Saudi Arabia bans 50 ‘blasphemous’ children's names

Saudi Interior Ministry has banned a list of names that it deems as contradicting the religion or the culture of the Kingdom, The Daily Telegraph reported.

The listed names were banned for either offending perceived religious sensibilities, being affiliated to royalty or for enclosing non-Arabic or non-Islamic origin.

Along with western names such as Sandy, Linda and Elaine, the Kingdom has banned names with royal connotations, such as Malika (Queen) and Amir (Prince).

As for names deemed as 'blasphemous', the ministry has forbidden Saudi parents from giving their children names such as Malak (Angel), Nabi (Prophet) or Jibreel (Gabriel).

"But some of the names on the list do not seem to fit any of the former three categories, leaving the reason for their banning open to speculation," the newspaper wrote.

Below is the full list of forbidden names:

Malaak (angel)

Abdul Aati

Abdul Naser

Abdul Musleh

Nabi (prophet)

Nabiyya (female prophet)

Amir (prince)

Sumuw (highness)

Al Mamlaka (the kingdom)

Malika (queen)

Mamlaka (kingdom)

Tabarak (blessed)

Nardeen

Maya

Linda

Randa

Basmala (utterance of the name of God)

Taline

Aram

Nareej

Rital

Alice

Sandy

Rama (Hindu god)

Maline

Elaine

Inar

Maliktina

Lareen

Kibrial

Lauren

Binyamin (Arabic for Benjamin)

Naris

Yara

Sitav

Loland

Tilaj

Barrah

Abdul Nabi

Abdul Rasool

Jibreel (angel Gabriel)

Abdul Mu'een

Abrar

Iman

Bayan

Baseel

Wireelam