Mahmud is a transliteration of the male Arabic given name محمود (‹See RfD› Maḥmūd), common in most parts of the Islamic world. It comes from the Arabic triconsonantal root Ḥ-M-D, meaning praise, along with Muhammad.

• Mahmood Ali (1928–2008), Pakistani radio, television and stage artist
• Mahmood Hussain (cricketer) (1932–1991), Pakistani Test cricketer
• Mahmood Hussain (councillor), Lord Mayor of Birmingham, England 2002–2003
• Shah Mahmood Qureshi (born 1956), Pakistani politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2018 to 2022
• Mahmood Shaam (born 1940), Pakistani Urdu language journalist, poet writer and analyst
• Mahmood Yakubu (born 1962), Nigerian academic and current chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission
• Mahmood Monshipouri (born 1952), Iranian-born American scholar, educator, and author
• Mahmooda Sultana, Aerospace engineer (NASA)
• Begum Mahmooda Salim Khan (1913–2007), Pakistani social worker
• Mahmood Hussein Mattan (1923–1952), Somalian merchant seaman
• Zafar Mahmood Abbasi, four-star admiral of the Pakistan Navy
• Muhammad Mahmood Alam (1935–2013), Pakistani fighter pilot
• Mahmood Anjir Faghnawi (1231–1317), the 13th sheikh in the chain of the masters of the Naqshbandi Order
• Mahmood Mamdani (born 1946), Indian-born Ugandan academic, author, and political commentator

• Mahmoud Abbas (born 1935), President of the State of Palestine
• Mahmoud al-Abrash (born 1944), Syrian politician
• Mahmoud Afshartous (1907–1953), Iranian military officer
• Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (born 1956), former President of Iran
• Mahmoud Ahmed (born 1941), Ethiopian musician
• Mahmoud Alavi (born 1951), Iranian Shia Cleric
• Mahmoud Abdel Salam Omar (born 1936/37), Egyptian businessman
• Mahmoud El-Araby (1932–2021), Egyptian businessman and philanthropist
• Mahmoud Baharmast (1899–1977), Iranian army general
• Mahmoud Balbaa (born 1952), Egyptian businessman and politician
• Mahmoud Chahoud (born 1976), Lebanese footballer
• Mahmoud Charr (born 1984), German professional boxer
• Mahmoud Darwish (1941–2008), Palestinian poet
• Mahmoud Dahoud (born 1996), German professional footballer
• Mahmoud Dowlatabadi (born 1940), Iranian writer and actor
• Mahmoud Etemadzadeh (1915–2006), Iranian writer and literary translator
• Mahmoud Fakhry Pasha (1884–1955), Egyptian politician and diplomat
• Mahmoud Farshidi (1951–2025), Iranian politician
• Mahmoud Fayad (1925–2002), Egyptian Olympic weightlifter
• Mahmoud Fustuq (1936–2006), Lebanese businessman
• Mahmoud Guinia (1951–2015), Moroccan singer
• Mahmoud Hamshari (1938–1973), assassinated Palestinian official
• Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi (1948–2018), Iranian Shia Cleric
• Mahmoud Hessabi (1903–1992), Iranian nuclear physicist and politician
• Mahmoud Hussein (born 1966), Egyptian journalist
• Mahmoud Hweimel (died 2013), Jordanian politician
• Mahmoud Ismail (1914–1983), Egyptian actor, filmmaker
• Mahmoud Jaballah, Egyptian-Canadian Jihad member
• Mahmoud Kahil (1936–2003), a Lebanese-born British editorial cartoonist
• Mahmoud Khalil (born 1995), Syrian-born Palestinian Columbia University student detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in 2025: see Detention of Mahmoud Khalil
• Mahmoud El Khatib (born 1954), Egyptian footballer and President of Al Ahly
• Mahmoud Khayami (1930–2020), Iranian industrialist and philanthropist of French nationality
• Mahmoud Labadi (1940–2014), Palestinian journalist, writer and politician
• Mahmoud Mar'ashi Najafi (born 1941), Iranian Shia Cleric
• Mahmoud Mekki (born 1954), the vice president of Egypt from August 2012 to December 2012
• Mahmoud el-Meliguy (1910–1983), Egyptian actor
• Mahmoud Mohammad Issa Mohammad (1943–2015), Palestinian terrorist
• Mahmoud Mohieldin (born 1965), economist
• Mahmoud Nabavian (born 1965), Iranian Shia Cleric
• Mahmoud Namjoo (1918–1989), Iranian weightlifter
• Mahmoud Reza Pahlavi (1926–2001), a member of Iran's Pahlavi dynasty
• Mahmoud an-Nukrashi Pasha (1888–1949), Prime Minister of Egypt 1945–1946 and 1946–1948
• Mahmoud Bodo Rasch (born 1943), a German architect who specializes in the construction of large convertible umbrellas and lightweight structures
• Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (born 1969), American basketball player
• Mahmoud Abdul Razak (born 1971), Syrian footballer
• Mahmoud Saeed (1939–2025), Iraqi-born American novelist
• Mahmoud Salavati (born 1953), Iranian Shia Cleric
• Mahmoud Salem (1931–2013), Egyptian journalist and author
• Mahmoud Sami el-Baroudi (1839–1904), Egyptian politician and poet
• Mahmoud el-Sisi (born 1982), Egyptian brigadier general and son of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi
• Mahmoud Taleghani (1911–1979), Iranian Shia Cleric
• Mahmoud Zakzouk (1933–2020), Egyptian academic
• Mahmoud Abu Zeid, also known as "Shawkan" (born c. 1987), Egyptian photojournalist

• Mahmud I (1696–1754), Sultan of Ottoman Empire 1730–1754
• Mahmud II (1785–1839), Sultan of Ottoman Empire 1808–1839
• Ghazan (1271–1304), born Mahmud Ghazan, (Khan, Ilkhan, Sultan) the seventh ruler of the Mongol Empire's Ilkhanate division in modern-day Iran from 1295 to 1304
• Sultan Mahmud (Chagatai) (died 1402), last Khan of the Western Chagatai Khanate (1384–1402).
• Mahmud Khan (Moghul Khan) (1464–1508), Khan of Tashkent and of the Moghuls of western Moghulistan
• Mäxmüd of Kazan (died 1466), the Khan of the Khanate of Kazan from 1445 to 1466.
• Arpa Ke'un (died 1336), known as Mu'izz ad-Din Mahmud, an Ilkhan (1335–1336) during the disintegration of the Ilkhanate, Mongol state in Southwest Asia based in Persia.
• Jani Beg (died 1357), or Jalal ad-Din Mahmud, Khan of the Golden Horde from 1342 to 1357
• Mahmud bin Küchük (died 1466), a Khan who founded the Khanate of Astrakhan in the 1460s
• Maghan III, known as Mahmud I, mansa of the Mali Empire from 1390 to about 1400.
• Mahmud II (mansa), mansa of the Mali Empire of 1481–1496.
• Qutuz (died 1260), or Mahmud ibn Mamdud, military leader and the third or fourth Mamluk Sultan of Turkic origin.
• Mahmud I (Seljuk sultan) (1088–1094), sultan of the Seljuk Empire from 1092 to 1094.
• Mahmud II of Great Seljuk (1104–1131), Sultan of Baghdad in 1118
• Mahmud of Ghazni (971–1030), ruler of Ghazni 997–1030
• Mahmud Begada (1458–1511), the most prominent Sultan of the Gujarat Sultanate.
• Mahmud Shah III of Gujarat (1526–1554), 12th Sultan of Gujarat
• Mahmud Hotak (1697–1725), the Shah of Persia from 1722–1725.
• Mahmud Shah Durrani (1769–1829), ruler of Afghanistan 1801–1803 & 1809–1818
• Shahanshah ibn Mahmud, the Kurdish Shaddadid emir of Ani from 1164 to 1174.
• Nūr al-Dīn Maḥmūd Zengī known as Nur ad-Din (died 1174) (1118–1174), Emir of Aleppo and Damascus
• Al-Muzaffar II Mahmud (died 1244), the Ayyubid emir of Hama first in 1219 (616 AH) and then restored in 1229–1244 (626 AH–642 AH)
• Al-Muzaffar III Mahmud (died 1300), the Kurdish Ayyubid emir of Hama from 1284 to 1300.
• Mu'izz al-Din Mahmud (died 1241), the Zengid Emir of the Jazira 1208–1241.
• Mahmood Shah Bahmani II (1470–1518), or Shihab-Ud-Din Mahmud, the sultan of the Bahmani Sultanate 1482–1518.
• Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah (1229/30–1266), Sultan of Delhi, the eighth sultan of the Mamluk Dynasty 1246–1266.
• Rashid al-Dawla Mahmud (died 1075), the Mirdasid emir of Aleppo
• Nasr ibn Mahmud (died 1076), the Mirdasid emir of Aleppo in 1075–1076.
• Sabiq ibn Mahmud, the Mirdasid emir of Aleppo from 1076 to 1080.
• Nasir ad-Din Mahmud (1216–1234), Emir of Mosul from 1219 to 1234.
• Alp Arslan ibn Mahmud (died 1146), ruler of Mosul 1127–1146.
• Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Shah Tughluq (died 1413), the last sultan of the Tughlaq dynasty
• Nāṣir al-Dīn Maḥmūd (died 1222), a ruler of the Hasankeyf of the Artuqid dynasty.
• Ghiyath al-Din Mahmud (died 1212), Sultan of the Ghurid Empire 1206–1212
• Mahmud Shah of Bengal (died 1459), the First Sultan of Bengal
• Ghiyasuddin Mahmud Shah (died 1538), the last Sultan of the Hussain Shahi dynasty of the Bengal Sultanate, from 1533–1538 CE.
• Mahmud ibn Muhammad (1757–1824), the seventh leader of the Husainid Dynasty and the ruler of Tunisia from 1814–1824.
• Muhammad II ibn Mahmud (1128–1159), Sultan of Seljuq Empire from 1153 to 1159.
• Mahmud Khalji (1436–1469), the Sultan of Malwa, in what is now the state of Madhya Pradesh, India.
• Nasiruddin Mahmud (eldest son of Iltutmish) (died 1229), the eldest son of the Delhi Sultan Shamsuddin Iltutmish
• Şehzade Mahmud (son of Mehmed III) (1587–1603), Ottoman prince
• Mahmud Khan of Bengal, 17th-century Bengali nobleman.
• Sultan Mahmud Mirza (1453–1495), Timurid Dynasty prince.
• Sayyed Mahmud Khan (died 1573), general in the Akbar's army
• Mirza Shah Mahmud (1446-?), Timurid ruler of Herat 1446.
• Mahmud Mirza Qajar (1799-?), Iranian prince of the Qajar dynasty.
• Mirza Mahmud Shah Bahadur, also known Shah Jahan IV (1749–1790), the eighteenth Mughal emperor for a brief period in 1788.
• Mahmud Shah of Jaunpur (1429–1457), the 4th ruler of the Jaunpur Sultanate, reigned from 1440 to 1457.
• Jalal al-Din Mahmud (died 1352), the Mihrabanid malik of Sistan from 1350.
• Sultan Mahmud ibn Nizam al-Din Yahya (1464–1543), the last Mihrabanid malik of Sistan from 1495 until 1537.
• Osman Mohamoud (king), known as Uthman III ibn Mahmud, Somali king who led the Majeerteen Sultanate during the 19th century.
• Mohamoud Ali Shire (died 1960), Somali Sultan of the Warsengali Sultanate.
• Mahmud Gawan (1411–1481), prime minister in the Bahmani Sultanate of Deccan 1411 – 1481.
• Mahmud Bey, the fourth and final bey of the Chobanids.
• Najm al-Din Mahmud ibn Ilyas al-Shirazi (died 1330), Persian physician from Shiraz.
• Mahmud Yalavach, administrator in the Mongol Empire who ruled over Turkestan as governor and eventually went on to be mayor of Taidu (now Beijing).
• Chaophraya Chakri (Mud) (1727–1774), or Mahmud, the Prime Minister of Siam.
• Muhammad Shah of Brunei (died 1402), known as Mahmud Shah, first sultan of Brunei, possibly from 1363 to 1402.
• Mahmud Shah (Sultan of Malacca) (died 1528), Sultan of Malacca 1488–1528
• Mahmud Badaruddin II (1767–1852), Sultan of Palembang.
• Abu al-Mafakhir of Banten (died 1651), born Abu al-Mafakhir Mahmud Abdulkadir, the first king in Java to use the title " Sultan".
• Mahmud of Terengganu (1930–1998), Sultan Terengganu.
• Mahmud Shah I of Pahang (died 1530), the fifth Sultan of Pahang from 1519 to 1530.
• Melewar of Negeri Sembilan (died 1795), the first Yamtuan Besar
• Mahmud Pasha Angelović (1420–1474), the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire from 1456 to 1466 and from 1472 to 1474. He also wrote Persian and Turkish poems under the pseudonym Adni (the "Eden-like").
• Çürüksulu Mahmud Pasha (1864–1931), Ottoman army general and statesman of ethnic Georgian background.
• Mahmud Pasha (governor) (died 1567), Ottoman statesman from Bosnia
• Mahmud Shams, known as Ma He (1371–1433/35), Chinese admiral and world explorer
• Mahmud Shevket Pasha (1856–1913), Ottoman generalissimo and statesman, who was an important political figure during the Second Constitutional Era.
• Mahmud al-Kashgari (1005–1102), lexicographer Uyghur scholar.
• Abu-Mahmud Khujandi (940–1000), Transoxanian astronomer and mathematician.
• Mahmud Karimov (1948–2013), Azerbaijani physicist
• Makhmud Muradov (born 1990), professional mixed martial artist
• Makhmud Sabyrkhan (born 2001), a Kazakh boxer.
• Abdullah Mahmud Hendropriyono (born 1945), Indonesian general
• La Nyalla Mattalitti (born 1959), full name is La Nyalla Mahmud Mattalitti (born 10 May 1959) is an Indonesian politician.
• Karaeng Pattingalloang (1600–1654), or Sultan Mahmud known as Father of Makassar.
• Mahmud Pasha (1853–1903), Ottoman statesman, poet and writer.
• Mahmud Taymur (1894–1973), Egyptian fiction writer.
• Yahya ibn Mahmud al-Wasiti, a 13th-century Iraqi-Arab painter and calligrapher.
• Sultan Mahmud Khan (died 1859), a commander of the Sikh Khalsa Army, the army of Sarkar e Khalsa.
• Shah Mahmud Khan (1890–1959), the Prime Minister of Afghanistan from 1946 to 1953.
• Mahmud Jamal (born 1967), Canadian jurist serving as a puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada since 2021.
• Mahmud Al-Nashaf (1906–1979), Israeli Arab politician
• Mahmud Khalid, Ghanaian politician
• Mahmud Mahmud (1882–1965), Iranian politician
• Mahmud Tarzi (1865–1933), Afghan journalist
• Mahmud Arif (1909–2001), Saudi Arabian poet
• Mahmud Ali Durrani (born 1941), Pakistani two-star rank general officer.
• Mahmud Eyvazov (1808–1960), Azerbaijani long-lived 150 years collective farmer.
• Mahmud Kamani (born 1964), British billionaire businessman.
• Aziz Mahmud Hudayi (1541–1628), the most famous Sufi Muslim saints of the Ottoman Empire.
• Mahmud al-Muntasir (1903–1970), the first Prime minister of Libya
• Mahmud Barzanji (1878–1956), King of Kurdistan
• Mahmud Ali (statesman) (1919–2006), progressive leftist Pakistani politician
• Mahmud Nedim Pasha (1818–1883), a Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire between 1871–1872 and 1875–1876
• Mahmud Bayazidi (1797–1859), Ottoman Kurdish philosopher and polymath from Bayazid.
• Mahmud Bayumi (1890–1938), Egyptian orthopaedic surgery professor at Kasr El Aini Medical School.
• Makhmud Esambayev (1924–2000), a Soviet and Chechen dancer, ballet master, choreographer and actor.
• Mahmudkhodja Behbudiy (1875–1919), a Jadid activist, writer, journalist and leading public figure in Imperial Russian and Soviet Turkestan.
• Mahmud Deobandi (died 1886), Indian Muslim scholar
• Mahmud Hasan Deobandi (1851–1920), Indian Muslim scholar and activist
• Mahmud Hasan Gangohi (1907–1996), Indian mufti and Islamic scholar
• Mufti Mahmud (1919–1980), Pakistani statesman and Islamic scholar

• Elias Mahmoudi (born 1998), French Muay Thai fighter currently signed to ONE Championship.
• Nur Mahmudi Ismail (born 1961), Mayor of Depok City, a satellite city of West Java located in the southern part of Jakarta.

• Mahmut Celal Bayar (1883–1986), third President of Turkey.
• Mahmut Dikerdem (1916–1993), Turkish diplomat, writer and peace activist.
• Mahmut Cuhruk (1925–2018), Turkish judge.
• Mahmut Ustaosmanoğlu (1929–2022), Turkish Sufi Sheikh and the leader of the influential İsmailağa jamia of the Naqshbandi-Khalidiyya Ṭarīqah centred in Çarşamba, Istanbul.
• Mahmut Orhan (born 1993), Turkish disc jockey and record producer.
• Mahmut Atalay (1934–2004), Turkish freestyle wrestler and coach of Circassian origin, won a gold medal in 1968 Olympics.
• Mahmut Özgener (born 1963), Turkish Football Federation president.
• Mahmut Bezgin (born 1986), Turkish footballer.
• Mahmut Boz (born 1991), Turkish footballer.
• Mahmut Hoşgiz (born 1975), Turkish footballer.
• Mahmut Tekdemir (born 1988), Turkish footballer.
• Mahmut Özdemir (born 1987), German politician of Turkish descent.
• Mahmut Yilmaz (born 1979), German footballer of Turkish descent.
• Mahmut Bozteke (born 1997), Turkish para taekwondo practitioner.
• Mahmut Demir (born 1970), Turkish sport wrestler.
• Mahmut Şenol (born 1958), Turkish author.
• Mahmut Yavuz (born 1982), Turkish navy officer and ultramarathon runner.
• Mahmut Yıldırım (born 1953), Kurdish contract killer.

• Mehmood (actor) (1932–2004), Indian actor, singer, director and producer.
• Mehmood Aslam (born 1951), Pakistani Television & Stage Actor
• Mehmood Bhatti (born 1958), Pakistani fashion designer
• Mehmood Quaraishy (born 1942), Kenyan cricketer
• Mehmood Sham (born 1940), Pakistani journalist

• Maulana Mehmud Hasan (1851–1920), Indian independence activist
• Mehmud Abdukerem (born 1993), Chinese footballer who played most recently as a defender for Xinjiang Tianshan Leopard.

• Khalid Mahmood (British politician) (born 1961), British politician
• Shabana Mahmood (born 1980), British politician.
• Jemilah Mahmood (born 1959), Doctor and humanitarian activist.
• Mazher Mahmood (born 1963), British reporter
• Saba Mahmood (1961–2018), American anthropologist
• Sajid Mahmood (born 1981), English cricketer
• Abdullah al Mahmood (1900–1975), Bengali politician, lawyer and minister in Pakistan
• Iqbal Hasan Mahmud, Bangladeshi politician and minister.
• Ayaz Mahmood (born 1964), hockey player won a gold medal in 1984 summer olympics, Los Angeles.
• Kashif Mahmood (cricketer, born 1985) (born 1985), Pakistani cricketer
• Shahid Mahmood (1939–2020), Pakistani cricketer
• Zia Mahmood (born 1946), Pakistani bridge player.
• Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood (born 1940), Pakistani nuclear engineer
• Syed Mahmood (1850–1903), Indian jurist
• Tahir Mahmood (born 1941), Indian jurist
• Talat Mahmood (1924–1998), Indian singer and actor
• Banaz Mahmod (1985–2006), Honour killing victim.

• Ahmad Mahmoud (1931–2002), Iranian novelist
• Alessandro Mahmoud, known as Mahmood (singer) (born 1992), Italian singer and songwriter
• Aram Mahmoud (born 1997), badminton player
• Emtithal Mahmoud (born 1992/93), Sudanese poet and activist
• Joseph Mahmoud (born 1955), French athlete
• Karem Mahmoud (1922–1995), Egyptian singer
• Mayam Mahmoud, rapper and women activist in Egypt
• Shaaban Mahmoud (born 1981), Egyptian footballer
• Younis Mahmoud (born 1983), Iraqi footballer
• Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud (1938–2024), President of Somaliland from 2010 to 2017.

• Arshad Mehmood (composer), Pakistani actor and music composer
• Kashif Mehmood (born 1971), Pakistani actor
• Hasnat Mehmood (born 1978), Pakistani artist
• Arshad Mehmood (singer), Pakistani singer
• Faakhir Mehmood (born 1973), Pakistani singer
• Arif Mehmood (born 1983), Pakistani footballer

• Salim Mehmud, Pakistani rocket scientist

• Arslanbek Makhmudov (born 1989), Russia professional boxer
• Abid Hamid Mahmud (1957–2012), Iraqi general
• Nureddin Mahmud (1899–1981), the Prime Minister of Iraq from 23 November 1952 until 29 January 1953.
• Amir Machmud (1923–1995), Indonesian military general
• Machmud Singgirei Rumagesan (1885–1964), Papuan King of Sekar, and Indonesian independence activist
• Abdul Taib Mahmud (1936–2024), Chief Minister of Sarawak for 33 years from 1981–2014
• Al Mahmud (1936–2019), Bangladeshi poet, novelist, and short-story writer
• Mahmud Mahmud (1882–1965), Iranian academic and politician
• Hayat Mahmud, Bengali feudal lord and military commander
• Abdul Gafoor Mahmud (born 1934), former chief of the Bangladesh Air Force
• Heyat Mahmud (1693–1760), medieval Bengali poet
• Firoz Mahmud (born 1974), Bangladeshi artist
• Khaled Mahmud (born 1971), Bangladeshi cricketer
• A. T. Mahmud (1930–2010), Indonesian songwriter
• Syamsuddin Mahmud (1935–2021), Indonesian economist and politician.
• Sultan Mahmud (minister) (1900–1982), politician from Arakan, Burma (now Rakhine State, Myanmar)
• Hasan Mahmud (born 1999), Bangladeshi cricketer
• Dean Mahomed (1759–1851), a British Indian traveller, soldier, surgeon, entrepreneur, and one of the most notable early non-European immigrants to the Western World

• Mahfud MD (born 1957), Indonesian politician and lawyer

• Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz (born 1969), Saudi Arabian businessman
• Naguib Mahfouz (1911–2006), Egyptian writer who won the 1988 Nobel Prize in Literature

• Mahmoud Bishara, fictional character in the book Refugee

• Mahmoud (horse) (foaled 1933), French-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire