Abdul

Abdul (also transliterated as Abdal, Abdel, Abdil, Abdol, Abdool, or Abdoul; عبد ال, ) is the most frequent transliteration of the combination of the Arabic word Abd (عبد, meaning "Servant") and the definite prefix al / el (ال, meaning "the").

It is the initial component of many compound names, names made of two words. For example, عبد الحميد, , usually spelled Abdel Hamid, Abdelhamid, Abd El Hamid or Abdul Hamid, which means "servant of The Praised" (God).

The most common use for Abdul by far, is as part of a male given name, written in English. When written in English, Abdul is subject to variable spacing, spelling, and hyphenation. It is a common name in the Middle East, North Africa, West Africa, East Africa, Central Asia, the Balkans, the Caucasus, and predominantly Muslim countries of South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is also used amongst African Americans and Turkic peoples of Russia.

The meaning of Abdul literally and normally means "Slave of the", but English translations also often translate it to "Servant of the".

Spelling variations
Variations in spelling are primarily because of the variation in pronunciation. Arabic speakers normally pronounce and transcribe their names of Arabic origin according to their spoken Arabic dialects. Therefore, it is pronounced and written Abdel... or Abd El.... However, non-Arabic speakers or Arabic speakers may choose to transcribe the name according to the Literary Arabic pronunciation, which is the language of Quran, pronounced as and written Abdul.... For other variations in spelling, see the Arabic grammar section.

Etymology
In Arabic language, the word عبد ' means "slave" or "servant", from the triliteral root ع-ب-د ', which is also related to the word عبادة , "worshiping". Therefore, the word has the positive connotation.

Theophoric naming
Essentially there is no Abdul, without the second part when written in Arabic, thus it appears as a component of many Arabic and specifically Muslim names, where it is the opening of a religiously based name, meaning: "Servant of..." with the last component of the name being one of the names of God in Islam, which would form a Muslim Arabic theophoric name. Such as Abdullah simply meaning "Servant of God" while "Abdul Aziz" means "Servant of the Almighty" and so on. The name Abdul Masih, ("Servant of Christ") is an Arabic Christian equivalent.

In addition, Abdul is occasionally, though much more rarely, used in reference to a figure other than God. For example, the Indian name Abdul Mughal ("Servant of the Mughal Empire").

Derived theophoric names

 * The most common names are listed below
 * Abdullah, Servant of Allah
 * Abdulaziz, Servant of the Almighty
 * Abdulkarim, Servant of the most Generous
 * Abdurrahim, Servant of the Merciful
 * Abdurrahman, Servant of the Benevolent
 * Abdussalam, Servant of the Peaceful
 * Abdulqadir, Servant of the Powerful
 * Abdul Latif, Servant of the Gentle

Arabic grammar
When followed by a sun letter, the l in al (normally pronounced colloquially el) assimilates to the initial consonant of the following noun, resulting in a doubled consonant. For example, "Abdul Rahman", would be pronounced in Literary Arabic: Abdur-Rahman. When the definite article is followed by a moon letter, no assimilation takes place.

Therefore, Abdul is not always used as the opening part of the name; if the second part starts with a sun letter, it may become forms including Abdun, Abdur, Abdus, or Abdush, the vowel in each name, similarly with Abdul, is also open to differing transliterations.

Independent naming
Abdul does not appear on its own as a male given name when written in Arabic. In some cultures, the theophoric part may appear to be a stand-alone middle name, or surname, thus confusing people as to whether Abdul is an accepted given name. Often if someone shortens his/her name, he may equally choose the theophoric part or Abdul. However, Abdul by itself is sometimes used as an independent full given first name outside of Arabic-speaking societies. Most commonly Abdul is followed by one of the names of God found in the Quran, the Islamic scriptures, for example "Abdul Rahman", which means "slave/servant of the Merciful".

Given name

 * Abdul Thompson Conteh (born 1970), Sierra Leonean footballer
 * Abdul Diallo (born 1985), Burkina Faso footballer
 * Abdul "Duke" Fakir (born 1935), American singer, best known as a member of the Four Tops
 * Abdul Gaddy (born 1992), American basketball player
 * Abdul Hodge (born 1983), American football linebacker
 * Abdul Salis (born 1979), British actor
 * Abdul Shamsid-Deen (born 1968), American former basketball player
 * Abdul Vas (born 1981), Venezuelan artist
 * A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (1931 – 2015), 11th President of India
 * DJ Abdel, French DJ and producer of Moroccan descent playing hip hop, funk and contemporary R&B

Surname

 * David Abdul (born 1989), Aruban footballer
 * Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (born 1947), American basketball player
 * Lida Abdul (born 1973), Persian artist
 * Paula Abdul (born 1962), American singer and television personality

Fictional characters

 * Abdul-Adl (阿布杜爾阿德勒), a character in the Taiwanese television series Port of Lies (八尺門的辯護人).
 * Abdul Alhazred, character created by American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft
 * Mohammed Avdol (also spelled Abdul), fictional character in the manga and anime JoJo's Bizarre Adventure created by Hirohiko Araki