Given name & surname · Arabic · acw · sd
علي
علي (ʻalī) is a masculine given name from Classical Persian, ultimately from Arabic. It is used in Arabic, Hijazi Arabic, and Sindhi.
Arabic and acw and sdWritten in Arabic script, read right to left. In English: ʕaliyy.
Meaning & origin
Where it comes from
علي comes from Classical Persian, and ultimately from Arabic.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
How it developed
From Classical Persian عَلِی, from Arabic عَلِيّ.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
علي’s family of names
In Hindi usage, علي has a feminine form in आलिया. In Arabic usage, علي has a conventional equivalent in the German form Ali. علي can be written in the Roman alphabet as ʕali.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: across languages.
Around the world
علي has relatives in 6 languages. Lines run from its Arabic roots to each of them.
Arabicwhere علي comes from · 1 name
Spellings & scripts 3
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 6
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named علي
- Ali KhameneiSupreme Leader of Iran from 1989 to 20261939–2026
- Ali4th Rashidun Caliph (r. 656–661) and first Shia Imam599–661
- Ali Abdullah SalehPresident of North Yemen (1978–1990) and Yemen (1990–2012)1947–2017
- Ali BongoPresident of Gabon (2009–2023)born 1959
- Ali-Shir Nava'iTurkic poet and politician (1441–1501)
- Ali LarterAmerican actress and model (born 1976)
- Ali al-SajjadGreat-grandson of Muhammad and the fourth of the Shiite Imams659–713
- Ali LarijaniIranian politician and military officer (1958–2026)
- Ali al-Ridaeighth of the Twelve Shia Imams (766–818)770–818
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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