However, there is a logical structure to the Arab naming convention that, once seen, makes it simple to decipher a person's recent ancestry.

For example...

A man's name is Ali bin Ahmed bin Saleh Al-Fulani.

He is called Ali by his friends and family.

His family name is Al-Fulani

What does bin Ahmed bin Saleh mean? This simply means that he is the son of Ahmed who is in turn the son of Saleh.

Bin means son of.

So we have the man's given name, his father's name and his grandfather's name, plus the family name.

As a matter of fact, many Gulf Arabs and Saudis can give their ancestors' names for at least five or six generations, and often many more.

Let's look now at the names of the present rulers of Gulf states.

• The ruler of Saudi Arabia is Fahad bin Abdul Aziz bin Abdul Rahman Al-Sa'ud.
  His father's name was Abdul Aziz and his grandfather's name was Abdul Rahman.
  The family name is Al-Sa'ud.

• The ruler of Bahrain is Isa bin Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa.
  His father's name was Salman and his grandfather's name was Hamad.
  The family name is Al-Khalifa.

• The ruler of Oman is Qaboos bin Said bin Taimur Al-Busaid.
  His father's name was Said and his grandfather's name was Taimur.
  The family name is Al-Busaid.

• The ruler of Qatar is Hamad bin Khalifa bin Hamad Al-Thani.
  His father's name is Khalifa and his grandfather's name was Hamad.
  The family name is Al-Thani.

• What about the The Crown Prince of the UAE? His name is Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan.
  His father's name is Zayed and his grandfather's name was Sultan.
  The family name is Al-Nahyan.

What about womens' names?

Our friend Ali (in the first example above) has a sister. Her name is Nura bint Ahmed bin Saleh Al-Fulani.

Bint means daughter of.

She is named Nura, the daughter of Ahmed who is the son of Saleh.

So we have her given name, her father's name, her grandfather's name and the family name.

It is interesting to note that when a Saudi or Gulf Arab woman marries, she does not change her name. When the above mentioned Nura marries, her name remains exactly the same. Her children, however, take their father's name.

In other words, Nura bint Ahmed bin Saleh Al-Fulani is born with this name and she dies with it. Let us say she marries a man with the name of Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Faisal Al-Hijazi.

Their sons are (Name) bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Faisal Al-Hijazi, and their daughters are (Name) bint Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Faisal Al-Hijazi.