AissaouiaعيساويةArabic (Maghrebi) Derived from the given name Aïssa (chiefly used in Algeria). This is also the name of a town in Médéa Province, Algeria.
AlaouiعلويArabic (Maghrebi) From the given name Ali 1. This is the name of the current ruling royal family of Morocco, which was founded in 1631.
al-WarfalliالورفليArabic (Maghrebi) Means "the Warfalli" in Arabic, referring to a person from the Warfalla (ورفلة) tribal confederation of western Libya. The tribe is of mixed Arab and Arabized Berber origin, and they mainly reside in the city of Bani Walid in the Misrata district.
AounعونArabic (Mashriqi), Arabic (Maghrebi) Derived from a French-influenced variant of a given name based on the Arabic noun عون (aun) meaning "help, aid". This surname is more commonly used by Maronite Christians in Lebanon. A notable bearer is the former Lebanese president Michel Aoun (1933-).
BenبنArabic (Maghrebi) Maghrebi variant of Arabic بْن (bn), a form of اِبْن (ibn) meaning "son (of), offspring". It is often used as a prefix for other Maghrebi patronymic names (such as Benali "son of Ali 1" or Ben Amor "son of Amor").
Ben Aliبن عليArabic (Maghrebi), Comorian Maghrebi transcription of Arabic بن علي (bin Ali) meaning "son of Ali 1". A notable bearer was Zine El Abidine Ben Ali (1936-2019), who served as the president of Tunisia from 1987 to 2011.
Ben Hadjبن حاجArabic (Maghrebi) Means "son of the pilgrim"; the title Hadj refers to a Muslim who has successfully completed the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. This surname is mainly found in Tunisia.
Benkiraneبن كيرانArabic (Maghrebi) From Arabic بْن (bn) meaning "son" combined with كِيرَان (kīrān) meaning "forges, furnaces", possibly denoting descent of a blacksmith or metalworker (chiefly Moroccan).
BennaniبنانيArabic (Maghrebi) Means "my son" in Hebrew, from בן (ben) meaning "son" and אני (ani) meaning "I, me". This is the name of a Moroccan family of Jewish origin that converted to Islam.
BennounaبنونةArabic (Maghrebi) Most likely from Arabic بن (bin) meaning "son" and the given name Nouna, which may have been derived from an Arabic word meaning "whale, big fish" or "sabre, sword". Alternately, it may be from an Arabic name for a variety of melon... [more]
BouaziziبوعزيزيArabic (Maghrebi) Means "father of Aziz" in Arabic (chiefly Maghrebi). A notable bearer was Mohamed Bouazizi (1984-2011), a Tunisian street vendor who set himself on fire... [more]
BoucharebبوشاربArabic (Maghrebi) Means "father of the moustache" or "father of the drinker" from Arabic أَبُو (ʾabū) meaning "father" and شَارِب (šārib) meaning "moustache" or "drinker".
BoukharoubaبوخروبةArabic (Maghrebi) Meaning unknown, possibly of Kabyle origin. A notable bearer was Algerian revolutionary and President HouariBoumediene (1932-1978), who was born as Mohamed ben Brahim Boukharouba.
BoulahrouzبولحروزArabic (Maghrebi), Berber Means "father of Lahrouz", possibly an Arabic given name of unknown meaning. It is chiefly used in Algeria and Morocco. The retired Dutch soccer player Khalid Boulahrouz (1981-) is a famous bearer of this name.
BoumedieneبومدينArabic (Maghrebi) Means "father of Midian" in Arabic (chiefly Algerian). A notable bearer was Houari Boumediene (1932-1978), born as Mohamed ben Brahim Boukharouba, an Algerian revolutionary who served as the second President of Algeria from 1976-1978.
BourasبوراسArabic (Maghrebi) Means "father of the head" from Arabic أبو (abu) meaning "father" and رأس (ras) meaning "head, leader, chief".
BouteflikaبوتفليقةArabic (Maghrebi) Possibly means "one who makes things explode" in Algerian Arabic. A famous bearer is Abdelaziz Bouteflika (1937-), who served as president of Algeria from 1999 to 2019.
BoutellaبوتلةArabic (Maghrebi, Rare) Means "father of the mountain" or "father of the hill", from Arabic أَبُو (ʾabū) meaning "father (of)" and تَلّ (tall) meaning "hill, foothill". Two notable bearers include father and daughter Safy (1950-) and Sofia (1982-) Boutella, an Algerian singer and an Algerian-French actress, respectively.
ChamounشمعونArabic, Arabic (Maghrebi), Assyrian, Jewish French-influenced variant of Arabic شمعون (see Shamoun), mainly used in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and parts of North Africa. This name was borne by Lebanese president Camille Chamoun (1900-1987).
DjazairiجزائريArabic (Maghrebi) Derived from Arabic الجزائر (al-Jazā’ir) meaning "the islands", referring to the country of Algeria or referring to an Algerian person. This surname could be used to refer to someone from the city of Algiers, or just a general Algerian person.
JendoubiجندوبيArabic (Maghrebi) From Jendouba, the name of a large city in northwestern Tunisia. The name itself is derived from Berber (Tamazight) jen meaning "market" and douba meaning "wheat".
JlassiجلاصيArabic (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.
LamraniالعمرانيArabic (Maghrebi) Alternate transcription of El Amrani. A famous bearer is former Moroccan prime minister Mohammed Karim Lamrani (1919-2018).
MaghribiمغربيArabic (Maghrebi) Derived from Arabic المغرب (al-Maghrib) meaning "the west", also referring to the country of Morocco. It could be used to refer to a Moroccan person or (in English) someone from the Maghreb region of Northern Africa.
MarrakchiمراكشيArabic (Maghrebi) Habitational name for someone originally from the city of Marrakesh in Morocco.
MarzoukiمرزوقيArabic (Maghrebi) From the given name Marzouq (chiefly Tunisian and Moroccan). A notable bearer is Moncef Marzouki (1945-), who was the fourth President of Tunisia from 2011 to 2014.
MazighمازيغArabic (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”.
MernissiمرنيسيArabic (Maghrebi) Possibly a variant of Marnissi. A famous bearer was Moroccan feminist writer and sociologist Fatima Mernissi (1940-2015).
MoujahidمجاهدArabic (Maghrebi) Derived from Arabic مُجَاهِد (mujāhid) meaning "one who is labouring, one who is in distress", also used to refer to a member of a liberation army in Muslim countries (chiefly Moroccan).
Ouabdesselamووابديسسيلام, عبد السلام, وابد السلامBerber, Arabic, Arabic (Maghrebi) Means "father of peace, man of peace" from Maghrebi prefix وواب` (ouab) (Arabic: أبو (abu)) (In North African dialects, abu is often rendered as ouab or oua in Latin script) meaning "father of" combined with ديسسيلام (desselam) (Corresponds to السلام (as-salām)) meaning "peace".
OueslatiوسلاتيArabic (Maghrebi) Habitational name for someone from the village of Oueslatia in northern Tunisia.
RiahiرياحيPersian, Arabic (Maghrebi) Derived from Arabic رِيَاح (riyāḥ) meaning "winds, breezes", the plural of رِيح (rīḥ) meaning "wind".
SaharaouiصحراويArabic (Maghrebi) From Arabic صحراوي (Ṣaḥrāwī) meaning "inhabitant of the desert" (from صحراء (Ṣaḥrā') "desert"), referring to the indigenous Sahrawi people of Western Sahara (see Sahraoui)... [more]
SahraouiصحراويArabic (Maghrebi) Means "of the desert" or "of the Sahara" from Arabic صَحْرَاء (ṣaḥrāʾ) meaning "desert".
ShakshukiشكشوكيArabic (Maghrebi) Most likely from Libyan Arabic شَكْشُوكَةٌ (šakšawka) meaning “a mixture”, referring to a type of North African dish made of vegetables and fried eggs.
ShebaniشيبانيArabic (Maghrebi) From the name of an Arab tribe which is derived from Arabic شيب (šīb) meaning "white hair, grayness" or "cold, snow". This surname is chiefly used in Libya.
TounsiتونسيArabic (Maghrebi) Derived from Arabic تُونِسِيّ (tūnisiyy) meaning “Tunisian”, ultimately from تُونِس (tūnis) meaning "Tunisia, Tunis". It can refer to a native of the country of Tunisia, someone from the city of Tunis (in Tunisia), or the Tunisian Tounsi dialect of Arabic.
TouzaniتوزانيArabic (Maghrebi) Possibly derived from Aït Touzine, the name of a Rifian tribe in Morocco.
TrabelsiطرابلسيArabic (Maghrebi) Habitational name for someone originally from the city of Tripoli in Libya from Arabic طَرَابُلُس (ṭarābulus). The city's name ultimately comes from Ancient Greek Τρίπολις (Trípolis) meaning "three cities", from τρι- (tri-) meaning "three" and πόλις (pólis) meaning "city".
ZidaneزيدانArabic (Maghrebi) From the given name Zaydan. A notable bearer is Zinedine Zidane (1972-), a French former footballer of Algerian descent.
ZouaouiزواويArabic (Maghrebi) Indicates a member of the Igawawen (called Zouaoua in French) Kabyle tribe, from Maghrebi Arabic زواوة (zwāwa). The tribe's name is of uncertain meaning; it may be derived from the name of a massif in Kabylie, Algeria.