Ali (name)

Ali (Arabic: علي, romanized: ʿAlī) is a common unisex (originally male) name.

For Ali ibn Abi Talib, see Ali. For other uses, see Ali (disambiguation).
Ali
Calligraphic seal featuring Caliph Ali's name, on display in the Hagia Sophia
PronunciationArabic: [ˈʕalijj]
Persian: [ʔæˈliː]
Turkish: [ˈali]
Urdu: [ʔəˈliː]
Finnish: [ˈɑli]
GenderMale or Female
Language(s)Arabic,
Azerbaijani,
English
Finnish
Persian,
Turkish,
Urdu,
others
Origin
Word/nameArabic
MeaningEminent, high, exalted, noble
Region of originArabia
Other names
Variant form(s)Ally, Aly, Alli, Alley, Allie, Aliy, Aliyy, Alee

Ali is derived from the Arabic triconsonantal root ʕ-l-w, which literally means "high", "elevated" or "champion" ”king of kings”, ”emperor”, and is used as both a given name and surname. Islamic traditional use of the name goes back to the Islamic leader Ali ibn Abi Talib, but the name is also present among some pre-Islamic Arabs (e.g. Banu Hanifa, and some rulers of Saba and Himyar). It is identical in form and meaning to the Hebrew: עֵלִי, Eli, which goes back to the High Priest Eli in the biblical Books of Samuel.

As a surname, Ali has become popular in domains under the influence of Islamic culture. This is especially so in the Caribbean where indentured labourers from South Asia were brought to replace African slave labour after the end of the Transatlantic slave trade, in countries such as Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago.[1]

The name Ali is also used in various other cultures as a given name. Among English speakers it is used as a short form of male or female names starting with "Ali", such as Alice, Alison, Alisha, Alistair, Alexander, or Alexandra. In Old Norse, Áli and Åle are alternative forms of Onela. Ali is a Finnish male given name, derived from Aleksanteri.[2]

Islam
  • Ali ibn Abi Talib (601–661), cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, the fourth Caliph of Sunni Islam, and the first Imam in most schools of Shia Islam
  • Ali ibn Husayn (Zayn al-Abidin) (c. 659 – c. 713), grandson of Ali ibn Abi Talib, fourth infallible Imam in Isma'ili and Twelver Shia Islam
  • Ali ibn Musa (ar-Reza) (c. 766 – 818), eighth infallible Imam in Shia Islam
  • Ali ibn Muhammad (al-Hadi) (c. 829 – c. 868), tenth infallible Imam in Shia Islam
  • Ali ibn Sahl Rabban al-Tabari, Persian Muslim scholar, physician and psychologist
  • Ali ibn al-Mu'tasim, 9th-century Abbasid prince and son of Al-Mu'tasim
  • Ali al-Muktafi, Abbasīd caliph from 902 to 908
  • Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin, Imam in Shiʻi Islam
  • Husayn ibn Ali, Abu Abd Allah or Imam Husayn, a grandson of Muhammad
  • Hasan ibn Ali, the firstborn son of Ali and Fatima and a grandson of Muhammad
  • Ali ibn al-Athir, 12th- and 13th-century Islamic historian and geographer
  • Ali Jaunpuri (1800–1873), Islamic scholar

Given male name

Arts and entertainment

Sports

Others

Given female name

Arts and entertainment

Sports

Others

Middle name

Surname

Arts and entertainment

Sports
  • Abdulaziz Ali (born 1980), Qatari footballer
  • Almoez Ali (born 1996), Qatari international footballer of Sudanese descent
  • Awais Ali (born 2005), Pakistani cricketer
  • Hameen Ali (born 1977), American football player
  • Imtiaz Ali (born 1954), former West Indian cricketer
  • Imtiaz Ali, Trinidadian cricketer
  • Josh Ali (born 1999), American football player
  • Jusif Ali (born 2000), Finnish footballer
  • Laila Ali (born 1977), American television personality and former professional boxer who competed from 1999 to 2007, daughter of Muhammad Ali
  • Meral Yıldız Ali (born 1987), Romanian-Turkish female table tennis player
  • Moeen Ali – English cricket player
  • Muhammad Ali (1942–2016; born Cassius Clay), American boxer, activist and philanthropist
  • Mohamed Ali (born 1992), Indian professional footballer
  • Nur Ali (born 1974), Pakistani-American racing driver
  • Rahman Ali (born 1944; born Rudolph Valentino Clay), American boxer, brother of Muhammad Ali
  • Veronica Porché Ali, American psychologist and the former wife of boxer Muhammad Ali

Others

Derived names

Male

Female

Umm Ali

Umm Ali Jijak, mother of Abbasid caliph al-Muktafi.

Mononyms

Stage name or pseudonym

Fictional characters
  • Ali (character), a Chinese cartoon character
  • Ali (House), a character in the television series House
  • Ali Baba, a character in the folk tale of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
  • Ali Bombay, a character in the television series M.A.S.K.
  • Ali Osman, a character in the soap opera EastEnders
  • Ali Al-Saachez, a character in the anime series Mobile Suit Gundam 00
  • Ali, a character in The Land Before Time IV: Journey to the Mists

See also

References
  1. ">Top 25 Surnames in T&T". www.tntisland.com.
  2. Kustaa Vilkuna, Marketta Huitu and Pirjo Mikkonen. Etunimet, published in Joka kodin suuri nimikirja. Suuri Suomalainen Kirjakerho, 1990.
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