, “father of the cats”, given because of his caring for and adopting stray cats. A kunya may also be a nickname expressing a characteristic of an individual, as in Umm Kulthum “mother of the chubby face”, because the characteristic of being “kulthum” is said of someone with a chubby face.
When also using a person's own birth name, the kunya will precede the proper name. Thus: abū Māzin Maħmūd, for "Mahmud, the father of Mazen" (as, for example, for Mahmoud Abbas). In Classical Arabic, but not in any of the spoken dialects,[citation needed]abū can change into the forms abā and abī (accusative and genitive, respectively), depending on the position of the kunya in the sentence.
Men who do not yet have a child are often addressed by a made-up kunya, most often from a popular or notable figure in Muslim or Arabian history.[citation needed] For example, the kunya of a man with the given name Khalid who has no male heir would be Abu Walid, because of the famous Muslim military commander Khalid ibn al-Walid. Less commonly, however, it would be the name of his father.
The following are some examples of widely used traditional kunya in the Arab world based on a person's given name (as opposed to that of their firstborn male child, especially for those with no sons or young men who have not yet married or had children):
Common Kunya in Arab world
Given name
Kunya
Walīd
Abū Walīd
Khalīd
Abū Khalīd
Hussein
Abū Hussein
Alī
Abū Alī
Jassim/Qassim/Qasim
Abū Jassim/Qassim/Qasim* (depending on the regional dialect)
Muhammad
Abū Muhammad
Yūsuf
Abū Yūsuf
Ya'qūb
Abū Ya'qūb
Khalīl
Abū Khalīl
Ibrahīm
Abū Ibrahīm
“Abū al-Qasim” is the Prophet Muhammad’s kunya
Nom de guerre
A special practice evolved among Arab guerrillas and clandestine operators, is to use real or fictional kunyas as noms de guerre.
^Singer, Isidore (1901). "Abu". The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day. Funk & Wagnalls Company.
^Steinschneider, Moritz (1901). An Introduction to the Arabic Literature of the Jews.
^Landman, Isaac (1939). "Abu". The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia in 10 Volumes: An Authoritative and Popular Presentation of Jews and Judaism Since the Earliest Times. Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, Incorporated.
^"Osama's Will and Arabic Names", Coming Anarchy, 12 May 2011
April 22, 2023
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A kunya Arabic ك نية 1 is a teknonym in Arabic names the name of an adult derived from their oldest child A kunya is a component of an Arabic name a type of epithet in theory referring to the bearer s first born son or daughter By extension it may also have hypothetical or metaphorical references e g in a nom de guerre or a nickname without literally referring to a son or a daughter 2 Use of a kunya implies a familiar but respectful setting A kunya is expressed by the use of abu father or umm mother in a genitive construction i e father of or mother of as an honorific in place of or alongside given names in the Arab world and the Islamic world more generally 3 Medieval Jewish names generally had stock kunyas referencing the biblical eponym and not any relative Those named Abraham received abu Ishaq those named Jacob abu Yusuf and so on In some cases the word abu is construed beyond the traditional sense of father so a person named Isaac received abu Ibrahim son of Abraham and one named Moses received abu Imran son of Amram Also common are kunyas which reflect qualities such as abu al Afiya the Healthy and abu al Barakat the Blessed 4 5 6 Contents 1 General use 2 Nom de guerre 3 See also 4 ReferencesGeneral use EditAbu or Umm precedes the son s or daughter s name in a genitive construction ʼiḍafa For example the English equivalent would be to call a man Father of John if his eldest son is named John Use of the kunya normally signifies some closeness between the speaker and the person so addressed but is more formal than use of the first name The kunya is also frequently used with reference to politicians and other celebrities to indicate respect A kunya may also be a nickname expressing the attachment of an individual to a certain thing as in Abu Bakr father of the camel foal given because of this person s love for camels or Abu Hurairah father of the cats given because of his caring for and adopting stray cats A kunya may also be a nickname expressing a characteristic of an individual as in Umm Kulthum mother of the chubby face because the characteristic of being kulthum is said of someone with a chubby face When also using a person s own birth name the kunya will precede the proper name Thus abu Mazin Maħmud for Mahmud the father of Mazen as for example for Mahmoud Abbas In Classical Arabic but not in any of the spoken dialects citation needed abu can change into the forms aba and abi accusative and genitive respectively depending on the position of the kunya in the sentence In westernizations of Arabic names the words abu and abu l are sometimes perceived as an independent part of the full name similar to a given name Men who do not yet have a child are often addressed by a made up kunya most often from a popular or notable figure in Muslim or Arabian history citation needed For example the kunya of a man with the given name Khalid who has no male heir would be Abu Walid because of the famous Muslim military commander Khalid ibn al Walid Less commonly however it would be the name of his father The following are some examples of widely used traditional kunya in the Arab world based on a person s given name as opposed to that of their firstborn male child especially for those with no sons or young men who have not yet married or had children Common Kunya in Arab world Given name KunyaWalid Abu WalidKhalid Abu KhalidHussein Abu HusseinAli Abu AliJassim Qassim Qasim Abu Jassim Qassim Qasim depending on the regional dialect Muhammad Abu MuhammadYusuf Abu YusufYa qub Abu Ya qubKhalil Abu KhalilIbrahim Abu Ibrahim Abu al Qasim is the Prophet Muhammad s kunyaNom de guerre EditA special practice evolved among Arab guerrillas and clandestine operators is to use real or fictional kunyas as noms de guerre Examples of this include the ISIS leader Abu Bakr Ibrahim Awad Ibrahim al Badri Osama bin Laden s kunya was Abu Abdullah 7 See also EditAll pages with titles beginning with Abu TeknonymyReferences Edit Shahpurshah Hormasji Hodivala Historical Studies in Mug h al Numismatics Numismatic Society of India 1976 Reprint of the 1923 ed Pedzisai Mashiri Terms of Address in Shona A Sociolinguistic Approach Zambezia XXVI i pp 93 110 1999 Annemarie Schimmel Islamic Names An Introduction Edinburgh University Press 1989 ISBN 0 85224 563 7 ISBN 978 0 85224 563 7 Singer Isidore 1901 Abu The Jewish Encyclopedia A Descriptive Record of the History Religion Literature and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day Funk amp Wagnalls Company Steinschneider Moritz 1901 An Introduction to the Arabic Literature of the Jews Landman Isaac 1939 Abu The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia in 10 Volumes An Authoritative and Popular Presentation of Jews and Judaism Since the Earliest Times Universal Jewish Encyclopedia Incorporated Osama s Will and Arabic Names Coming Anarchy 12 May 2011 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Kunya Arabic amp oldid 1143751623, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
