Nuh is a masculine given name used in Arabic and Turkish. It is the form of Noah associated with the prophet in the Qur'an, not an ordinary Arabic vocabulary word with a securely established literal meaning. The most careful short definition is therefore “the Arabic and Turkish form of Noah,” traditionally associated through Hebrew with rest.
Meaning and Language Path
In Arabic the name is written نُوح (often unvocalized as نوح) and conventionally transliterated Nūḥ. The Quranic Arabic Corpus, a linguistic project originating at the University of Leeds, identifies نوح as a proper name, translates it as Noah, and gives the scholarly transliteration nūḥ.
The corresponding biblical name is Hebrew Nōaḥ (נֹחַ). The traditional derivation connects it with the Hebrew verb n-w-ḥ, “to rest” or “settle.” The classic Brown–Driver–Briggs Hebrew lexicon entry for Nōaḥ records that association but calls the explanation in Genesis 5:29 a traditional etymology rather than proof of how the ancient name was first formed.
That distinction matters because Genesis 5:29 explains Noah's name with a phrase meaning that he will “comfort” or bring relief. The verb in that sentence belongs to the different Hebrew root n-ḥ-m, “comfort” or “regret.” Matthew L. Bowen's study of the passage describes the text as linking Noah through wordplay with two similar-sounding but distinct roots: n-w-ḥ (“rest”) and n-ḥ-m (“comfort”). Accordingly, rest is the closer conventional name gloss; comfort is part of the biblical naming wordplay. Neither should be presented as a literal translation of an Arabic word Nuh.
Is Nuh an Arabic Word?
Nuh is an Arabic-language form of the prophet's name, but that does not make it Arabic in ultimate etymology. This is a useful safeguard against a common folk explanation. Arabic has the consonantal sequence n-w-ḥ in words connected with lamenting or mourning, and some traditional accounts tried to explain the prophet's name from that resemblance. Ömer Faruk Harman's scholarly survey in the *TDV Encyclopedia of Islam* reports those accounts but states that the name is generally accepted as non-Arabic. The same article reviews several competing ancient explanations without treating any speculative alternative as settled.
The responsible conclusion is limited: Arabic Nūḥ, Hebrew Nōaḥ, and English Noah are forms of the same scriptural name. Its conventional Hebrew association is “rest,” while the name's deeper prehistoric formation is not certain.
Quranic Importance
The name's importance in Muslim naming comes from Nūḥ's status as a prophet and messenger. The Quranic Arabic Corpus records 43 occurrences of the name in the Qur'an. Chapter 71 is itself called Sūrat Nūḥ, and the Qur'an also recounts parts of his preaching and flood narrative in several other chapters. This scriptural prominence explains the name's continuing religious and cultural use more directly than any proposed dictionary meaning does.
The Qur'anic and biblical traditions refer to the corresponding flood figure, but Nuh and Noah are not interchangeable spellings in every document. They are language-specific forms. A birth certificate, passport, school record, or publication should be transcribed according to the form its bearer actually uses.
Spelling and Pronunciation
The Arabic pronunciation is approximately nooh, with a long vowel; a more exact representation is /nuːħ/. The final Arabic letter ح is represented as ḥ in scholarly romanization and is articulated farther back in the throat than English h. The ALA–LC Arabic Romanization Table uses ū for the long vowel and ḥ for ح, which accounts for the precise spelling Nūḥ.
These forms should be distinguished:
- Nuh is the common Latin-alphabet spelling without scholarly marks and is also the established Turkish form.
- Nūḥ is a precise romanization of the Arabic
نُوح. - Nûh is the form used for the prophet in the Turkish TDV Encyclopedia of Islam; its circumflex is an editorial indication of vowel length.
- Noah is the usual English biblical form, while Noach more closely reflects Hebrew pronunciation.
The forms are linguistically related, but a record written as Noah should not be silently changed to Nuh, or vice versa. This is especially important for legal identity and family-history work.
Arabic and Turkish Usage
Modern name references classify Nuh as masculine and as Arabic, Turkish, and Qur'anic usage; Behind the Name's Nuh entry also records the Arabic script and pronunciation. In Turkish, Nuh is already written in the Latin alphabet. It is therefore a Turkish spelling in its own right, not merely an English-language simplification of Arabic script.
The name was in documented personal use well before the modern period. A securely dated example is Nūḥ ibn Naṣr, the Samanid ruler known as Nuh I. Ahmet Güner's *TDV Encyclopedia of Islam* biography records that he succeeded to the throne at Bukhara in April 943 and ruled until 954. This example demonstrates medieval use of the name in the eastern Islamic world; it is not an “earliest bearer” claim and does not imply descent between later people called Nuh.
Given Name, Not a Lineage Claim
This entry concerns Nuh as a given name. The spelling can occur in a family-name field in some modern databases, but that alone does not establish a single hereditary surname origin. Nor does bearing the name show descent from the prophet, the Samanid ruler, or any other historical Nuh.
For an individual record, preserve the original script, the order of all name elements, and the document's own field labels. Shared spelling supports a possible name match; genealogy requires independent evidence connecting particular people, places, and dates.
References
- Harman, Ömer Faruk. “Nûh.” TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, vol. 33, TDV İslâm Araştırmaları Merkezi, 2007, pp. 224–227; electronic entry updated 4 January 2020.
- Dukes, Kais, and the University of Leeds Language Research Group. “Nuh (نوح).” Quranic Arabic Corpus, 2009–2017.
- Brown, Francis; Driver, S. R.; and Briggs, Charles A. Entry @@0@@ (*Nōaḥ*). A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, Clarendon Press, 1906.
- Bowen, Matthew L. “‘This Son Shall Comfort Us’: An Onomastic Tale of Two Noahs.” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship, vol. 23, 2017, pp. 263–298.
- Library of Congress and American Library Association. *ALA–LC Romanization Tables: Arabic*, 2012 version.
- Güner, Ahmet. “Nûh I.” TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, vol. 33, TDV İslâm Araştırmaları Merkezi, 2007, pp. 227–228.
- Campbell, Mike. “Nuh.” Behind the Name, updated 23 December 2025.