Names and Titles among the Moors

When giving names to their children, the Moors like most Muslims
elsewhere are governed by Islamic norms related to name-giving. Some names
are strongly recommended in Islam while others are absolutely prohibited.
Names suggestive of beauty are strongly recommended. he names of the
!rophet"s grandsons #asan and #usayn suggest beauty and the !rophet is said
to have changed the name of a woman named $siya %&isobedient" and told her
that she was 'am(la %beautiful" )Muslim*.
It is also prescribed in Islam that children be given surnames or the names
of their fathers following theirs. he +ur",n states in S-rah .l-.h/,b )0.1*
that children should be called by )the names of* their fathers and that is more
2ust in the sight of 3od. 4urther, the !rophet is reported to have said5 67n the
&ay of 8esurrection you will be called by your names and by your fathers
names, so give youselves good names9 ).bu &,w-d*. he +ur",n in S-rah .l-
#u2ur,t )0.::* also cautions the believers not to defame or insult one another
by nicknames, but this evidently refers to nicknames of a derogatory nature, for
sobri;uets are known to have been approved and given by the !rophet himself.
4or instance, take the name of a prominent companion of the !rophet and a
prolific narrator of ahadith, .bu #urayrah whose name literally means %4ather
of the kitten" so called because of a kitten he was e<tremely fond of. Similarly,
=h,lid bin W,lid was called Sayfull,h %Sword of 3od" for his military prowess
and the name of &h,t-un-Nit,;ain %She of the two girdles" was given to .sma,
daughter of .bu >akr on account of an incident connected with the flight to
Medina when she cut a piece from her waistbelt with which she tied the mouth
of a bag of provisions meant for the !rophet and her father )>ukh,ri*.
Names suggestive of the &ivinity or #is .ttributes are strictly prohibited
and it is clear that 3od"s names in the definite form cannot be given to #is
creation unless preceded by the prefi< abd meaning %slave )or servant*" such as
is commonly done in the Muslim world, as for instance, .bdull,h %Slave of
3od" and .bdur-8ahm,n %Slave of the Merciful". In a hadith recorded by .bu
&,w-d, we find the !rophet telling a man who had the name .bu .l-#akam
)he father of 2ustice or the 'udge* to change his name to .bu Shurayh after his
eldest son since .llah is the 'udge and #is the 'udgement.

Names and Patronymics
he names of Moors today are varied and reflect a number of influences,
largely .rabian and !ersian. .lthough proper names are usually of .rabic or
!ersian origin, certain name suffi<es especially titular ones may be of amil
origin while some hereditary patronymics are of Sinhala origin. .s with most
Muslim peoples, the Sri ?ankan Moors have preferred names of .rab origin
and this has evidently been the case from very early times. he tradition of
giving .rabic names may well have been inherited from the .rab forbears of
the Moors, though its continuity could have also been influenced by the
sanctity with which Muslims in general hold .rabic as the language of the
+ur",n and the speech of the !rophet, as well as the beauty of this wonderfully
rich language which has a profundity and mellifluousness perhaps unrivalled by
any other language. ?ittle wonder then that even non-.rab Muslim peoples
such as those of the >alkans, urkey, Southern 8ussia, @entral .sia, the Indian
subcontinent and the Malayan !eninsula are known to bear names of .rabic
origin.

In giving names to their children, the Moors follow a pattern similar to that
described by ...Shamsedeen
:
over a century ago. Shamsedeen says that boys
are generally named after the !rophet, or some of the members of his family, or
his eminent companions, or some of the prophets and patriarchs of early times,
or a name signifying %Servant of 3od" ).bdullah*, %Servant of the
@ompassionate" ).bdul 8ahiman*, %Servant of the !owerful" ).bdul =ader* A
c. or they receive the name of some one of the family. 3irls, he says, are mostly
named after the wives or daughter of the !rophet, or after others of his family
as =hada2a, .yisha, .minah, 4atima A c.

Male names
he name of the !rophet of Islam, Muhammad )lit.highly praised* is by far
the most popular name among the Moors as among most other Muslim peoples.
More often than not it precedes the proper names of Moor males, usually in the
form Mohamad. In the olden days, the name was pronounced variously as
Mahamado, Mohamadu, Mohammadu etc., as seen in the Names of @eylon
Moors, Malays and other Muslims" e<tracted from the @eylon &irectory and
#andbook :BCD and published by the Moors Islamic @ultural #ome in :ECE
F
.
:
@eremonies relating to childbirth observed by the Moors of @eylon. he 7rientalist. 0ol.III :BBB
F
Such forms are evidently due to amil influence, having arisen from the amil propensity for glottal
stops. his peculiarity is also evident in other names found in the same work such as .hamado )for
.hmad* and Seyado )for Seyyid*. 7ne may still come across names like .hmadu and Mohammadu among
It is also possible however that such forms like Mohamad are deliberately
given instead of Muhammad to avoid infringing, so to say, on the sanctity of
the !rophet"s name. his has also been the case among other Muslim peoples,
among whom, the name of Muhammad when given to children is said to be
often vocali/ed differently such as Mehmed in urkey and M-h in North
.frica, in order, it is said, not to spoil the baraka or blessedness of the name of
the !rophet
G
.
Such a view however has no support in Islam for the !rophet himself is said
to have e<pressly permitted using his name when naming children )Muslim*
and the name in its pure form is often found among .rab peoples. 6If you have
a hundred sons, call them all Muhammad9 is said to be a saying of the pious
H
.
.nother name by which the !rophet is known in the +ur",n .hmad )?iterally
meaning %one who praises )3od* more than others"* is also known as also
+,sim )?it.&istributor* yet another name claimed by the !rophet on account of
his distribution )of the spoils of war* and the dues of Iak,t among the believers
and .m(n )rustworthy* by which the !rophet was known in his youth.
Many Moor names we find are religious in character, be it the name of a
prophet )Ism,%(l or Ishmael, J-suf or 'oseph and J-nus or 'onah*, or a
companion of the !rophet Muhammad )Kmar, the !rophet"s father-in-law and a
well-known caliph, =h,lid, a prominent companion known for his military
e<ploits and >il,l, a freed black slave who served as Islam"s first Muadhdhin*
or his kith and kin )#am/a, the !rophet"s uncle, 'a%far, the !rophet"s cousin
and #asan and #usayn, the !rophet"s grandsons*.
7ne may also come across names like Mu/ammil %enwrapped" the !rophet
being referred to as such by the +ur",nic s-rah of the same name, believed to
be on account of his being wrapped up in a blanket in the night it was revealed
and 4,r-; %#e who distinguishes )truth from falsehood*", a name bestowed on
the second caliph Kmar. #an(fa, a very common name among the Moors has
little doubt originated from the name of that renowned Muslim 'urist .bu
#an(fah, while Sh,fi no doubt has its origins in the name of another famous
'urist .sh-Sh,fi. 7ne also comes across names like Mans-r )the name of an
eighth century .bbasid @aliph*, Nassar )Lgyptian !resident 3amal .bdel
Nassar*, .rafat )!alestinian leader Jasser .rafat* and I;b,l )4amous Krdu poet
of Muslim India*.
the Moors of the Lastern districts like .mparai.
G
See Lnc.I.0ol.0II.:EE:
H
#ayaw,n, ',hi/
.mong the other names of .rabic origin in common use among the Moors
may be included .slam, .shraf, .nwar, Irf,n, Kwais, Imtiy,/, 4au/, 4ar(d,
#am(d, #ilmi, #usni, 'am(l, 'ifri, Na2(b, Sal(m and Iuhayr. he meanings of
these names are varied. 4or instance .slam %safer", .nwar %brighter", .shraf
%nobler", Ins,f %2ustice", 4au/ %victory", 4ar(d %2ewel", 4,him %understanding",
4arh,n %glad", 4aysal %2udge", #ak(m %wise", #asan %beautiful", #usayn, a
diminutive form of #asan and meaning %little beauty", #isham %generosity",
#ilmi %calm", =amal %perfection", =,mil %perfect", =ar(m %generous", 'am(l
%handsome", ?at(f %kind", Mub,rak %blessed", Na2(b %noble", Nawfal %bounty",
'unayd %small army", 8ash(d %well guided", Sal(m %safe", S,bir %patient", Suhayl
%gentle", Sham(l %virtue", Was(m %handsome", Iuhayr %bright"and Iaw,hir
%ornament".

We also come across names of .rabic origin clothed in #idustani garb such
as .f/al and Iafar which have their origins in the .rabic afMal %better" %more
e<cellent" and Nafar %victory". Krdu turns the .rabic M and N to / so that the
origins of such names are easily e<plicable. o this category also belong names
like 8i/w,n ).r.riMw,n %favour"* and Ni/,m ).r.niN,m %order"*. he same
holds true of another fairly common name Iulfi;,r which has its origins in the
.rabic &h-l"fi;,r )?it.he master of the vertebrae of the back"* the name of the
celebrated sword of the !rophet"s cousin and son-in-law .li. he peculiar name
Sikkandar still borne by some elderly folk is also of #industani origin, having
arisen from the Krdu )and !ersian* Sikkandar, which in turn is very likely a
corruption of .l-Iskandar, the popular .rabic name for .le<ander of Macedon.
he younger generation of Moors are also not unlikely to bear names of
!ersian origin such as those borne by their Indian co-religionists. hese include
./,d, &ilsh,d, Shah/,d, Naush,d, 4irO/, Naw,/ and Shir,/. he meanings of
these names like the .rabic names are varied. 4or instance, $/,d %free", 4irO/
%victorious", Shah/,d %prince", Niy,/ %respects", %offerings", Naw,/
%cherishing" and Shir,/ %a celebrated !ersian city". 7ne may also come across
names ending with =h,n )a !ersian term of urkish origin meaning %?ord" or
%!rince" and much in use among the Muslims of India* such as .m(r =h,n,
.shraf =h,n and Iafarull,h =h,n.It is nevertheless the .rabic element that still
predominates by far.
We also come across names borne by olden day folk which appear to have
been corrupted from the .rabic, largely, if not solely, due to the influence of
amil. 4or instance, it is said that the Moors of the Lastern !rovince bore the
name .san instead of the proper .rabic #asan, a fact also said to be reflected
in a well known kuMi name .sanpullai believed to have originated from the
name of a clan leader named .san. Similarly, the rare name Sar(p is evidently a
corruption of the .rabic Shar(f %noble" while Ksup and Isubu appear to be
corruptions of the .rabic J-suf %'oseph". Kduma still borne by some elderly
folk in forms like Kdumalebbe likewise appears to be a corruption of the
.rabic Kthman, the name of the third caliph of Islam.
M(r,, also borne by some men in forms like M(r,lebbe similarly appears to
have its origins in the .rabic mr %commander" %governor", a synonym of the
more common amr. SPgu, another common name still borne by some elderly
folk of the Lastern districts is very probably a corruption of the .rabic shaykh
%old man" %chief" %scholar" through an intermediate form such as Q RPku.
Similarly, the name Saybo is probably a corruption of sahibu as there are still
those who bear the patronymic suffi< M(ra Sahibu. he term appears to have
derived from the .rabic sahib %friend" %companion" or #industani sahab
meaning %master" or %important person" and used as a title of courtesy
e;uivalent to Mr or Sir. o this day we not uncommonly come across names
such as .liy,r, .san,r and Ksan,r in the Lastern districts such as .mparai
where the amil honorific termination S,r has been suffi<ed to the .rabic .li,
.san )#asan* and Ksan )#usayn*.
7ne also finds considerable amil phonetic influence in names like !aridoe
?ebbe, Sariboe ?ebbe and Magedoe ?ebbe .madoe ?ebbe occurring in the
&utch registers known as the ombos
1
where !aridoe has arisen from 4ar(d,
Sariebo from Shar(f and .madoe from .hmad. We also find Mugamadoe
=assim .gamado ?ebbe and .woewekkar ?ebbe occurring in some early
nineteenth century Moor names recorded by Sameer ):EBF*. Mugammadoe is
evidently Muhammad, .gamado .hmad and .woewekkar .bu >akr
D
. here
can be little doubt that the influence of amil on Moorish names was far more
pronounced formerly than it is today. 4or instance, names like .risy Marikar,
Sinne ?ebbe Marikar and =aderpulle Meydin >awa occurring in the @eylon
&irectory :BCD Ld. ..M A '.4erguson and Mamuna !ulle Marikar, Kppapulle
!ackeer hamby, Ismail ?ebbe Wappichan, Sinne >appoo .ssen Meera ?ebbe,
.22i Marikar !itchey hamby, @uppathamby !ir @andu, hamby =andu ?ebbe
1
S?N. :TGBUC A :TGC1B, both of the :CDD-:CC: tombo series
D
amil proper does not know the aspirate h as found in .rabic and so we find it being replaced by the
voiced velar aspirate g in the intervocalic position as borne out by .gamado and Mugamado. Nor does it
know the initial b which it replaces with v as seen in .woewekkar. Similarly, amil cannot admit an
intervocalic velar k and hence we find it being turned to g as in shaykhVSPgu. amil has no aspirate h and
thus we find #asan becoming .san. It also has no labio-dental fricative f and hence we find names like
J-suf and Shar(f becoming Ksup and Sar(p.
=atu >awa and =appu 7dear ?ebbe @assim ?ebbe Marikar figuring as
members of the congregation of the Maradana Mos;ue in the mid-:E
th
century
given in the MI@#S ):ECU*.
Shuayb ):EEG* believes that the Muslims of both amil Nadu and Sri ?anka
who had earlier borne .rabic names took amil names like Mutu ambi,
ambi !illai and S(ni =ani in the case of males and Mutacci, !etacci and
S(niumma in the case of females to hide their Muslim identity as a result of
!ortuguese persecution. #owever why such names should continue well after
!ortuguese rule is not so easily e<plicable. It may perhaps be that it became
established as a tradition among some folk so that it continued to be given from
generation to generation. It is also possible however that such names simply
arose as a result of the Moors" amil-speaking environment or intermarriage
with amil women who gave their offspring such names.

It was a very common practice in the olden days to give names to which a
name or attribute of the .lmighty was prefi<ed with .bdul- meaning %Slave )or
Servant* of". hus .bdul ./(/ %Servant of the Mighty", .bdul =,dar )!roperly
.bdul +,dir* %Servant of the !owerful", .bdul 8ahm,n %Servant of the Most
>eneficient" and .bdul ?at(f %Servant of the =ind"
C
and indeed one still comes
across elderly folk bearing such names. his practice of forming names
compounded of the word .bd %slave )or servant*" and any of the ninety-nine
names of the .lmighty is common in many parts of the Muslim world and is
apparently an e<tension of the names .bdull,h )Servant of 3od* and .bd .r-
8ahm,n )Servant of the Most >eneficient* recommended in tradition as the
names most loved by 3od )Muslim*. his practice is however not as common
today as it was in the past and one hardly comes across children being given
such names nowadays.
.nother method of giving names not long ago was to have names ending in
d(n %religion" such as .lahudd(n, 'amald(n, Mohid(n, Na2mud(n and
Shamsud(n. hese compound names are actually regarded as a single name, for
instance Na2mud(n %Star of the 4aith" and Shamsud(n %Sun of the 4aith". Such
names are hardly if ever given to children nowadays though they are still very
commonly borne by Moor folk
B
. @ompound names like Sh,hul #am(d )he
C
See for instance !ersonages of the !ast. Moors, Malays and other Muslims. Mohamed Sameer ):EBF*
B
Such names evidently arose as titles and the first recorded instance of this usage is evidently Nasir .l-&in
bestowed on one >adr b.#usnawaihi in the H
th
century .#. hey were still rare in the 1
th
century, being
bestowed only on persons of highest eminence in the state such as Ni/,m .l-&in on Jam(n .l-&aulah, the
@on;ueror of India. In the D
th
century however such titles became common, being bestowed not only upon
governors of provinces like Salah-al-&in )!rosperity of the 8eligion* given to J-suf b..yy-b, but also
persons of literary and theological eminence such as Shihab-al-&(n )4lame of the 8eligion*. hey are
name of a famous South Indian Saint whose name is evidently a compound of
the !ersian Sh,h %=ing" and .rabic .l-#am(d he ?audable", hence Sh,hul
#am(d %=ing of the ?audable"* are still to be found among Moor men but are
not usually given to children nowadays
E
. .mong the other notable
compound names may be included names like Iainul $bd(n, 'ainul $bd(n and
Sainul $bd(n which may perhaps have an Indian origin.
Iainulabd(n figures in the .in-I-.kbari of .bul 4a/l ):D
th
century* as the
name of a powerful Muslim Sultan of =ashmir renowned for his wisdom and
humanity. #e is said to have built a magnificent palace called Iinlunk in the
middle of a lake and was bestowed with the title of wali )saint* by his sub2ects.
>esides these, we come across compound names like Shamsul Iam,n %Sun of
the ime", Iaynul .hsan %7rnament of the Most #andsome" and .m(rul .ns,r
%?eader of the #elpers"
:U
.
he Moors of yore also bore some peculiar name suffi<es like SMarikkar
and S?ebbe, names which still figure among some elderly folk and which
evidently had a titular origin. his is evident in the names of Moors found
occurring in Sameer"s :EBF work where we often find names ending in Marikar
)L.g.Sekadi Marikar, Wapchi Marikar, Naina Marikar* and ?ebbe )L.g..hmed
?ebbe, @assie ?ebbe, #assen ?ebbe*. hese names were especially common
among the more influential and wealthier sections of society.
he name Marikkar it appears was especially applied to headmen. @hitty
):BGH* gives Markair as the chief of a Moor village while @odrington ):EFH*
gives Marikar as an %#onorary affi< to Muhammadan namesW also used as a
synonym for Mudalali, and applied to wealthy Moors". he term appears to
have originated from the appellation Marakk,yar widely used to denote certain
thereafter regularly bestowed on those who distinguished themselves and figure prominently in the lists of
theologians and 2udges of the Mamluk period in Lgypt )See &.S.Margoliouth"s contribution on .rabic
names to the Lncyclopaedia of 8eligion and Lthics,Ld.'ames #astings.:E:C*. Such names, though of
.rabic origin have however not been that popular among the .rabs but have figured prominently among
non-.rabs, Salah- ud-din or Saladin, the :F
th
century =urdish con;ueror of 'erusalem and the van;uisher
of the crusaders, being a notable e<ample.
E
Such pompous names needless to say are strictly prohibited in Islam. .bu #urayrah has narrated that the
!rophet said 6he most perfidious name with .llah on the day of resurrection will be )that of* a man
calling himself =ing of the =ings )Malik .l-.ml,k* )>ukh,ri*. . name like Sh,hul #am(d is not only
pompous but also conveys the idea of being above the &ivinity, .l-#am(d %he ?audable" being among the
names of 3od.
:U
Such compound names do not appear to have been known amongst the .rabs of the days of the !rophet,
but were introduced several centuries later, probably as a resuly of !ersian influence. In the .lf ?ayla wa
?ayla for instance we come across names such as +amar-.l-Iam,n %Moon of the .ge" but here also rarely.
amil-speaking Muslims of South Indian origin predominating in the coastal
regions of amil Nadu and itself derived from the amil term marakkalam
%boat" )lit.wooden vessel*. It would therefore appear that the term Maraikkar
originally meant a skipper or owner of a trading vessel, subse;uently assuming
the meaning of a man of wealth and later a chief among men. It is possible that
some of the folk bearing the name Maraikkar or Marikkar could have
originated from among the Marakk,yars of amil Nadu who claim to be
descendants of .rab sea traders
::
. his however cannot be said of all those who
bore this name. .s noted by @hitty, the term Markair was applied to the chief
of a Moor village while @odrington has stated that it applied to wealthy Moors
and constituted an honorary affi< to Muslim names. he tradition is fairly old,
for he @eylon ?ittoral :1EG by !aul L. !ieris ):EHE* which is a summary of a
!ortuguese ombo prepared in :D:B and preserved at the >ibliotheca Nacional
in ?isbon, makes mention of a Nania Marca who was the head of the Moors of
the port of @hillao )@hilaw* and gives some Moor names of Negombo such as
Naina Marca, @oya Marca and Xeda Marca
:F
.
.s for the name ?ebbe, this too appears to have denoted an ethnic group,
namely, the ?abbais, a amil-speaking Muslim group resident in the inland
districts of amil Nadu said to be descendants of +ur"anic scholars
:G
. he
name itself is believed to have derived from .rabic labbai %to become
intelligent or wise". #owever whether those folk bearing the name ?ebbe are
descended from this community is a moot point. @hitty ):BGH* for instance
pointed out that the appellation %?ubbes" among local Moors was confined to
%the priests who officiate in their temples" and as %an honorary affi< to the
proper names of some of their chief men" while @odrington ):EFH* gives ?ebbe
as an honorary affi< of Moor names. o this day, the appellation lebbe is
usually applied to an .rabic teacher. 4urther, we find the name ?ebbe )in such
forms as Nayna ?ebbe, .hmed ?ebbe and Mohamed ?ebbe* occurring in a
genealogical record of a group of .lutgama Moors who traced their descent to
the first caliph, an .rab named .bu >akr. We also find that of the eleven male
ascendants in the direct male line of a :E
th
century .lutgama khatib named
Mohamed Ismail, as many as eight bore the suffi< Slebbe. his is despite the
::
See Lnc.I.0ol.0.:EBF
:F
Indeed, one still comes across names like Nayna Marikar, the peculiar term Nayna probably deriving
from the Malayalam nayanar %chief" indicating perhaps some remote =erala influence. 'oao &e >arros in
his first &ecada ):11F* refers to one Nine Mercar %a Moor of @alecut" who owned a ship coming from
@eylam )Sri ?anka* and this no doubt is his rendition of our Nayna Marikar.
:G
See Lnc.I.0ol.0.:EBF
fact that the family traced its descent in the direct male line to one >adrudeen
>agdadi, who as his name implies would have hailed from >aghdad in Ira;
:H
.
he usage is fairly old, for in the &utch ombos of :CDD-:CC: we find
names such as Marekelage .ydroos ?ebbe )#ead of the Moors of .lutgama*,
and =arte .gemadoe ?ebbe )!riest of the 4our 3ravets*. More ordinary folk
also bore this suffi< such as Segoe !aridoe ?ebbe and =asien ?ebbe Sarieboe
?ebbe
:1
. 7ne still comes across names like M(ralebbe, Kdumalebbe and
Sulaimalebbe among the older folk. . variant form S?evvai was also known
amongst the Moors of the Lastern and Western maritime districts. 4or instance
in the @eylon 3overnment 3a//ette of 'une H, :BCU, we come across such
eastern )more particularly >atticaloa &istrict* names such as Lspulevvai
.ssenar, .lliar Meeralevvai and Kdumalevvai Mohamadulevvai. Some Moor
folk of =alpitiya in the !uttalam &istrict also formerly bore this suffi<, L.g.
Mira ?evvai, Kduma ?evvai and Mukamatu ?evvai
:D
.
he Moor folk of the Lastern districts also bore and to some e<tent still bear
names suffi<ed with S!iccai )?it."something obtained after begging" fr..piccai
%alms" %>egging of 3od"* such as .llah !iccai, N,hur !iccai and Mohid(n
!iccai and -=anMu ) . diminutive meaning %little one" fr. .kanru %calf"* such
as $dam =anMu, Kdum,n =anMu and N,hur =anMu.
.nother not uncommon name suffi< borne by some eastern folk was >,v,
). corruption of the Krdu bb %father", %sir" and often used for a holy man*
L.g. $dam >,v,, Mohid(n >,v, and =alandar >,v,. .nother fairly common
name suffi< formerly borne by Moor folk of >atticaloa, but no longer, was S
podi, for instance Ismailpodi .damcandu, .ssenapillai .gemadumeerapodi
and Mamanalevvaipodi Meeralevvaipodi
:C
.

Female names
:H
See Sameer ):EBF*
:1
S?N. :T GCDH, :T GC1B A :TGBUC
:D
See @33 'une :B, :BCU
:C
See @33. 'une H, :BCU. his practice of suffi<ing Spodi to one"s name seems to have been borrowed
from the neighbouring Mukkuvars who are also known to have borne such name suffi<es L.g. !alahppodi
.lvappodi, Sinnavappodi =umarappodi and Nahandappodi Ksumundappodi )See he Mukkuvar ?aw.
@.>rito. :BCD*
he names of Moor females like those of Moor males are largely of .rab
origin. !opular names for girls include 4,tima )the name of the !rophet"s
beloved daughter*, $yisha, #afsa, =hadi2a and Iaynab )the names of the
!rophet"s wives or Kmmul M-min(n %Mothers of the >elievers" as they are
usually known by the faithful* .sma )he first @aliph .bu >akr"s daughter and
the !rophet"s sister-in-law*, Salma )he !rophet"s aunt, wife of his uncle
#am/a*, Maryam )Mary, the mother of 'esus*, #anna ).nne, the mother of
Mary* and #,2ara )#agar, the wife of .braham and mother of Ishmael*. We
also not uncommonly come across names like >al;is )he +ueen of Sheba*,
Iulaykha )he wife of the Lgyptian courtier who attempted to seduce 'oseph*,
Sumayya )a lady companion of the !rophet and the first martyr in Islam* and
Iubayda )he consort of @aliph #,r-n .r-8ash(d*.
he name of the !rophet"s youngest daughter 4,tima )?it.he Weaner* is
immensely popular among the Moors as it is among other Muslim peoples and
very commonly precedes the proper names of girls 2ust as Muhammad or
Mohamad precedes those of boys. Jet another popular name among Moor
women, =ulsum ) in the eastern areas =uldum* has evidently derived from
Kmm =ulth-m, another daughter of the !rophet. Iaynab which figures as the
name of yet another daughter of the !rophet and two of his wives, namely,
Iaynab bint 'ahsh and Iaynab bint =hu/aima was apparently much loved by
the !rophet as he himself renamed a woman previously known as >arrah by it
)>ukh,ri*. Iaynab was evidently the name of a famous third century +ueen of
the !almyrenes known as Ienobia who e<tended her little kingdom northeast of
&amascus to include Lgypt and was very popular among the .rab women of
the !rophet"s time.
7ne also commonly comes across .rabic names like .sma %precious",
$shi;, %sweetheart", >ushra %good news", #usna %beautiful", 'am(la %pretty",
4ah(ma %intelligent", 4aw/iya %victorious", 4arh,na %cheerful", Nab(la %noble",
Naf(sa %valuable", Muhsina %chaste", 8a/,na %modesty", 8ih,na %aromatic
plant", Saf(na %cleanser", Safiyya %pure", Silmiya %peaceful", Sham(la %virtue",
Iahra %flower", Iulfa %dignity" and I(nat %ornament".
>esides these we find names of !ersian origin similar to those borne by
Indian Muslim women such as 4iro/, %tor;uoise", 4ar/,nah %wise", 8oshan,
%light", Sharmil, %shy", Shahn,/ %a musical note" and Jasmin %2asmine". 7ne
may also come across more classical names like Shahra/ad, the story-teller of
the .rabian Nights, which is also of !ersian origin. 7ther common names that
suggest #industani influence include 4a/mina, 8o/,na, 8inO/a, Sabr(na,
Shab(na, Sharmila and Sha/mina. In the olden days and even now among the
older women one may come across names like !atima or !atuma instead of the
.rabic 4,tima and !ahima instead of 4ahima. here was also .ssena, very
likely a corruption of the .rabic #asina.
Moor women are also still known to bear compound names like .ynul
Sham(la, N-rul Iulfa and I(natul +ab(la. hese names are replete with
meaning and are rather grandiose, for instance, .ynul Sham(la literally means
%eye of virtue", N-rul Iulfa %?ight of &ignity" and I(natul +ab(la %ornament of
the tribe". Names suffi<ed with Nis ).n .rabic term meaning %woman"* are
also not uncommon and one still comes across Moor women with names like
=airun-Nis,, Safrun-Nis, and Maharun-Nis,. he usage is evidently an old
one. 4or instance, the Moghul Lmperor .urang/Pb"s daughter was known as
IPb-un-Nis, or %7rnament of Women". Such names are hardly if ever given to
children nowadays. Moor women also not uncommonly bore names like
4athumutu, probably a compound formed of 4,tima and the amil muttu
%pearl".
7ne often finds today that the name of the !rophet"s daughter 4atima often
precedes the personal names of girls, but until fairly recent times it was Sitti
that was commonly prefi<ed to the names of girls. Indeed, one still comes
across plenty of Moor women, both young and old, bearing this name. he
name is evidently of .rab origin and derives from the .rabic sitt %lady" though
we often find this term being used in .rabic for a married woman, the term for
an unmarried young woman being nisa. Nevertheless we also come across in
.rabic the term sitti )probably derived from the aforementioned sitt* being used
indiscriminately in the sense of %Madam". hat the term may have even figured
in .rab personal names is suggested by the name of a woman named Sitt-al-
#usn %?ady of >eauty" occurring in the .lf ?ayla Wa ?ayla. .nother common
practice in the olden days was to precede names with Nr %light" such as N-r
'e/ima, N-r #u/aima and N-r Ian-ba.
he personal names of some women may also be suffi<ed with >Pgam, a
#industani term of urkish origin meaning %lady", such as for instance 8i/na
>Pgam, Sahida >Pgam and Sa2ida >Pgam. >(b(, another #industani term of
urkish origin meaning %lady or %wife" was not uncommonly suffi<ed to the
names of women of the older generation.
In the Lastern areas , it commonly takes the form b(vi and one may still
come across women with names like ?aila >(vi, Na/ila >(vi and Mariyam >(vi
:B
.
Kmma, an .rabic term for %mother" commonly followed the names of
women in the not too distant past as is evident in the names of :E
th
century
Muslim women given in Sameer"s work where we find names such as #afsa
Kmma, #aniffa Kmma and Kmma #any Kmma. Indeed, names suffi<ed with S
Kmma such as .m(na Kmma, Sal(ma Kmma and 8ushniya Kmma are still
borne by Moor women. We were also told that in 'affna, the Moor women bore
such amilicised names like Muttumm, )?it.!earl-mother* and angamm,
)3old-mother* though some had their origins in .rabic proper names such as
Selayamm,, from the .rabic Iulayha. hese are said to have been pet names
and not proper names. We were however told that in the Lastern !rovince,
names suffi<ed with Summ, were given to girls when they were named in
infancy.

It is possible that such names have been influenced by the .rab tradition of
calling women by their agnomen )kunya*, that is to say, the mother of so-and-
so by prefi<ing umm %mother" to the proper names of their offspring such as for
instance Kmm &arda )he mother of &arda*. .lthough it follows that such
names could only be given to women who have had children, Margoliouth
):E:C* has shown that the practice of giving persons names after their children
became so regular in .rabia that names of this kind )e.g.father of Iaid, mother
of .mr* were even given to infants. Such a practice was even found in the early
days of Islam, though very rarely, for in the .dab .l-Mufrad we are told that
.l;amah was given the agnomen .bu Shibal even though he had no children.
It is also possible however that the Moorish custom of suffi<ing names with
umma may have been influenced by the amil custom of following the names
of women with amma prevailing in certain areas. Such names appear to have
been widespread among the Mukkuvar women of >atticaloa who bore names
such as Muththamma, =annammai and 0alliyammai
:E
.

.nother feminine name suffi< formerly used by the Moor women of
upcountry areas like .kurana, N,cciy,, is evidently from the rare amil
honorific nycci or ncciyr %lady" %mistress" )Winslow :BDF*. Such names
were fairly common in the olden days. hese included names like Iainambu
N,ciy,, 4atumutu N,ciy, and Kmmu #ani N,ciy,. Indeed, we were told that
:B
he usage though rare was not unknown even in &utch times where we find a solitary .sa >iwie in
.lutgama )S?N. :TGCDH*
:E
See >rito ):BCD*
even in 'affna, the Moor women commonly bore names such as Seynambu
N,cciy,, Sult,n N,cciya and M(r, N,cciy,. In the Lastern areas however this
usually took the form N,cci. hus #awwa N,cci, =ad(2a N,cci and Iaynambu
N,cci.
his usage was far more common in the olden days, not only in the
upcountry, or in the north or east, but also in the Western littoral as attested in
the &utch period records where we find female names like .ysa Nacha, Iille
Nacha and 'eyneboe Nacha in .lutgama
FU
.
Patronymics
he traditional manner of bestowing surnames on one"s offspring among
the Moors is to precede the children"s proper names with those of their fathers.
his practice may go back to several centuries and has been the case since at
least the :E
th
century, for among the Moor names occurring in Sameer ):EBF*
we find .bdul 'awad Mohamad Warid figuring as the son of .bdul @affoor
.bdul 'awad who was the son of .bdul ?atiff .bdul @affoor who was the son
of Ismail ?ebbe .bdul ?atiff who was the son of =atheeb #ussain ?ebbe
Muhallam Sheikh Ismail ?ebbe, an early :E
th
century Muslim cleric.
It is still the practice especially in the conservative rural areas for the
personal names of Moor males and females to be preceded by their fathers"
names. 4or instance, Muhammad Salahud(n"s son would be known as
Mohamad Salahud(n Mohamad .shraf while his daughter would be known as
Mohamad Salahud(n 4,tima #am/iya.
#owever, there are also cases where daughters are given their father"s name
as a surname following their personal name while in the case of sons, the
traditional mode of naming them by preceding their names with that of their
fathers is followed. 4or instance, Mohamad =ansul"s son would be known as
Mohamad =ansul Mu/ammil while his daughter would be known as Sam(na
Mohamad =ansul.
he practice of preceding the father"s name with that of their children is
also found among the amils of Sri ?anka such as those of 'affna and it is
likely that the practice is due to amil influence. he proper .rab system of
surnaming children known as nasab is to follow the children"s personal name
with that of their father by adding ibn or bin )son of* in the case of a male or
FU
S?N. :TGCDH
bint )daughter of* in the case of a female, a practice going back as far as the
days of the !rophet )@f. =aldah Ibn #anbal and .sma bint Ja/(d .l-.ns,riyah
occurring in the .dab .l-Mufrad* and perhaps much earlier.
his system of surnaming is still found among a few Moor families, though
it is uncertain whether it has been followed consistently throughout the
generations or was adopted later in imitation of .rab practice. We are aware of
a few Moors who still carry such names, among them .sh Shaikh =halib .lavi
#ad2iar bin .sh Sheikh Mohamed .bdulla .lim #ad2iar, the incumbent of
=etchimalai Mos;ue, >eruwala. We also find in the 3enealogical able of Sri
?ankan Muslims by 4a/li and 4iro/e Sameer ):EED* a few instances of bin and
bint being passed down the generations, for instance the family of 6.raby9
Ibrahim from Iabeedi, Jemen among whose descendants we find names such
as #asan bin Ibrahim, Muhammad bin #asan and Iulfick bin Muhammad.
Similarly, we find .dham bin Salih"s son being named Muhammad Iubair bin
.dham and his daughter 4athima Iabeedia binthi .dham and Ismail bin
Ibrahim"s son being named #assan bin Ismail and his daughter Sithy 4ahriya
binthi Ismail. Such names however seem to be largely confined to those
families of relatively recent .rab descent. It is not unlikely that others bearing
such names such as those holding important positions in mos;ues and shrines
have adopted it to give prestige to their pedigree.
.mong certain sections of Moors, especially in the urban areas, there e<ist
patronymics or surnames of the Luropean type, which are passed on from
generation to generation. hese include surnames like .min, .nwar, Ismail,
4,ruk, 4ai/al, 3haus, #asan, #usayn, #an(fa, =,dar, =,sim, Muhsin,
Marikk,r, Naw,/, 8i/a, 8i/wi, 8ash(d, Salih, 'ifri, Kwais, W,hid, Iubayr and
Iaw,hir. hese however appear to have been mere personal names which were
adopted as patronymics by later generations beginning from about the early
part of the FU
th
century due to Luropean influence.
he Macan Markars of 3alle were probably among the first to adopt
surnames of the Luropean type, for we learn that 7duma ?ebbe Marikar Macan
Markar of 3alle, a leading nineteenth century Moor entrepreneur who passed
away in :EU: had four sons, namely, Mohamed Macan Markar, Samsudeen
Macan Markar, .bdul 0adood Macan Markar and Mohamed Saleh Macan
Markar, all surnamed Macan Markar after the Luropean manner, a tradition
continued by the subse;uent generations
F:
. he Magdon-Ismails also seem to
F:
See Markar ):ECC*
have adopted their family name ;uite early on considering the several
generations that have carried this surname
FF
.
here are also names like =ariapper, a well known family name of the
Lastern Moors which seem to have originated from titles
FG
. In the @eylon
.lmanac ):BG1* we find a reference to one Nina Markar, =ariappa or #ead
Moorman over the Madigey of Wellasse. his is also supported by a >ritish
proclamation of H
th
'une :BUH where we find among those @eylon Moors of
>atticaloa &istrict proclaimed as enemies of the >ritish, one Meera 7essen
.uwaker of =aymone whose former office is given as %=ariapeer"
FH
. 4inally,
we have the evidence of the @eylon Moor, an Lnglish-amil weekly
F1
which
alludes to one Naina Marikkar holding the office of =ariapper or #ead
Moorman in the early >ritish period, an office abolished at his retirement. #is
son, .hmadu ?avvai =ariapper, it says, settled down in the Lastern !rovince
)>atticaloa* and 6made the official title 6=ariapper9 a surname. #is
descendants in the metropolis and elsewhere have ever since used it as such9.
.nother instance of a title or honorific becoming a surname is that of
Maul,n, applied to those supposed to be descended from the !rophet through
his daughter 4,tima. he usage is fairly old, for in the list of 2urors for angalle
&istrict who can read and write the amil language
FD
we come across such
names as Sayadu .li Ibuna Seyadu .bdu 8ahaman Maulana, Seyadu Mohamat
Ibuna Seyadu Sahid Maulana, Seyiyadu Ibrahim Ibuna Seyiyadu Muhamat
Maulana and Seyiyadu .li Ibuna Seyiyadu Sarip Maulana, all of whom are
given as traders residing in #ambantota. his shows that not only did these
Maul,n, families employ the .rab patronymic marker ibn )in the form ibuna*
in their names but also attached to these the term Maul,n, as a sort of clan
name as if to emphasi/e their supposed noble ancestry.
his is however not the case with the Moors of the =andyan districts who
have had definite hereditary patronymics of the vsagam type found among the
Sinhalese. his is the ge- or gedara-nama, a Sinhala term meaning %house
name". 4or instance, one could still find among the =andyan Moors
FF
See Sameer A Sameer ):EED*
FG
he appellation =ariapper has very probably originated from the . kriyapkam %good management,
%2udicious or prudent direction".
FH
See Supplement to the @eylon 3overnment 3a/ette.hursday,C
th
'une,:BUH
F1
4riday, FF
nd
March :EG1,0ol.:.No.1
FD
Supplement to the @33. 7ct.G :BCE
patronymics like $raccige, ?Pkamge, 3algedara, ?indPgedara, =andegedara,
0edar,lal,ge-gedara, 3urunehelage-gedara, Muhandiraml,-gedara, =,li
Mudiyansel,ge-gedara, Jahakugamhal,-gedara, =otmalP .dappal,-gedara,
M,liyaddP 0id,nal,-gedara and N,gahadeniya-gedara.
his type of surname precedes one"s .rabic personal name to which may
be prefi<ed the father"s personal name in keeping with the usual practice. hus
we find names like .lakoladeniya 3edara Jusuf ?ebbe, =urugoda 0id,nal,ge
3edara .bdul #am(d Wahabd(n and =andPgedara .bdul 3af-r Sitti Nafiya.
Such ge-names seem to have been in e<istence for a considerable period of
time, for among the names of :C
th
, :B
th
and :E
th
century =andyan Moor
physicians given by Sameer, we come across names like Meegahayate gedere
gurunanalage Kduma ?ebbe, ?iyamagaha =otuwe Wederale Sulaiman ?ebbe,
8a2akaruna >ehethge Mudiyanse .bdul +adir and !alkumbure 0aidyatileke
8a2akaruna 3opalana Mudiyanselage Mohamed Kdayar
FC
. hese ge-names
could have come into e<istence among the =andyan Moors due to two reasons.
It is possible that such patronymics were borne by the Sinhalese ancestresses of
these Moors and that it was passed down to their offspring.
In the alternative, it would indicate the readiness of the Moors to adopt the
salient features of the host culture so as identify themselves more closely with
their Sinhalese neighbours with whom they maintained friendly relations.
!arallel situations are not lacking elsewhere such as for instance, the urkic-
speaking Muslim peoples of @entral .sia who following 8ussian practice
follow their personal names with the names of their fathers suffi<ed with Sov
e.g. =arimov, Sultanov and 8akhmanov. here is reason to believe that at least
a few ge-names such as Muhandiraml,ge borne by a number of Moor families
were ac;uired as a result of their ancestors being appointed to the high office of
Muhandiram etc by the =andyan kings. he same may hold true of names like
0id,nal,ge %#ouse of the 0illage #ead-man". 0edar,lal,ge %#ouse of the
!hysician" indicates that the folk bearing this name are descended from medical
men.
What is however interesting is that the Moors of the maritime districts like
.lutgama, >eruwala and Maggona also formerly bore ge-names which is
widely attested in the &utch ombos covering the period :CDD-:CC: where we
find such names like Ibrahim andellage .hamadoe Nainde, &aroebesie
?ienege 7emoer ?ebbe, Iratnewalli .rat2ege 7edoema ?ebbe, Ismail
FC
..M.Na2mudeen )Muslimkalin @iYkala 0amcavalip !eyarkal :EEB* basing his work on court and other
official documents has compiled an e<haustive list of Sinhala ge-names prevailing among the upcountry
Moors
Mokedonge 7emoer ?ebbe, !awelekodige Sleman ?ebbe, =opeaediaerlage
Ibrahim ?ebbe, Mamina Marekelage .hamadoe and .ssena ?ebbelage
!otoema Nat2a
FB
.
Kntil fairly recent times, the Moors of 'affna are known to have borne
patronymics suffi<ed with the .pillai %son )of*" such as for instance M(r,pillai,
Nayn,pillai and .iniy,pillai. hese usually preceded the .rabic proper names
of individuals, as for instance .iniy,pillai Shaykh .bdul =,dar. Some Moors
of the Lastern districts such as >atticaloa also had their surnames suffi<ed with
Spillai L.g. .dampillai .lliar, .ssenapillai .gemadumeerapodi and
Kmergattapillai Kdumalevvai
FE
. Similar names suffi<ed with Spulle )also son*
were known in other districts such as =andy where we come across the name
3alagama Naidelage .hmadupulle
GU
and in the Western littoral such as
=alutara &istrict where there formerly used to be some men bearing names like
Magoedoenpulle, 7emorpoellege Mirapoelle, Mamoenapoelle Meestrige
Sekadielebbe and &audoe !ulle son of Seudepoellelage =asiepoelle
G:
. his
usage is however not very common. his practice of suffi<ing Spillai or Spulle
appears to have been influenced by the sea-faring amil castes such as the
=araiyar who still bear names like 0eluppillai.
he practice followed in the vast ma2ority of cases still appears to be to
precede one"s name with that of his father"s. his of course leads to a situation
where one"s full name appears to be a rather lengthy one. his was obviously
more so in the past than today where one hardly finds compounded proper
names. 4or instance, among the names of Moor headmen given in the @eylon
.lmanac of :BHH, we come across names such as Mahamadoo ?ebbe Seyadoo
Mira ?ebbe )#ead Moorman of @altura*, 7edooma ?ebbe Markkar Sekady
Markan )#ead Moorman of @olombo and Salpitty @orle*, Mahamado Naina
Markair !akier Malimiar )head Moorman of 3alle*, Sinne .hamado Nayna
Josboo ?ebbe Markan )#ead Moorman of #ambantota*, Secady Markair
Sadako ?ebbe Markar )#ead Moorman of Matura and >eligam*, Neyna
Marcair Meerasayboo Marcair )#ead Moorman of rincomalie* and Sekadie
Markair @asiem ?ebbe Markair )chief Modliar of the Lastern !rovince*. Says
.n 7fficer, ?ate of the @eylon 8ifles
GF
5 6he Moors have such long and
FB
S?N. :TGBUC A :T GCDH
FE
See @33.'une H :BCU
GU
See ?awrie ):BED*
G:
S?N. :TGCDH
GF
@eylon. . 3eneral &escription of the Island ):BCD*
unpronounceable names that their establishments are known to the Luropeans
who patroni/e them by the number of the houseW No.HF was well known. hese
long names are in reality a species of pedigree9.
'ohn @apper
GG
likewise says of the Moorman traders of the !ettah5 6Jour
regular Moorman shopkeepers, or ba/aar-men, possess such terribly
unpronounceable names that, by common consent, their Lnglish customers
designate them by the numbers of their shops. In this way a little, thin-faced
shriveled-up Moorman, a small portion of whose name consists of Meera
?ebbe Slema ?ebbe amby .hamadoe ?ebbe Marcair, is cut down to Number
4orty LightW which is the title he is known by9.
he past few decades have seen a trend where many Moor women,
especially of the urban areas, have begun taking their husbands" surnames as
their own, a practice which is strictly speaking not permissible in Islam as
offspring whether male or female are re;uired to bear surnames only of their
fathers. Not only is the taking of the surname of one"s husband a western
practice, but it also amounts to a falsification of one"s descent and according to
a saying of the !rophet recorded in the .dab .l-Mufrad5 67ne who knowingly
ascribes hisTher lineage to other than hisTher father has committed an act of
disbeliefW and one who ascribes hisTher lineage to a tribe other than hisTher own
had better prepare to sit in the fire9. his hadith clearly indicates that taking the
surname of one"s husband in preference to that of one"s father is not
permissible in Islam and is in fact a very serious sin. Increased awareness of
this in2unction especially among those influenced by Salafi ideas has led to a
good many women eschewing the practice, though there are many who still
continue with it.
Nicknames, Family names and Titular names
he Moors of yore unlike those of today commonly bore nicknames. M.M.
hawfee;
GH
refers to the practice of calling individuals and later their families
by nick-names in the heruv area in the early part of the last century. Some
nick-names, he says, may appear derogatory, some flattering, but none, he is
certain, were given with malice. 6It 2ust happened that there were scores of
#amids, Joosoofs, #aniffas, Mohideens etc in that concentration of @eylon
GG
7ld @eylon. Sketches of @eylon life in the olden time ):BCC*
GH
Muslim Mosaics ):ECF*
Moors9. he easiest way out, he says, was nick-names emphasi/ing their
attributes, penchant, and failings S even physical defects. #e gives as patta-
perus as such nick-names were called, >aba )>aby*, @olenda )Infant*, Lchchi
)Miserly*, !ushana )Indolent*, Shoththian )4eeble-handed*, Shemata )>rown or
an*, &ada-bada )Noise made when walking*, Munda kan )>ig-eyed*, !oona
kan )@at"s eye*, Madayan )4ool*, 'emmi )'ewel* and !oo )Sweet*.
here were others like =arupati )'aggery*, =ochchika )@hillie*, !ila kotta
)'ak seed* and !orichcha koli )8oast @hicken* though it is not certain whether
they were appellations characteri/ing their tastes for certain items of food.
here were yet others like >embi, =ulla, 3ongan, !angathu, 'adipana,
0engallam, =appadiar, =osthapal and 0yra-7oshi, the meanings of which
were dubious.
M.M.>..nsari
G1
also gives a selection of interesting nicknames that
prevailed among the Moors of yore, among them .ana >ulingi %Swallower or
Llephants" )M.?.M.4au/*, >aang =oli %urkey" )!.?.M..bdul Ma2eed*, =oli
=un2i %@hick" )Sesma ?ebbe of 3randpass*, !orichakoli %4ried @hicken"
).bdur 8ahim of New Moor Street*, , =umbala Mashi %Maldive 4ish"
)Marikar, father of Mohamed 'amaldeen*, =arapothan %@oackroach" ).bdul
./i/ of 3randpass*, =ochchika %@hillie" )7duma ?ebbe Marikar*, =atchcha
=arupatti %>itter 'aggery" )7duma ?ebbe Marikar*, Shappatayan %4lat Nose"
).bdul #assen #a2iar*, 0elli >aba %Silver >aby" )M.M.M.3house* , 0engalam
%?oud-mouthed" )0angalam Noordeen*, !oskoapa %?arge >owl" )he father of
M.?.#...Mohideen of Wellawatte*, >avulthavaly %Stomach ache"
)S.M.#assim Nana"s maternal grandfather* and .n2isha/athu Mapulle %4ive
@ents >ridegroom" 6who traveled as such in a decorated tramcar with his
entourage9 )4ather of 4alil, at one time assistant at ..M...Mar/uk"s te<tile
shop*. here was also >atcha )Said to have originated from the urkish title
!asha* given to .bdur 8ahman of %!asha 0illa" of &ematagoda 8oad,
@olombo E and >aas 7otar )fr.&utch >aas %@hief Workman" or %Work
Supervisor"* given to the progeny of ..M.Wapche Marikar, the famous >as or
builder reputed to have built many of @olombo"s landmarks.
Indeed, individuals so nicknamed have given their names to entire families
such as !ullekutti Sherifd(n )Sherifd(n of the children"s family, so called after
the many children he had*, 0ellibab, 3haus )4air baby 3haus* and =Oli .m(n
)!oultry .min*. hese names are however not borne by these families, but
ascribed to them by others. !rominent Moor families, especially in the
G1
Some nicknames of Sri ?anka Moors in 3eneological ables of Sri ?anka. Moors, Malays and other
Muslims by ..I.?.Marikar, ..#.Macan Markar and ..?.M.?afir ):EB:*
@olombo area are still said to be known by nicknames such as Zottiyan )!eople
of !roperty*, !OskOpa )Waterbowl*, >,s )>uilder* and 0engalam. In Macan
Markar"s Short >iographical Sketches ):ECC* we come across references to
personalities such as Saheed Mohamed of the 3oodaku family, Mohamed
Ismail of the Shooriyan family and Mohamed #aniffa of the =ushi family.
It is also possible that the .rabs and Moors of yore who had made Sri
?anka their home adopted what are known as nisba names where the clan, tribe
or country of one"s origin or domicile follows one"s personal name and
surname
GD
.
his would have been especially so when they visited .rab countries. .t
least two such instances are known, those of .bdur 8ahman bin .bi #atim
Musa .s-Sailani, a scholar of no mean repute who was seen in >aghdad in FDH
..#. and Ismail bin Mustafa .l-=alambawi who is renowned for his marginal
notes on the interpretation of the +ur",n by aft,/,ni ):1
th
c.* and other
metaphysical works
GC
. he name suffi< .s-Sail,ni means %the one from
Sayl,n )Sri ?anka*" while .l-=alambawi evidently means %the one from
=alambaw )@olombo*".

We also come across olden-day Moor names like Slema ?ebbe @omoster
GB
, Mira ?ebbe Maestriar Sekadi Marikar, 7ssen ?ebbe =apitan .gamadoe
?ebbe
GE
, Sinne ?ebbe =onstappal .ydroos ?ebbe Markair and Siddi ?ebbe
olke Sesma ?ebbe
HU
. 4orms like @omoster, Maestriar, =apitan, =onstappal
and olke found in these names appear to be titular in origin. he rather
unusual name @omoster is perhaps connected to =umistar borne by an elderly
informant of ours, .bdul #amid =umistar Mohamad of 3intota who originally
hailed from Weligama and who was aged EF years when we met him in early
'uly FUUH. he name appears to be a titular one and evidently connected to the
#industani gumt )fr.!ers.gumshta*, a deputed agent, representative or
accountant of a business which in .nglo-Indian usage denoted a native agent or
factor, sometimes being used in the sense of clerk or even secretary.
GD
4or instance, a man born to the .rabian tribe of =inda would be known as .l-=indi. L.g.Ja;-b ibn Ish,;
.l- =indi or Ja;-b, son of Ish,;, of the tribe of =inda
GC
See @eylon-.rab 8elations. &r.S...Imam in MI@#S :ED1
GB
See Short >iographical Sketches of Macan Markar and 8elated 4amilies. ..#.Macan Markar ):ECC*
GE
See Sameer ):EBF*
HU
See Supplement to the @33, :1
th
'uly :BC:
Similarly, the term Maestriar could be traced to the !ortuguese mestre or
&utch meister %master" and =apitan to the &utch kapitein %captain". =onstappal
likewise has its origins in the &utch konstabel %gunner", %#ead of the .rtillery",
%a non-commissioned officer in the merchant and war service, occupying
himself with the guns on board" and olke in the &utch tolk %interpreter". Such
titles indicate that their bearers, proud of their service in the colonial state
beginning from the latter part of &utch rule in the maritime provinces affi<ed
these to their proper names as a mark of prestige and to gain the respect of their
peers. State service after all was regarded as a prestigious occupation in those
days, more so formerly than at present.
Men who have made the pilgrimage to Mecca may sometimes prefi< their
names with .l-#,2 while women may do so likewise with #,2iani. he term
has nevertheless assumed a sort of status symbol
H:
. #owever, with more and
more persons making the pilgrimage to Mecca, often more than once, the usage
is gradually dying out. Some elderly folk to whom it is still a source of prestige
nevertheless still continue to employ it. 7thers, particularly men of fame or
wealth are bestowed it by friends, associates or subordinates and in this case it
usually takes the collo;uial form of #,2iar, an .rabic-amil hybrid term
suffi<ed to the proper name.
4inally we have the posthumous titles Marh-m and Marh-ma applied
respectively to deceased men and women in formal speech or literature. he
title which literally means %received into )3od"s* mercy" occurs in an .rabic
gravestone discovered at Nicholson"s @ove and dated CFE or EFE .# where the
deceased, the daughter of one .mir >adruddin is called marh-ma.
H:
Lven in the Malay world, one finds the title #a2i being used to denote one who has made the pilgrimage
to Mecca and it is said that even in the Maldives, a #,2i is accorded considerable authority locally
)Maloney :EBU*. Indeed, even in Lgypt which is part of the .rab world, a man who has performed the
pilgrimage is said to have been generally called hagg and a woman haggeh )?ane.:BGD*. ?ocal records also
confirm a similar usage among the Moors of old. 4or instance in the Supplement to the @33, May :H,
:BCU we find #a22i Marikkan Samsi ?ebbe of Mawanella while in the Supplement to the @33 Sep.F :EC:
we come across #ad2ee Markan Mahamado ?ebbe of Walgama in Sina =orale.