# Zayd زيد



## hajj

Hello, 

Could someone help me with the pronunciation of the name Zayd? I'm not sure of the proper way to say it. 

Thank You


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## elroy

Welcome to the forums, hajj. 

The "z," "y," and "d" are pronounced as in English (the "d" is less explosive than in English, but that's a very minor point).

The "a" is pronounced kind of like the first "a" in the word "Annapolis" (as in the city in Maryland). 

I hope that helps.


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## kifaru

Everybody I know that has this name says Zayd like it rhymes with "raid". Would you agree Elroy?


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## elroy

Actually, in Palestinian Arabic it's pronounced "Zeed" (where "ee" is like the "é" in "fiancé" without the "y" sound at the end, so not the "ee" in "feet"). "Zayd" is the MSA pronunciation. 

The pronunciation rhyming with "raid" is not a precise pronunciation. It sounds like a simplification used to make the pronunciation easier for foreigners, or an approximation used (whether consciously or unconsciously) by people who are unable to pronounce the sound correctly.


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## WadiH

kifaru said:


> Everybody I know that has this name says Zayd like it rhymes with "raid". Would you agree Elroy?


 
That's a good approximation of how it's pronounced colloquially.


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## elroy

I'm not sure what you mean by "good approximation."

If you mean the best you can do using a familiar English diphthong, then I agree with you.

If you mean that the sounds are actually similar to a considerable degree, then I don't agree, at least not for the colloquial Arabic I speak. I hear a distinct difference between the "ayd" in "Zayd" and the "aid" in "raid."


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## WadiH

I agree that they don't sound exactly the same.  I just meant that's as close an English pronunciation as you can find.


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## hajj

Thanks your help! I came accross the English or American version of Zayd spelled as "Zade" and I really liked the name. 

I am considering using Zayd for my son's middle name. I can hear the slight varriation of the way it is pronounced now with your examples....especially in comparison to the American version of "zade" which would be more like "raid" in English.

Also I am wondering is Zayd a very common name? What do you think of this name? I understand the meaning and its origin...but is it a good name? My husband is American-Lebanese. I'm not sure what his family in Lebanon would think of the name Zayd.  

Thanks!!


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## cherine

I don't know if Zayd is a currently common name. But there's a very similar name, most probably from the same root, and that is Ziad or Zyad زياد and it's a very beautiful name.
There's a great Lebanes composer whose name is Ziad el RaHbany, his mother is the legend: Fayrouz


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## WadiH

Zaid (or Zayd) is still common in the Arabian Peninsula, both as a first name and as a surname.  Also, don't forget the Lebanese-American general, John Abizaid; his surname means "father of Zaid", so the name must have been used among Lebanese Christians at some point.


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## Mahaodeh

I'd say Zaid is quite a common name.  I like it too.


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## 𒍝𒊑𒈾 𒂵𒉿𒀉

What does the name زَيْد mean?


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## Ali Smith

I don’t think it has a meaning in Arabic. In Hebrew, however, it means “arrogant”. I wonder if it’s a borrowing from Hebrew.


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## WadiH

It means plenty, bounty, growth, increase, etc.  It’s an ancient Arabic name and sometimes appears attached to the name of a diety, eg زيد مناة.


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## Ali Smith

I see. However, it might be a loanword from Hebrew. Cf זֵד 'proud, insolent'.


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## WadiH

Why would the ancient Arab pagans borrow a name from Hebrew and attach it to a pagan deity? The Hebrew meaning doesn’t make sense when attached to مناة anyway and the Hebrew word is not on the same pattern.

Zayd is a perfectly common Arabic pattern using a very common Arabic root and it’s one of several names formed from that root. There is no reason at all to posit a Hebrew loan here.


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## Abu Talha

The name is, of course, ancient as has been shown here. But it has always seemed to me to be a little unusual because of it's masdar meaning:





WadiH said:


> It means plenty, bounty, growth, increase, etc.


I can't think of other ancient names that are masdars. Other names that are derived from meanings, that I can think of, are صفة.

But, as I've admitted before, I don't know very many names.


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## WadiH

There is no distinction between a مصدر and a صفة.  The former is a concept from Sarf and the latter from Nahw.  A مصدر can easily act as a صفة.

There are plenty of names like Zayd, e.g. تيم, قيس, ليث, غيث and of course  غوث ,سعد, فضل (I would say that فضل and زيد mean more or less the same thing).  تيم appears in theophoric names as well (تيم اللات).


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## Abu Talha

Thank you.
No doubt a مصدر can be used to give the meaning of a صفة. But I meant, for example, that I expect adjectives like حامد ، حميد ، محمود to be more likely as names than the masdar حَمْد.

But you have provided sufficient counterexamples with فضل and سعد.

ليث ، غيث ، قيس ، تيم I'm not sure are in the same category, but it is a moot point now.


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## WadiH

غيث and غوث are certainly maSdars.  I don't see why the others shouldn't be either except that we are used to them as nouns referring to specific things rather than acts.


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## fdb

Zayd and ʽAmr are the stock characters in traditional Arabic grammars. So they illustrate the verbal sentence as ḍaraba zaydun ʽamran “Zayd hit ʽAmr”.


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## Abu Talha

WadiH said:


> غيث and غوث are certainly maSdars.  I don't see why the others shouldn't be either except that we are used to them as nouns referring to specific things rather than acts.


But the fact that they are primarily concrete (?) nouns is significant here, no?
For example, if someone is named ليث it is likely after the lion, not "being a lion".


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## Derakhshan

جمال، كمال، عمر، عفاف، رضا، شرف

maṣdars that are names but don't refer to "concrete" things.


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## Abu Talha

Derakhshan said:


> جمال، كمال، عمر، عفاف، رضا، شرف
> 
> maṣdars that are names but don't refer to "concrete" things.


Good examples! But do you think that such names would be relatively uncommon in the pre-classical period? I'd rather think the associated adjectives like جميل ، كامل ، شريف would be more common. Of course, they're not completely absent as WadiH mentioned with زيد ، سعد ، and فضل.


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## fdb

If we want to talk about Classical Islam then we need to distinguish between names (ism) and honorary titles (laqab). Zayd belongs to the former; kaamil belongs to the latter.


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## Derakhshan

Abu Talha said:


> Good examples! But do you think that such names would be relatively uncommon in the pre-classical period? I'd rather think the associated adjectives like جميل ، كامل ، شريف would be more common. Of course, they're not completely absent as WadiH mentioned with زيد ، سعد ، and فضل.


In that case, I found:

فهم (source)
مجد (source)
عوف (from عافَ)
أوس (from آسَ)


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