# Transliteration of مسعود



## quorumangelorum

Hello all,

One night several years ago, I was waiting for a bus on a rainy night, and I met a really sweet young guy, and we talked for a long while about life, until the bus arrived. 
I loved his name -- it was pronounced Mah-sood, and he said it meant "lucky".

How is this name spelled in English?

Thank you.


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## Mahaodeh

It depends on why you need the spelling.  If you want the pronounciation I would suggest Mas3uud (the three is for the letter ayn), but you can use Mas'oud or Masoud.


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## AquaMarine'seye

Hi,

I suggest the following : ( Mas'oud )
                                    (Mas3ood)
that  number 3= ayn  / as *Maha*  mentioned above .


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## cute angel

Yeah it is MASOUD or MAS3OOD which means a lucky guy from the word saad or sa3d which means luck.


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## quorumangelorum

Thank you, all.  I was asking because I would love to give that name to someone, someday.  Alas, my son is nearly grown and I'm not likely to have another.  But perhaps I will write a poem or a story, and give this name to the hero.  I will have to write very well indeed is the hero is to be worthy of his namesake.  I have seldom met someone so earnest and good.  It restored my faith in humanity.

Good night. Peace be upon you.


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## cute angel

Peace be upon you,

         Great it'll be a good story God help you.

   Regards


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## Josh_

If you are going to use the name for a story in English then I would recommend either Masoud our Massoud, which, I believe, are the most common spellings in English.


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## Ander

Josh_ said:


> If you are going to use the name for a story in English then I would recommend either Masoud our Massoud, which, I believe, are the most common spellings in English.


 
No, in English it would be Masood. The "ou" is French for "oo" or German/Spanish/Latin "u".

The famous Afghan fighter Ahmad Shah Massoud (or Masoud) has probably had his name transliterated by the French at first because he studied at a French high school in Kabul (or Kaboul in French).


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## shannenms

I suggest "Masoud" 
BTW, that's my brother's name!

Best Luck


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## Josh_

Ander said:


> No, in English it would be Masood. The "ou" is French for "oo" or German/Spanish/Latin "u".


I realize the 'ou' is of French origin, but it is used often in English.  Masood is another alternative, however I still prefer Masoud -- I think it looks better, and that's why I suggested it.  Of course, the choice of transliteration is entirely up to the individual.


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## Ander

Josh_ said:


> I realize the 'ou' is of French origin, but it is used often in English.


 
Do you mean the french "ou" is often used in English transliteration of foreign words, or often used only in the name of Ahmad Shah Massoud?

As a Frenchman and as an observer of how other languages transliterate foreign words, I must say that I do not agree with the first (see Quran, Muhammad, Kabul), and for the second I gave an explanation as to why the English use the French spelling Massoud or Masoud. (Btw, Masoud is impossible in French, because a "s" between vowels is pronounced as a "z")



> Masood is another alternative, however I still prefer Masoud -- I think it looks better, and that's why I suggested it.


 
Why does it look better to you? I'm just curious.



> Of course, the choice of transliteration is entirely up to the individual.


 
Not at all, it should be adapted to the language of the people you are writing to.
Except of course with names that have been consecrated by use, which seems to be the case with Massoud/Masoud.


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## xebonyx

I'm not going to say what I think Josh meant, but people choose whatever transliteration they like(and usually, they go by a system; choosing from the most commonly used ones). While most Americans wouldn't naturally emphasize doubled consonants due to the shape of the English language, they still pronounce it Muhammed/Mohammed/Muhamed the same way.  From what I've observed, many draw intended pronunciation from news broadcasts, and don't necessarily pay particular attention to what the spelling should be. With that said, Massoud should work.


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## Josh_

Ander said:


> Do you mean the french "ou" is often used in English transliteration of foreign words, or often used only in the name of Ahmad Shah Massoud?


It is used in English names and probably some other words as well, although I think of any right now.

"Massoud" appears over 1,000,000 times on Google and of the first ten pages I saw three websites in French.  "Masoud" appears over 880,000 times and I found no websites in French.  If this is not proof that these are common spellings in English I don't know what is.

I must grant though that Masood appears about a million times as well on Google.

Another name is محمود which is commonly spelled Mahmoud in English.  This is obviously a French influence, but has found its way into English as Mahmoud.  "Mahmoud" appears 11,000,000 whereas "Mahmood" appears 2,600,000 times. 



> As a Frenchman and as an observer of how other languages transliterate foreign words, I must say that I do not agree with the first (see Quran, Muhammad, Kabul), and for the second I gave an explanation as to why the English use the French spelling Massoud or Masoud. (Btw, Masoud is impossible in French, because a "s" between vowels is pronounced as a "z")


What is allowable and not in the French language is irrelevant since we are talking about the English language and a French influence that has found its way into English.



> Why does it look better to you? I'm just curious.


Because it does.  Why does anyone prefer something over the other.  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  More than that, I think xebonyx hit the nail on the head.  I guess I just don't like double consonants in names.  

Now let me ask you, why are you so adamant that the name in question be Masood in English? What does it matter if an Englishman, or an Arab coming to America, chooses Massoud?


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## Ander

Josh_ said:


> Another name is محمود which is commonly spelled Mahmoud in English. This is obviously a French influence, but has found its way into English as Mahmoud. "Mahmoud" appears 11,000,000 whereas "Mahmood" appears 2,600,000 times.


 
Whereas Mas(s)oud is not the best example, I must reckon that you nearly convinced me with Mahmoud. 

But how about Mahmud then?



> Now let me ask you, why are you so adamant that the name in question be Masood in English? What does it matter if an Englishman, or an Arab coming to America, chooses Massoud?


 
I was only refering to academic literature in English about Arab history for example. 
I think that in that case the author would choose a spelling directly derived from English, or from scientific usage, for his English readership.

Of course if an individual wants to use any spelling of whatever origin, as a first name for example, I can only agree with him.


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## ak_93

I don't think that mas'oud means lucky ... but happy. Because it comes from sa'ada which means happiness not luck


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## cherine

Welcome to the forum, ak_93 


ak_93 said:


> I don't think that mas'oud means lucky ... but happy. Because it comes from sa'ada which means happiness not luck


مسعود comes from سعد which means luck.
Happy would be سعيد and comes from سعادة.
And it's true that both sa3d and sa3aada come from the root س-ع-د but they have a slightly different meaning.


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## Mahaodeh

According to classical dictionaries, it's fortunate/lucky/blessed for all the meanings in the root, no mention of happyness. Later dictionaries such as Al Ghani add happyness to the meanings. So just a guess, the meaning of happy was derived from being fortunate and lucky (which makes you happy) and then it became part of the meaning in MSA.

I just thought this might spark some thought.


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