Boy, occasionally used for girls · Arabic · Muslim
Fida
فداSay it fi-DAA
- Meaning
- Ransom, redemption; in Persian and Urdu, devotion, self-sacrifice Lane, p. 2353–2354
- Say it
- fi-DAA
- Written
- فدا
- Other spellings
- Fidaa, Feda
Fida
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Fida meaning
Fida (فدا) is a Muslim boy's name of Arabic origin.
Ransom, redemption; in Persian and Urdu, devotion, self-sacrifice
Fida (فدا) is Arabic fidāʾ, the verbal noun of fadā, "to ransom". Lane's lexicon defines the verb as to free a captive by giving something in exchange, and records the old expression juʿiltu fidāka, "may I be made your ransom", said to someone one holds dear. In Persian and Urdu the word came to mean devotion and self-sacrifice: Steingass gives fidāʾ as ransom and redemption, devotedness and sacrifice, and fidāʾ kardan as to sacrifice oneself for another. Name lists give "sacrifice" or "devotion". The painter M. F. Husain (Maqbool Fida Husain, 1915–2011) carried it as his middle name.
Source: Lane, An Arabic–English Lexicon (1863–93), Book I, Part 6, p. 2353–2354 · entry fadāhu, fidāʾ (فَدَاهُ، فِدَاءٌ), root f-d-y · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026
References: Lane, Arabic–English Lexicon, fadāhu / fidāʾ (فَدَاهُ), Book I pp. 2353–2354 · Lane, Arabic–English Lexicon, fadan (فَدًى), a ransom, Book I p. 2354 · Steingass, fidāʾ, p. 910 · Britannica, M. F. Husain
Famous namesakes
- M. F. Husain (Maqbool Fida Husain, 1915–2011), painter
Spellings
Fida · Fidaa · Feda