alKufi

AlKufi, commonly written al-Kūfī, is a nisba meaning "from Kufa," referring to the historic city of Kufa in present-day Iraq. In Arabic naming conventions, it indicates geographic origin or affiliation and has been used across scholarship, administration, and literature to identify persons linked to Kufa, a major cultural and intellectual center during the early Islamic period.

The term is also associated with Kufic script, or al-Kūfī, one of the earliest forms of Arabic calligraphy. Developed in Kufa and later popularized during the Abbasid era, Kufic is characterized by angular, rectilinear letterforms, strong vertical strokes, and a high degree of geometric balance. It was widely used in early Qur’anic manuscripts, architectural inscriptions, and coin legends, and gave rise to several substyles, including more angular, monumental varieties and later geometric scripts such as Square Kufic.

In modern usage, al-Kufi can appear as a surname or nisba in historical and contemporary texts. Variants of transliteration include al-Kufi, al-Kūfī, and al-Kuffy, reflecting differences in rendering Arabic vowels and the lack of standardized romanization. As such, the term encompasses both a geographic descriptor and a stylistic designation within Arabic paleography and onomastics.