Northern African Submitted Surnames

AÏT Berber, Northern African
Derived from Tamazight ⴰⵢⵜ (aït) meaning "son", also commonly used a component for compound names and surnames.

AÏTBRAHIM Berber, Northern African
Means "son of Brahim", from Tamazight ⴰⵢⵜ (ait) meaning "son" combined with the Arabic given name BRAHIM.

ALBAZ Jewish, Northern African
Ashkenazic Jewish name meaning, "falconer" found mainly amongst Jewish peoples emigrating from Algeria and Morocco.

AMEL Northern African

AMEZIANE Berber, Northern African
Variant transcription of MEZIANE.

AMIDANE Northern African, Arabic (Maghrebi)
Meaning unknown; used by the native Sahrawi people of the disputed region of Western Sahara. Two known bearers are El Wali Amidane (1986-) and Elkouria Amidane (1985-), both Sahrawi human rights activists.

ASPRO Northern African

BABIKER Northern African, Arabic
Possibly from Arabic بَكَرَ (bakara) meaning "first born" or "to be early" (chiefly Sudanese).

BANANA Northern African

BENHAIM Judeo-Spanish, Northern African
Variant of BEN HAIM used by Jews in North Africa.

BOUHOUCHE Berber, Northern African
Kabyle name possibly derived from Arabic أَبُو (ʾabū) meaning "father" and حَوْش (ḥawš) meaning "courtyard, enclosure, farm" (chiefly Algerian).

BOUJETTIF Northern African (Archaic)
Meaning, "The family of the son of the Clever Head" or "One Whom Possess a Clever Head." Bou (normally used in the North African Regions of the Maghrib Countries) has 2 possible derivative meanings both originating from the Arabic language, "Son of..." or an Arabic word Tho meaning, "One Who Possess A Quality." Jettif is a variance of Jettef, Jeif or Ji'f which is derived from the ancient Tamazight or Imazighen (popularly known as Berber) and is pronounced "j-ixf" which means Clever, head, or brain."

CAMEL Northern African

CHETRIT Judeo-Spanish, Northern African
Form of Shitrit used by French and North African Jews.

DAHMANI Arabic (Maghrebi), Berber
From the given name DAHMANE (chiefly Algerian and Moroccan).

ECH Northern African

ELHASSAN Northern African, Arabic
From Arabic حَسُنَ (ḥasuna) meaning "to be good, to be beautiful" (chiefly Sudanese).

ELK Northern African

ELMALIK Northern African, Arabic
From Arabic الْمَالِك (al-mālik) meaning "the king" or "the owner" (chiefly Sudanese).

EZ ZAATOUTI Arabic (Maghrebi), Northern African

FIFI Northern African

GRIGAHCINE Berber (Rare, ?)
Meaning unknown, perhaps of Kabyle origin. A known bearer is DJ Snake, who was born WILLIAM Grigahcine (1986-), an Algerian-French musician.

HAGGAR Northern African

HALICHE Berber, Northern African
Variant transcription of HALLICHE.

HALLICHE Berber, Northern African
Kabyle surname of unknown meaning.

HAMADACHE Berber, Northern African
Kabyle surname derived from the Arabic given name HAMADA.

HAMMY Northern African

IZEM Berber, Northern African
From the given name IZEM, directly taken from the Tamazight word ⵉⵣⴻⵎ (izem) meaning "lion".

JLASSI Arabic (Maghrebi), Berber
From the name of an Tamazight (Berber) tribal confederation in Tunisia; the name could be from Arabic إِخْلَاص (ʾiḵlāṣ) meaning "sincerity, devotion, loyalty" or of unknown Berber meaning.

JOMANA Northern African

JOUMANA Northern African

LAALAA Northern African

LATER Northern African

MAMI Northern African

MAZIGH Arabic (Maghrebi), Berber
Derived from Arabic أَمَازِيغ (ʾamāzīḡ) the Arabic designation for the Berber (Amazigh) people of North Africa. The word itself is ultimately of Tamazight origin, from Central Atlas Tamazight ⴰⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖ (Amaziɣ) of disputed meaning; in modern Central Atlas Tamazight, it means “free-man”.

MEGHNAGI Jewish, Northern African
Sephardic Jewish, originating from the Libyan Jewish community. Most were from Tripoli, with a much smaller contingent from Benghazi.

MEZIANE Berber, Northern African
From the given name MEZIANE (chiefly Algerian and Moroccan).

MEZIANI Arabic (Maghrebi), Berber
Variant of MEZIANE.

MIRGHANI Northern African, Arabic
Sudanese name of unknown Arabic meaning.

MKERREF Berber (Modern, Rare)
Mkerref originated from the 1950s in Tangier, Morocco. The surname is rare and its holders have riffian (amazigh) roots, known as the Temsamanis originally. ... [more]

MOKRANI Berber, Northern African, Arabic (Maghrebi)
Either from the given name MOKRANE or derived from El Mokrani, a town in Algeria.

OUAHMED Berber, Northern African
Kabyle name meaning "son of AHMED", from the Berber prefix ou- meaning "son (of)" combined with the Arabic name Ahmed (chiefly Algerian).

OUYAHIA Berber, Northern African
Means "son of YAHIA", from the Berber prefix ou- meaning "son (of)" combined with the Arabic given name Yahia (chiefly Algerian).

SID Northern African

SIDDIG Northern African, Arabic
Derived from Arabic صَدِيق (ṣadīq) meaning "friend" (chiefly Sudanese).

SULIEMAN Northern African

TAIL Northern African

TALIA Northern African

TAMAZIGHT Berber, Northern African
Derived from ⵜⴰⵎⴰⵣⵉⵗⵜ (Tamaziɣt), the Berber (Amazigh) name for the collective Berber language family used in North Africa.

TIGER Northern African

TITO Northern African

TROUD Northern African

WATER Northern African

ZAMMIT Berber, Northern African
Tunisian Berber name of unknown meaning.

ZAOUCHE Berber, Northern African
Kabyle name of unknown meaning.

ZEGHLACHE Berber, Northern African
Kabyle surname of unknown meaning.

ZEMMAMOUCHE Berber (Rare), Northern African (Rare)

ZERHOUNI Arabic (Maghrebi), Northern African, Berber
Possibly refers to the Zerhoun mountain in Morocco. The family name originates from the city of Nedroma in Tlemcen, Algeria.

ZOUAOUI Arabic (Maghrebi), Berber
Derived from French zouave, in turn from Arabic الزواويون (al-zuwâwiyun), referring to a member one of the Algerian Kabyle tribes of Zuwâwa (also spelled Zouaoua; known as the ⵉⴳⴰⵡⴰⵡⵏ (Igawawen) in Tamazight)... [more]