Civil Affairs clarifies rules on baby names in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Civil Affairs confirms no fixed list of banned names, but outlines criteria prohibiting titles, religiously inappropriate, and compound names.
Key Takeaways
AIA question was submitted to the Ministry of Interior’s Civil Affairs Agency via social media, asking: "Is the name Samou (Sumou) for a girl prohibited?"
In response on its official X account, Civil Affairs clarified that there is no specific list of banned names, but rather a set of criteria for name selection.
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The Civil Affairs Agency outlined the following rules and conditions for registering names:
1 – Names commonly used among Arabs and widely recognized in society, such as (Alwaleed, AlAnoud), may be registered.
2 – Names that include titles (such as "Al-Sayyid") are not permitted.
3 – Additional phrases or nicknames (such as "known as X") cannot be included in the name field.
4 – Names that contradict Islamic law (such as "Abd Al-Rasool") are prohibited.
5 – Compound names (such as "Qamar Al-Zaman") are not allowed.