Arabic Name in English Letters
Write an Arabic name in English letters: the most used spelling and its common variants (Mohammed, Muhammad, Mohamed), for a passport, visa or form.
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Why one Arabic name has many English spellings
There is no single official way to write Arabic in English letters. Arabic has sounds English lacks (ح, ع, ق, ض), and it usually leaves the short vowels unwritten, so محمد can be Mohammed, Muhammad, Mohamed or Mohammad, and every one of them appears in real passports. Habits also differ by country: Egypt writes ج as G (Gamal), North Africa uses French spellings (Abdelkader), and the Gulf often writes ال as Al (Al Shamsi).
This tool knows about 370 common names and name words, written for this tool and checked by hand. For each one it shows the spelling we judge most widely used first, then the other usual ones. A name it does not know is spelled letter by letter; since the short vowels are not written in Arabic, that is a guess, and adding the vowel marks (عُمَر, عَدْنان) makes it exact.
Why we built this tool
Use it when you fill in a passport or visa application, book a ticket, or register at a university or bank abroad and need your name in English letters. Click a spelling to put it into the full name, then copy it.
The passport office decides the official spelling. If you already have a passport, use exactly the spelling in it everywhere, even if another looks better: a ticket or visa that does not match the passport letter for letter can be refused.
Tips and common mistakes
- Type the whole name with spaces: محمد عبد الله الحسن. عبد and the name after it are joined (Abdullah, Abdulrahman).
- Family names starting with ال are written Al- by default; Al and El- are offered too.
- For a rare name, add the vowel marks (تشكيل) for a closer spelling.
- Keep the same spelling on every document: passport, visa, tickets, certificates.
Quick start: using Arabic Name in English Letters
- Type the name in Arabic.
- Look at the spellings offered for each part; the first is the most used.
- Click another spelling to use it instead.
- Copy the full name.
For a passport or visa photo at the right size, use Passport & Visa Photo Resizer; to write your name on a PDF form in Arabic, Write Arabic on PDF.
Frequently asked questions
Which spelling of my name is correct?
All the common ones are correct; none is official until a passport or another official document uses it. If you already have one, use exactly its spelling. If not, the most used spelling is a safe choice, and the passport office may still write it its own way.
Why is Mohammed spelled so many ways?
Arabic does not write the short vowels and has no exact English match for some letters, so each country and office wrote the name as it heard it. Mohammed, Muhammad, Mohamed and Mohammad are all in wide use.
Should I write Al-, Al or El- before my family name?
Any of them is used; Al- with a hyphen is common in the Levant, Al with a space in the Gulf, and El- in Egypt and North Africa. Follow your existing documents, or what your country's passport office uses.
Is my name sent anywhere?
No. The table and the rules run in your browser, and nothing you type leaves your device.