Researchers of Iberian history often have to consult sources in Arabic and Castillian or Portuguese. Names can be confusing when referencing from one language to the other.
In this article, I list names as they are found in Arab sources, and their English spelling.
| Arabic Name | Transliteration | English Name | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| أرمقند | Armaqand | Armengol Ermengol | The most famous person by this name is Armengol I, count of Urgell. Together with troops of Ramon Burrell I, he was involved in the civil wars at the start of the 11th century C.E (5th century A.H.). He participated in the siege and battle of Cordova in 400 A.H / 1010 C.E. and is killed in the battle. |
| أردون | Ardon, Ordon | Ordoño | Name of several Spanish kings |
| أفوقاي | Afuqay | Bejarrano | Ahmad ibn Qasim al-Hajari. An ambassador and translator of Morisco origin who lived in the 1600s. |
| أذفنش ألفنش أذفونش الهنشة | Athfonsh, Alfonsh, Adfonsh, Alhansha | Alphonso, Alfonso | Name of several Spanish kings. |
| إبن بشكوال | Ibn Bashkwal | Ibn Pasqual | A historian and hadith narrator. |
| برمند | Barmand | Bermudo | King of Asturias |
| البشكنس | al-Bashkans | Basques | The Basques are an ethnic and linguistic group in north east Iberia. Ibn Garcia (see below) was Basque. Also, Aurora was a Basque princess known by her Arabic name Subh al-Bashkanseyya ٍصبح البشكنسية (d. ca. 390 A.H.). She was the favorite concubine of the Umayyad Caliph, al-Hakam, and the mother of the weak Hisham al-Mu'ayyad. |
| بلاي | Pelayo | Pelayo | Spanish king |
| بطرة بدرة بيطر | Butra, Budra, Bitar | Pedro, Peter | Name of several Spanish kings. |
| تدمير | Tudmer | Theodomir | Name of Visigothic nobleman during the Arab conquest. |
| خايمة | Khayma | Jaime, James | Name of several Spanish kings. |
| رذمير | Rothmir | Ramiro | King of Asturias |
| إبن الريق إبن رنك إبن رنق | Ibn al-Riq, Ibn Rannak, Ibn Rannaq | Henrique | King of Portugal. The orthography of that name in Arabic is very interesting. It was probably first written as إنريق or إنريك (Inriq or Inrik) which is very close to the original. Scribes probably made spelling errors, and rendered it إبن ريق or إبن ريقas two words, interpreting it as "Son of Riq". The errors continued and the ي (Y sound) letter had the two dots below it removed, and replaced by one dot above, making it ن (N sound). Finally, the al- prefix for "the" was added, and we have Ibn Rannak! |
| سيدة زيدة | Sayeda, Zayda | Zaida | |
| السيد | al-Sayyed, El-Sid | El Cid | See El Campeador below. |
| شانجة | Shanja | Sancho | Name of several kings of Navarre and Castille. |
| شنجول | Shanjul | Sanchuelo | "Son of Sancho". Original name Abdul Rahman. His father was al-Mansuribn Abi Aamer المنصور بن أبي عامر and his mother was a princess,daughter of Sancho, king of Navarra. She called him Sanchuelo, meaning"little Sancho", because he looked like her father. Historians tell usthat he was overly proud and full of vanity, as well as indulgant inall sorts of hedonism. He forced Hisham al-Mu'ayyad the Umayyad Caliphto give up the Caliphate to him, causing al-Andalus to disintegrate incivil war. He was captured, and executed, and his body was put ondisplay on the gates of Cordova in 400 A.H./1010 C.E. |
| طوطة بنت أثنير | Tota bint Athnir | Toda Aznares |
Queen Toda Aznar (10th century C.E.) of Pamplona. She asked for help form the Umayyad Caliph Abdul Rahman al-Nasir عبد الرحمن الناصر to regain the territory of her young son. |
| غرسية | Gharsia | Garcia | Name of several Spanish kings |
| إبن غرسية | Ibn Gharsia | Ibn Garcia | ِAbu Aamer Ahmad ibn Garcia إبو عامر أحمد بن غرسية (d. 477 A.H.). Of Basque origin, he was captured as a child. He grew up as a Muslim, and speaking Arabic, and became well learned and skillful in literature and poetry. He lived in Denia under the care of Mujahid al-Amiri. He showed strong contempt for Arabs, and wrote a booklet on that, to which many of his contemporaries rebutted. Hence, he was categorized as a Shu'ubi شعوبي. |
| غيطشة | Ghaytasha | Witiza | Name of a Visigotic count at the time of the Arab conquest. |
| إبن فرتون | Ibn Fartun | Ibn Fortun | Fortun is a Spanish name. Two famous people by that name are know: Muhammad ibn Lubb (Lope) ibn Musa ibn Fartun ibn Qasi (d. 285 A.H.) and his son Lubb (Lope) (d. 294 A.H.). They established an independant state in Toledo, Tudela and Zaragoza. When the eldest was killed during his siege of al-Tujaibi in Zaragoza, his head was sent to the Umayyad Caliph in Cordova. His son declared allegiance to the Caliph and continued to rule in their name. They are also known as Banu Qasi (see below). |
| فرندة فردلند | Faranda, Fardiland | Fernando, Ferdinand | Name of several Spanish kings. |
| فرويلة | Ferwela | Fruela | King of Asturias |
| إبن فيره | Ibn Ferro | This is a grandfather of the blind scholar, al-Shatibi, and means "iron" in Spanish. This is unusual, since al-Shatibi is of Arab descent (الرعيني). | |
| إبن القبطرنة إبن القبطورنة | Ibn al-Qabatrana, Ibn al-Qabturna | Three brothers are known by that name. They were all katibs in courts, as well as authors and poets. | |
| بنو قسي | Banu Qasi | Cassio, Cassius | A family of Aragonese descent, whose ancestor is the Visigothic Cassio. See Ibn Fartun (Fortun) above. |
| القوط | al-Qut | Goths, Visigoths | The Visigoths is the name of the Western arm of Germanic tribes that took over parts of the Roman Empire after its fall, the other being the Ostrogoths. |
| إبن القوطية | Ibn al-Quteyya | Abu Bakr ibn al-Quteyya أبو بكر بن القوطية (d. 367 A.h.). A historian, author, and hadith narrator whose gread grandmother was the descendant of Witiza (see above. | |
| القمبيطور | al-Qambaytur | El Campeador | Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar. |
| قارلة | Qarla | Carlo, Charles | Name of several Spanish kings. |
| لذريق | Lethriq | Roderic | Visigothic usurper of the throne at the time of Arab conquest. |
| مردنيش | Mardanish | Martinez |
Although his ancestry is said to be Juthami الجذامي, and therefore Arab, his name is said to be a corruption of Martinez and that he was Spanish in origin. |
| هرندة هراندة | Haranda | Hernando | An alternative form of Fernando (see above). |
| همشك | Hamushk | Ibn Hamushk | Said to mean "without an ear" in Spanish, as one of his grandfathers had one ear cut off. |
| يوليان يليان | Yulyan | Julian | Ruler of Byzantine Cueta in North Africa during the Arab conquest. He assisted the Arab armies cross into Iberia. |
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