Bassam

Bassam is an Arabic name and a given name roughly meaning "one who smiles". More accurately, it is the Arabic name "Basem" (often incorrectly written in English as Bassem) that translates to "one who smiles". Basem is the agent noun of the Arabic verb with the root ba-sa-ma, which means to smile. The name "Bassam" is the exaggerated form of the agent noun (Arabic: صيغه مبالغه), and would therefore roughly translates to "one who smiles profusely".

The name is most common in the Levant. Notable people with the name include:

Notable people named Bassam

 * Bassam Frangieh (born 1950), scholar of Arabic literature and culture
 * Bassam Jamous, Syrian archaeologist
 * Bassam Kousa (born 1963), Syrian actor
 * Bassam Abdel Majeed (born 1950), Syrian minister
 * Bassam Abdullah bin Bushar al-Nahdi (born 1976), Yemeni wanted by the US FBI
 * Bassam Saba (1958–2020), Lebanese musician
 * Bassam Shakaa (born 1930), Palestinian politician
 * Bassam as-Salhi (born 1960), General Secretary of the Palestinian People's Party
 * Bassam Abu Sharif (born 1946), Palestinian politician
 * Bassam el-Shammaa (born 1962), Egyptian Egyptologist
 * Bassam Al-Soukaria (1580–1667), Lebanese army commander
 * Bassam Tahhan, professor of Arabic literature
 * Bassam Talhouni, Jordanian lawyer, academic and politician
 * Bassam Tibi (born 1944), Syrian-German political scientist
 * Bassam Yammine (born 1968), Lebanese businessman
 * Bassam Zuamut (1951–2004), Israeli Arab Actor

Surname

 * Ibn Bassam (died 1147), Moorish writer
 * Rehab Bassam (born 1977), Egyptian blogger
 * Steve Bassam, Baron Bassam of Brighton (born 1953), British politician
 * Sulayman Al-Bassam, (born 1972), Anglo-Kuwaiti playwright