Abd Allah (Arabic: عبد الله, romanized: ʻAbd Allāh), also spelled Abdullah, Abdhullah, Abdellah, Abdollah, Abdallah, Abdulla, Abdalla and many others, is an Arabic theophoric name meaning servant of God or "God's follower". It is built from the Arabic words ʻabd (عبد) and Allāh (الله).
Although the first letter "a" in Allāh, as the first letter of the article al-, is usually unstressed in Arabic, it is usually stressed in the pronunciation of this name. The variants Abdollah and Abdullah represent the elision of this "a" following the "u" of the Classical Arabic nominative case (pronounced [o] in Persian).
Humility before God is an essential value of Islam, hence Abdullah is a common name among Muslims. The name of the Islamic prophet Muhammad's father was Abdullah. As the prophet's father died before his birth, this indicates that the name was already in use in pre-Islamic Arabia.
It is also common among Mizrahi Jews and Sephardic Jews, especially Iraqi Jews and Syrian Jews. Among the latter, the name holds historical significance in Sephardic communities, particularly those from Aleppo, Syria, where the variant "Abdalla" was traditionally used as a surname. The name is cognate to, and has the same meaning as, the Hebrew Abdiel, Obadiah and also, Ovadia. A notable bearer was Abdallah Somekh (1813–1889), who was an influential Sephardic rabbi in Ottoman Iraq. Two Jewish rabbis were present in Medina before the advent of Islam: Abdullah ibn Salam and Abdullah ibn Saba. Ovadia Yosef, the former Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel, was born Abdalla Youssef.
The variant used in the Russian language is "Абдулла́" (Abdulla) (cf. Fedul, which has similar origins), with "Абду́л" (Abdul) and "Габдулла́" (Gabdulla) often used in Adyghe. The Spanish variant is Abdala. The Turkic Tatar language spells it as Ğabdulla (Габдулла).
The Christian Arabic Bible uses the word Allah for God. Presently in the Middle East, the name is sometimes used by Christians as a given or family name.
Contents
Given name
Abd Allah
Abd Allah ibn Muhammad (611–613), son of Muhammad
Abd Allah ibn Uthman (620–625), son of third caliph Uthman
Abd Allah ibn Abd Allah (died 633), companion of Muhammad
Abd Allah ibn Abi Bakr (608–633), son of caliph Abu Bakr
Abd Allah ibn Saba, Jewish anti-Rashidun rebel
Abd Allah ibn Salam (died 663), Jewish companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad
Abd Allah ibn Ubayy (died 631), leading inhabitant of Medina and contemporary of Muhammad
Abd Allah ibn Umar (610–693), narrator of hadith
Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, (624–692), ruler of the 8th-century Zubayrid Caliphate
Abd Allah ibn Yazid, an Umayyad prince and Military leader
Abu Abd Allah Muhammad al-Bukhari (810–870), Persian muhaddith
Abdalla
Abdalla El-Masri (born 1962), Lebanese composer
Abdalla Hamdok (born 1956), most recent Sudanese president, who was deposed in a coup
Ovadia Yosef (1920–2013), Israeli rabbi, born Abdalla Youssef
Abdallah
Abdallah Somekh (1813–1889), Iraqi Sephardic rabbi
Abdallah Abdalsalam (born 1983), Egyptian volleyball player
Abdallah al-Adil (1224–1227), Caliph of Morocco
Abdallah Aich (born 1995), Lebanese footballer
Abdallah ibn Amir (626–678), Rashidun politician and military officer
Abdallah Bou Habib (1941–2025), Lebanese diplomat
Abdallah Djaballah (born 1956), Algerian politician
Abdallah Al-Fakhouri (born 2000), Jordanian footballer
Abdallah Kamal (1965–2014), Egyptian journalist and politician
Abdallah El Maaroufi (1944–2011), Moroccan diplomat
Abdallah ibn al-Mu'tazz (861–908), Arab poet
Abdallah Saaf (born 1949), Moroccan academic and politician
Abdallah ibn Sa'd, Arab administrator and commander
Abdallah Shihiri (1868–1931), politician of the Somali Dervish movement
Abdallah El-Yafi (1901–1986), Lebanese politician
Abdallah al-Fadil al-Mahdi (1890–1966), Sudanese politician
Abdelilah
Abdelilah Saber (born 1974), Moroccan association football player
Abdellah
Abdellah Béhar (born 1963), French runner
Abdellah Blinda (1951–2010), Moroccan association football manager
Abdellah Liegeon (1957–2025), Algerian association football player
Abdulai
Abdulai Bell-Baggie (born 1992), English association football player
Abdulai Conteh (1945–2024), Sierra Leonean politician
Abdulah
Abdulah Gegić (1924–2008), Yugoslav football coach and doctor of sciences in the veterinary field
Abdulah Ibraković (born 1970), Bosnian professional football manager
Abdulah Muhasilović (1898-??), Bosnian army chaplain
Abdulah Mutapčić (1932–2013), Bosnian politician
Abdulah Nakaš (1944–2005), Bosnian surgeon
Abdulah Oruč (born 1955), Bosnian professional football manager
Abdulah Sidran (1944–2024), Bosnian poet
Abdulah Skaka (born 1983), Bosnian politician
Abdullah
Abdullah ibn Abd al-Muttalib (545–570), the father of Muhammad
Abdullah (Chagatai Khanate) (died 1359), ruler of the Chagatai
Abdullah (Ismaili Mustaali Missionary), first Ismaili, Fatimid, mustaali saint to reach India, c. 1067 AD
Abdullah ibn Abbas (619–687), narrator of hadith
Abdullah Abdullah (born 1960), the former foreign minister of Afghanistan
Abdullah al-Amiri, judge in the trial of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein
Abdulla Aripov (born 1962), Prime minister of Uzbekistan
Abdullah Tahir, Ethiopian-Yemeni governor
Abdullah Anderson (born 1996), American football player
Abdullah Atalar (born 1954), Turkish academic
Abdullah Avcı (born 1963), Turkish association football manager
Abdullah Aydoğdu (born 1991), Turkish Paralympian goalball player
Abdullah Yusuf Azzam (1941–1989), Islamist leader, assassinated in 1989
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (1939–2025), Prime Minister of Malaysia (2003–2009)
Abdullah el Baqui (1886–1952), Bengali Islamic scholar, writer and politician
Abdullah Baybaşin (born 1960), Turkish mob boss
Surname
Abdalla
Ahmad Abdalla (born 1979), Egyptian film director
Ali Abdalla (born 1982), Eritrean long-distance runner
Asha Ahmed Abdalla (born 1958), Somali politician
Khalid Abdalla (born 1980), British actor
Abdallah
Abu Makhlad Abdallah, Iranian statesman from Tabaristan
Alexander Abdallah (born 1993), Swedish actor and filmmaker of Lebanese descent
Ali al-Abdallah, Syrian writer and human rights activist
Gene G. Abdallah (1934–2019), American politician
Hamza Abdallah (born 2003), Comorian footballer
Georges Ibrahim Abdallah (born 1951), Lebanese communist militant serving a life sentence for complicity in murder
Marajil also known as Umm Abdallah (died 786), mother of Abbasid caliph Al-Ma'mun.
Mohammed ben Abdallah (playwright), (1944–2025), Ghanaian playwright
Mohamed Abdallah (born 1975), British citizen with African origin, A Chartered Accountant with ACCA and CPA(T)
Sallamah Umm Abdallah, was the spouse of Muhammad ibn Ali and mother of Al-Mansur.
Abdellah
Faye Glenn Abdellah (1919–2017), American nurse
Nacer Abdellah (born 1966), Moroccan footballer
Abdulah
Clive Abdulah (born 1927), former Bishop of Trinidad
David Abdulah, Trinidad and Tobago trade unionist, economist and politician
Masood Abdulah (born 1993), English professional boxer
Abdullah
Abdul Abdullah (born 1986), Australian artist, brother of artist Abdul-Rahman Abdullah
Abdul Rahman Abdullah, Muslim name of Donny Meluda, armed robber
Abdul-Rahman Abdullah (born 1977), Australian artist, brother of artist Abdul Abdullah
Abdullah Abdullah (born 1960), former foreign minister of Afghanistan
Adel Abdullah (born 1984), Syrian association football player
Ameer Abdullah (born 1993), American football running back
Chelsea Abdullah, Kuwaiti American novelist
Farah Zeynep Abdullah (born 1989), Turkish actress
Husain Abdullah (born 1985), American football player
Ismail Sabri Abdullah (1924–2006), Egyptian economist and politician
Khalid Abdullah (born 1995), American former professional football running back
Majed Abdullah (born 1959), Saudi Arabian football player
Melina Abdullah (born 1972), American academic and civic leader
Muhammad Kho Abdullah (1984–2016), Muslim name of Kho Jabing, convicted Malaysian killer
Omar Abdullah (born 1970), last Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir
Fictional characters
Abdul Alhazred, sometimes referred to as Abdullah Alhazred
Abdullah (comics), from The Adventures of Tintin by Hergé
Abdullah the Butcher, born Lawrence Shreve, Canadian wrestler
Abdullah ibn al-Wahhab from the Amelia Peabody series, foreman for the Emerson family's archeological excavation sites
Abdullah, main protagonist of Castle in the Air, the sequel to Howl's Moving Castle