Meaning and history
Abd al-Rahman is an Arabic masculine name meaning “servant of the Most Merciful.” It combines ʿabd, “servant,” with al-Raḥmān, “the Most Merciful,” one of the Quranic names of God. The name is also written Abdul Rahman, Abdurrahman, and in other regional forms. Historical bearers include Abd al-Rahman I, founder of the Umayyad emirate of Córdoba, and Abd al-Rahman III, who proclaimed the caliphate of Córdoba in the tenth century.