There are two types of Quranic names on our website, those that are directly mentioned in the Quran, and those that derive from a Quranic root. In the Arabic language, all common nouns and verbs are derived from a root, and sometimes dozens of different words are all from the same root. The Quran uses a very specific and beautiful selection of the words found in the Arabic language, and avoids a very large number of words used in common Arabic.
In fact, the Quran is estimated to use only between 0.02% to 7% (0.02% means 2 words in 10,000) of the words found in the Arabic language!
For this reason whether a particular root is found in the Quran or not is an important fact, and Quranic roots have their own aura of beauty and significance. If you’re very familiar with the Quran, it is easy to detect when someone makes a mistake when quoting a Quranic word and mistakenly inserts a word that is from a non-Quranic root; it immediately has a jarring effect destroys the beauty of the verse. But if they mistakenly insert a word that is from a Quranic root, the effect is far more benign and the mistake may even go unnoticed except by those very familiar with the Quran.
On QuranicNames.com we call names that are used in the Quranic text “direct Quranic names”, while names whose roots are used in the Quran (without the actual name being in the Quran) are “indirect Quranic names”. We created the “indirect Quranic names” category in order to expand our selection, and because the fact that a name’s root is used in the Quran connects that name with the Quran.
It is of course up to a person’s own reasoning and preferences whether the fact that a name’s root is found in the Quran adds any special spiritual significance to a name. We leave that to each person’s own judgment.
For those interested in the technical details, read below:
In Arabic, almost every word comes from a root, usually made up of three letters. An example is the best way to demonstrate this. The name Muḥammad derives from the root Ḥ-M-D. These three letters can be fitted with vowels and appropriate consonants in various ways to create words:
- Ḥamada: he/she praised (someone).
- Yaḥmadu: he/she is praising (someone).
- Iḥmad: praise him! (a command).
- Muḥammad: Someone who is praised often.
- Aḥmad: Someone who is worthy of praise.
- Ḥamīd: Someone who is very worthy of praise.
- Maḥmūd: Someone who is praised.
- Ḥāmid: Someone who praises (someone else).
- Ḥamdāʾ: A woman who is worthy of praise.
These are all Quranic words because they derive from a Quranic root. The names Muḥammad, Aḥmad, Maḥmūd, and Ḥamīd are directly mentioned in the Quran, meaning that if you look in the Quran, you will find these very words used in it:
Muḥammad is the Messenger of God… {Quran 48:29}
[Prophet Isa/Jesus said] “I am a bringer of glad tidings about a prophet that will come after me whose name is Aḥmad.” {Quran 61:6}
And perform tahajjud (salah, i.e. voluntary late night prayer) so that Your Lord may raise you to a maḥmūd (much exalted and praised) station. {Quran 17:79}
[This Quran] guides people to that path of al-Aziz [The Almighty] al-Ḥamīd [The Worthy of All Praise] [i.e. Allah SWT]
The name Ḥamdāʾ (the feminine version of the name Aḥmad), however, is not mentioned in its current form anywhere in the Quran. What makes it a Quranic name, as stated, is that it comes from the Quranic root of Ḥ-M-D, so it has a connection with these Quranic words, and makes the name indirectly connected to the Quran. Thus you can think of Ḥamdāʾ as belonging to the Ḥ-M-D group of names and as similar, or close, to the other names in its spiritual status.