ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1225 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1225 ************************************ From: "S Friedemann" 12 Sep 1998 Greetings! You asked for help creating an Arabic name meaning "Hanbal, from the Barbary Coast," perhaps . Here is the information we have found. is a fine Arabic name. [1] It would be an excellent choice. The place name , referring to the North African coast, appears to be quite old. [2] Two forms of the name that we found are , in modern Syrian Arabic, and , in modern Egyptian Arabic. [3] (The {a^} represents a letter with an upside-down over it). and are both forms of the word "the." However, we did not find this word used as a byname. Our best guess is that might be correct, but we have not seen it, so we recommend you consider something else. It would also be appropriate for an Arab from a region along the northern coast of African to be known as "of Africa" or "the (north) African." The period Arabic byname with this meaning is , or . [4] would be a fine Arabic name. We hope that this letter has been useful to you, and that you will not hesitate to write again if any part was unclear or if you have further questions. Research and commentary on this letter was provided by Da'ud ibn Auda and Arval Benicoeur. For the Academy, --Aryanhwy Prytydes merch Catmael September 12, 1998 --------------------------------------- References: [1] Da'ud ibn Auda, "Arabic Naming Practices and Names List," _Compleat Anachronist_ #51, "The Islamic World" (Milpitas: SCA, Inc, Autumn 1990; WWW: J. Mittleman, 1998) URL:http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/daud/arabic-naming/ [2] --, _The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary_ (New York: Oxford University Press, 1973). [3] Richard Jaschke's "English-Arabic Conversational Dictionary", (Hippocrene Books, New York, 1987) p. 159 [4] Private communication with Da'ud ibn Auda