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ArchivesRe: Last Name Rohani
in reply to a message by Kynaston
I think the explanation "spiritual" could be correct. Indonesia being an Islamic country the word is probably a loan from the Arabic ruhani, same meaning.
Internet references to Rohani give the impression that the surname is Iranian. For some reason Muslim names which would be spelt with a U in Roman script when referring to Arabs are usually spelt with an O when referring to Iranians; e.g., Abdullah becomes Abdollah, Hussein becomes Hossein. So Arabic Ruhani would become Rohani.
I suppose it could have been used as a forename and so become a patronymic. Iranians only adopted surnames in 1929 by government decree, and I think some of the choices of name would be difficult to explain.
Internet references to Rohani give the impression that the surname is Iranian. For some reason Muslim names which would be spelt with a U in Roman script when referring to Arabs are usually spelt with an O when referring to Iranians; e.g., Abdullah becomes Abdollah, Hussein becomes Hossein. So Arabic Ruhani would become Rohani.
I suppose it could have been used as a forename and so become a patronymic. Iranians only adopted surnames in 1929 by government decree, and I think some of the choices of name would be difficult to explain.
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