Yahya (Arabic: يحيى, romanized: Yaḥyā), also spelled Yehya, is an Arabic male given name.[a] It is an Arabic form of the Aramaic given name Yohanan (Hebrew: יְהוֹחָנָן, romanized: Yəhoḥānān, lit. 'Yahweh is gracious') of John the Baptist in Islam, who is considered a prophet. For this reason, Yahya is a comparatively common name in the Muslim world.
The related Biblical name of Jehiah (Hebrew: יְחִיָּה, romanized: Yəḥiyā, lit. 'Yahweh lives') has the Arabic form Yaḥiyyā (Arabic: يَحِيَّى).,[1] with the exact Arabic consonantal text as the name Yahya.
- ^ The other Arabic form of the given name John is Yūḥannā يوحنا, which is the form directly derived from the original name, Hebrew: יְהוֹחָנָן. A notable example using this form is the Arab Christian John of Damascus' name, Yūḥana al-Dimashqī.
Mononym
- Yahya ibn Sarafyun (9th century), Arab medical writer known in medieval Europe as Johannes Serapion
- Yahya ibn Khalid (died 806), Vizier of the Barmakids
- Yahya ibn Umar ibn Yahya ibn Husayn ibn Zayd ibn Ali ibn Husayn ibn Ali, Alid imam
- Yahya ibn al-Walid, an Umayyad prince and son of the caliph al-Walid I (r. 705–715).
- Yahya ibn Yazid, an Umayyad prince and son of Umayyad caliph Yazid II (r. 720–724).
- Yahya ibn al-Batriq (fl. 796–806), translator of Greek scientific texts
- Yahya ibn Asad, Samanid ruler of Shash (819–855) and Samarkand (851/852–855)
- Yahya ibn Muhammad (aka Yahya I), Idrisid ruler (848–864)
- Yahya ibn Yahya (died 874), sixth Idrisid ruler and sultan of Morocco
- Yahya of Antioch (Yahya ibn Sa'ïd), 11th-century Syrian chronicler
- Yahya ibn al-Mundhir (fl. 1021–1029), 11th century ruler of the Taifa of Zaragoza
- Yahya bin Ahmad Sirhindi, 15th century Persian language writer from the Delhi Sultanate
- Count Alexander of Montenegro (1585–1649), birth name Yahya, son of Sultan Mehmed III, a Christian convert and a pretender to the Ottoman throne
- Yahya bey Dukagjini (1498–1582), Ottoman diwan poet
Given name
- Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (born 1986), American actor
- Yahya Al-Shehri (born 1990), Saudi footballer
- Yahya Ayyash (1966–1996), member and chief bombmaker of Hamas
- Yahya Black (born 2002), American football player
- Yahya El Hindi (born 1998), Lebanese footballer
- Yahya Goba, Yemeni-American terrorist suspect arrested and charged as part of the War on Terror together with the other members of the "Lackawanna Six"
- Yahya Golmohammadi (born 1971), Iranian footballer
- Yahya Rahmani (born 2003) Indian Social Activist
- Yahya Muhammad Hamid ed-Din (1869–1948), imam of the Zaydis (1904) and king of Yemen (1926)
- Yahya Hassan (born 1995), Palestinian-Danish poet and politician
- Yahya Jammeh (born 1965), president of The Gambia
- Yahya Khan (1917–1980), former Chief Martial Law Administrator of Pakistan and Chief of Army Staff
- Yahya Mahmassani (born 1935), Lebanese diplomat
- Yahya Rahim Safavi (born 1958), commander in chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)
- Mirza Yahya Nuri, Subh-i Azal (1831–1912), Persian religious leader of Azali Bábism
- Yahya Petra of Kelantan (1917–1979), sixth King of Malaysia
- Yahya ibn Muhammad (829-864), fifth Idrisid ruler of Morocco
- Yahya ibn Yahya, sixth Idrisid ruler Morocco
- Yahya ibn al-Qasim, eighth Idrisid ruler of Morocco
- Yahya ibn Idris ibn Umar, ninth Idrisid ruler of Morocco
- Yahya ibn Ibrahim, one of the founders of the Almoravid dynasty
- Yahya ibn Umar al-Lamtuni, chieftain of Lamtuna and the first emir of the Almoravids
- Makhdoom Yahya Maneri, sufi of the Suhrawardi and the Maner Sharif Khanqa in Maner, Bihar
- Yahya Sinwar (1962-2024) Former leader of Hamas until his death.
Surname
- Umm Hakim bint Yahya, wife of caliph Hisham.
- Adel Yahya (born 1982), accused of collaborating with the defendants of the 21 July 2005 London bombings trial
- Ahmad bin Yahya (1891–1962), Yemeni imam
- Ali Yahya (1947–2014), Israeli Arab diplomat
- Izz al-Din Yahya, 14th-century ruler of Satgaon, Bengal
- Tahir Yahya (1956–2007), Iraqi politician
- Abu Yahya ibn Abd al-Haqq, Marinid emir at Fez
- Yaghmurasen ibn Zyan, also called Abu Yahya I, first sultan of the Zayyanid dynasty of the Kingdom of Tlemcen
- Abu Hafs Umar bin Yahya, Hafsid caliph of Ifriqiya
- Abu Yahya Abu Bakr ash-Shahid, Hafsid caliph of Ifriqiya and a martyr
- Abu Zakariya Yahya, founder and the first sultan of the Hafsid dynasty in Ifriqiya
- Yaish Ibn Yahya, 10th century, son of poet Hiyya al-Daudi and military leader for king Afonso I of Portugal
See also
References
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