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Names meaning wisdom, knowledge, and good judgement

There is a reason this shelf took us longer to build than the others. Most of the great Arabic words for wisdom — Hakim, Alim, Rashid — are also among the names by which God is known, and for centuries families have handled that with care: some give the name outright, some put 'Abd al-' in front of it, so that the child is 'servant of the Wise' rather than 'the Wise' himself. Both traditions are old, both are loved, and we are not here to referee between them. What we can do is tell you what each name means and where it comes from, so the choice is yours with open eyes.

So this shelf holds both kinds. Hakim, who is wise and, in the old usage, a physician. Aqil, whose name is simply 'one who reasons'. Labib, the sensible one; Adib, the cultured one; Arif, who knows. Luqman, the sage for whom a chapter of the Qur'an is named. And a quieter set of names for the wisdom of temperament rather than intellect — Razan and Razina, composure; Noha, sound judgement; Ahnaf, whose forbearance became a proverb. May your child grow into a name like one of these slowly, the way wisdom actually arrives: not all at once, but a little more every year.

17 names