Najjar

The origin of the surname Najjar

Najjar (al-Najjār) means “carpenter.”

What kind of surname is Najjar?

As an occupational surname, the surname Najjar began as a description of the bearer's job, trade or office — one of the oldest and richest sources of family names. In the medieval world, a person was naturally identified by what they did, so the baker, the smith, the miller and the weaver each lent their trade to a name that later became hereditary. These surnames are wonderfully transparent windows onto everyday life in earlier centuries, preserving crafts and roles that in many cases no longer exist. Because certain trades were common everywhere, occupational surnames are among the most widespread family names in many countries.

How Arabic surnames work

Traditional Arabic names are a chain rather than a single surname: a nasab traces descent with ibn/bint (“son/daughter of”), a nisba (often ending “-i”) marks a tribe, place or attribute, and a laqab is an honorific or descriptive title. Modern family names typically settle on one of these — a tribe, an ancestor or a place — and many carry the definite article “al-.”

Variants & spellings

• Naggar