Abdurrahman

Abdurrahman is a male given name of Arabic origin. It is a theophoric name formed from Abd meaning “servant” and ar-Rahman, one of the 99 names of God in Islam, commonly translated as “the Most Merciful.” The element al- in Arabic is often elided in transliteration, yielding forms such as Abdur Rahman, Abdul Rahman, Abdurrahman, or Abdulrahman. Variants arise from regional pronunciation, spelling conventions, and differing transliteration systems.

The name is widely used across the Muslim world, including the Arab world, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and parts of Central Asia and Turkey. It typically serves as a given name, though in some contexts it can appear as part of a longer compound name or, less commonly, as a surname in certain cultures.

Notable people with this name include Abdur Rahman Khan (1844–1901), the Emir of Afghanistan from 1880 to 1901, a key figure in the consolidation of the Afghan state. Another well-known bearer is Abdurrahman Wahid (1940–2009), commonly known as Gus Dur, an Indonesian Muslim cleric and politician who served as the country’s president from 1999 to 2001. The name is also common among scholars, engineers, athletes, and leaders in various Muslim-majority countries, reflecting its long-standing cultural and religious significance.

In summary, Abdurrahman is a traditional, theophoric Arabic name meaning “servant of the Most Merciful,” widely used across diverse cultures and languages within the Muslim world.