Translate English to Arabic name spellings
Translate English to Arabic name spellings in the box below: type a first name and press Translate. You get the usual Arabic spelling with full harakat and a Latin line that shows how it sounds. Choose a dialect to hear the local pronunciation. Free, no account, nothing stored.
Translations are generated by an AI model and can be wrong; the Standard Arabic line is there so you can compare. Up to 1000 characters at a time.
How a name is written in Arabic
A name is not translated; it is spelled by ear with Arabic letters. Two habits of the script shape the result. First, Arabic normally writes no short vowels, so a name needs long vowels where English stresses a syllable. The i in Emily becomes the long letter ي, or the name would be unreadable. Second, Arabic has no p, v, hard g or ch, so the nearest letter stands in: Peter is بِيتَر (beetar), Victor is فِيكْتُور (feektoor).
The tool returns the spelling Arabic newspapers and subtitles use for that name, the one your Arabic-speaking friends will recognize. With the dialect menu set to Egyptian, the pronunciation line shows how a Cairo friend would say it (a hard g for j, for instance). The Arabic letters stay the same.
Translate English to Arabic name spellings: ten common examples
| Name | Arabic (harakat) | Pronunciation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michael | مَايْكِل | maaykil | Spelled by sound; the Arabic Biblical form is مِيخَائِيل (meekhaa'eel) |
| Sarah | سَارَة | saara | Also an Arabic name, so the spelling is fixed |
| David | دَيْفِيد | dayfeed | The Arabic Biblical form is دَاوُد (daawood) |
| Emily | إِيمِيلِي | eemeelee | Three long vowels, one per syllable |
| John | جُون | joon | The o is long |
| Jessica | جِيسِيكَا | jeeseekaa | Ends in a long a; the ca is written with kaaf |
| Daniel | دَانْيَال | daanyaal | Also an Arabic name, same as the prophet's |
| Ashley | آشْلِي | aashlee | Starts with alif madda for the long a |
| James | جَيْمْس | jayms | No vowel between m and s, as in English |
| Maria | مَارِيَا | maaryaa | The Arabic form of Mary is مَرْيَم (maryam) |
Press Harakat: off under the result to get the bare spelling, which is how the name appears on a document or a social profile.
The rules the spelling follows
- A stressed or long English vowel becomes a long Arabic vowel. The ee and i as in Lisa become ي, oo and o as in John become و, a as in Sarah becomes ا.
- P becomes ب and v becomes ف; some writers use the Persian letters پ and ڤ, but they are not part of the Arabic alphabet.
- A hard g (Greg, Megan) is usually غ or ج; Egyptians read ج as g anyway.
- A soft c (Cecilia) becomes س, a hard c and k become ك, ch becomes تش.
- Silent letters disappear: the h at the end of Sarah, the e at the end of Kate.
- A final a in a woman's name is usually written with ة (Sarah, Laura); a final a in other names with ا (Joshua).
Names that also exist in Arabic (Adam, Daniel, Sarah, Maria as Maryam) keep their Arabic form; see the list below.
Hello, my name is... in Arabic
Once you have the name, these are the lines around it, in Standard Arabic and in Egyptian:
| English | Standard Arabic | Egyptian | Pronunciation (Egyptian) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hello, my name is Sarah | مَرْحَبًا، اِسْمِي سَارَة | أَهْلًا، اِسْمِي سَارَة | ahlan, ismi saara |
| Hi, my name is Michael | أَهْلًا، أَنَا مَايْكِل | أَهْلًا، أَنَا مَايْكِل | ahlan, ana maaykil |
| What is your name? (to a man) | مَا اسْمُكَ؟ | اِسْمَك إِيه؟ | ismak eeh |
| What is your name? (to a woman) | مَا اسْمُكِ؟ | اِسْمِك إِيه؟ | ismik eeh |
| His name is John | اِسْمُهُ جُون | اِسْمُه جُون | ismu joon |
| Her name is Emily | اِسْمُهَا إِيمِيلِي | اِسْمَهَا إِيمِيلِي | ismaha eemeelee |
More everyday lines, with the dialect of your choice, are on the how to say it in Arabic page.
Arabic names that are also English names
Many names traveled from Hebrew and Aramaic into both languages, so they have a fixed Arabic form rather than a spelling by sound. If your name is one of these, use the Arabic form; it is what an Arab will expect to see. For a whole sentence around the name, the English to Arabic translator handles the rest.
| English | Arabic (harakat) | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Adam | آدَم | aadam |
| Sarah | سَارَة | saara |
| Daniel | دَانْيَال | daanyaal |
| Joseph | يُوسُف | yoosuf |
| Jacob | يَعْقُوب | ya3qoob |
| Noah | نُوح | noo7 |
| Mary | مَرْيَم | maryam |
| Jonah | يُونُس | yoonus |
Before a tattoo or anything permanent
The spelling comes from an AI model and reflects the most common usage, but names have variants: Daniel appears as دانيال and دانييل in different countries. Arabic letters also change shape depending on their neighbors, so a design copied letter by letter from a font can come out disconnected or mirrored. Before a tattoo, an engraving or a legal document, show the result to a native speaker and ask them to write it by hand. The English letters to Arabic page explains which Arabic letter each English sound gets, if you want to check the result yourself.
Frequently asked questions
How do I translate my name into Arabic?
Type the name in the box at the top and press Translate. You get the usual Arabic spelling with vowel marks and a Latin line showing the pronunciation; Harakat: off gives the bare letters to copy.
How do you say 'what's your name' in Arabic?
In Standard Arabic مَا اسْمُكَ؟ (ma smuka) to a man and مَا اسْمُكِ؟ (ma smuki) to a woman. In Egyptian it is اِسْمَك إِيه؟ (ismak eeh) and اِسْمِك إِيه؟ (ismik eeh).
Which Arabic names are also English names?
Adam, Sarah, Daniel, Joseph (Yusuf), Jacob (Yaqub), Noah (Nuh), Mary (Maryam), Jonah (Yunus), David (Dawud) and Michael (Mikhail) all have a traditional Arabic form, listed above.
How can I write my name in Arabic on Facebook?
Translate it here, press Harakat: off, press Copy and paste it into the name field in your profile settings. Facebook has its own rules about which scripts a profile name may use, so it may ask you to keep the Latin name as well.
Is the Arabic spelling of my name a translation?
No, it is a transcription by sound. Names are not translated: Hope stays هُوب (hoob), not the Arabic word for hope. The exception is names shared by both languages, such as Sarah or Daniel, which have a fixed Arabic form.
Can I hear how my name sounds in Arabic?
Yes. Press Listen under the result; your browser's Arabic voice reads the voweled spelling. Pick a dialect in the menu to see the pronunciation line adapt to it.