Barack (name)
Barack, also spelled Barak or Baraq, is a given name of Arabic origin. From the Semitic root B-R-K, it means "blessed" and is most commonly used in its feminine form Baraka(h).
The Semitic root B-R-K has the original meaning of "to kneel down", with a secondary meaning "to bless".[1]: p.121
In Islamic mysticism, Barakah (Arabic: بركة) is a concept of spiritual presence or revelation. The cognate Hebrew term is Berakhah (בְּרָכָה) "benediction, blessing" which is related to the Biblical Hebrew given name Baruch (Hebrew: בָּרוּךְ, Modern: Barukh, Tiberian: Bārûḵ, "blessed").
The Arabic masculine given name Mubarak is the Arabic stem III passive participle, mubārak (مبارك), meaning "blessed (one)".
The name can also be derived from the root B-R-Q (Hebrew: ב-ר-ק; Arabic: ب-ر-ق), meaning "lightning".
People with the given name
- Barack Obama (b. 1961), former US president
- Barack Obama Sr. (1936-1982), father of Barack Obama and Kenyan economist
- Barack Adama (born 1985), a French rapper
People with the surname
- Ehud Barak (born 1942), former Israeli prime minister
- Ghiyas-ud-din Baraq (1266–1271), a Khan of the Chagatai Khanate
- Moises Barack (born 1943), a Peruvian footballer
- Tom Barrack (born 1947), American private equity real estate investor and chairman of Donald Trumps Inaugural Committee
See also
References
- Murtonen, Aimo (1986). Hospers, J.H. (ed.). Hebrew in its West Semitic setting: a comparative survey of non-Masoretic Hebrew dialects and traditions. Leiden: E.J. Brill. ISBN 9789004088993.