Palestinian Last Name Generator

Generate Palestinian last names by themselves, with no given name attached: town and village nisbas like Nabulsi, Khalili and Ghazzawi, families of Jerusalem, Hebron, Nablus and Gaza, Bethlehem-area names like Hazboun and Rishmawi, and Abu clan names like Abu Sneineh. The list holds 500 family names carried by Muslim and Christian Palestinians.

About Palestinian last names

Palestinian family names are Arabic family names, and many of them are shared with Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. What sets this list apart is its geography. A large share are nisbas, adjectives made from a place name by adding -i or -awi: Nabulsi is from Nablus, Khalili from Hebron, Ghazzawi from Gaza, Maqdisi from Jerusalem and Majdalawi from Majdal. Village nisbas such as Rimawi, Jayyousi and Anabtawi work the same way. A family that moved was often named for the place it came from, which is why Lidawi, Ramlawi and Falouji are met far from Lydda, Ramla and Faluja.

The other backbone is the clan, the hamula: an extended family that traces itself to one ancestor and shares his name across all its branches. A clan name may be a forefather's given name, a trade such as Haddad the smith or Sayegh the goldsmith, or an Abu name such as Abu Sneineh or Abu Ghosh, where Abu means father of.

Spellings vary because Arabic has no single Latin transcription. Natsheh and Natshe, Qawasmi and Qawasmeh, Shawa and Shawwa are each one family, and the article al- comes and goes (Masri, al-Masri). The list holds Muslim and Christian families alike, and a name alone tells you neither a person's faith nor where they live today.

How to choose Palestinian last names

• Build a full name the usual way: a given name, the father's given name, then the family name. Rana Yousef Anabtawi reads as Rana, daughter of Yousef, of the Anabtawi family.
• Pick one spelling and keep it through your whole story. The same family may appear as Tuqan or Toukan, Qumsiyeh or Qumsieh, Shaheen or Shahin, and mixing them makes one family look like two.
• Treat a place name as history, not as an address. Nabulsi, Safadi or Tirawi says where a family once came from, and its members may have lived somewhere else for generations.
• Keep Abu names whole. Abu Rabia, Abu Hijleh and Abu Dayyeh are each one surname, and dropping the Abu leaves a different name.
• For a character abroad, a respelled name is realistic. Families from Bethlehem and Beit Jala who settled in Latin America write their names in Spanish-style spellings such as Giacaman, Saca and Jacir.

Frequently asked questions

What are some common Palestinian last names?

Names met in many towns include Masri, Khatib, Odeh, Awad, Hamdan, Salameh, Shaheen and Diab. Others belong to large clans tied to one district, such as Natsheh, Muhtaseb and Abu Sneineh around Hebron or Daraghmeh around Tubas. All of these are in the list.

What does a Palestinian last name ending in -i or -awi mean?

It is usually a nisba, an adjective that ties the family to a place. Nabulsi means from Nablus, Khalili from Hebron, Ghazzawi from Gaza, Akkawi from Acre and Tulkarmi from Tulkarm. The ending records an origin, often an old one, and does not say where the family lives now.

Why is the same Palestinian surname spelled in different ways?

Arabic script has no single agreed Latin spelling, so each family, clerk and passport office made its own choice. Natsheh and Natshe, Shawa and Shawwa, Khoury and Khouri are the same names. This list gives one spelling per family so that a variant never counts as a second name.

Are these last names only Palestinian?

No. Many are shared across the Levant: Masri, Halabi, Shami, Hourani, Khoury and Haddad are just as familiar in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. The list also mixes Muslim and Christian families, including names from Bethlehem, Beit Jala, Beit Sahour and Nazareth, and many names are carried by both communities.

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All 500 Palestinian last names