Boy · Arabic (Urdu usage) · Muslim
Iqbal
اقبالSay it iq-BAAL
- Meaning today
- Prosperity, good fortune
- Original meaning
- "coming forward, advance; the advance of fortune, prosperity" Lane, p. 2983
- Say it
- iq-BAAL
- Written
- اقبال
- Other spellings
- Ikbal, Iqbaal
Iqbal
Stays on your phone. A family name is never required.
Iqbal meaning
Iqbal (اقبال) is a Muslim boy's name of Arabic origin (Urdu usage).
Coming forward, advance; the advance of fortune, prosperity
Also used to mean: good fortune
Iqbal (اقبال) is Arabic iqbāl, from aqbala, "to come forward, to turn towards". Lane's lexicon gives the verb as coming forward or facing something, and iqbāl as the advance of fortune, good luck, the opposite of idbār, fortune turning its back. Steingass's Persian dictionary adds acceptance, prosperity and prestige, and Urdu speakers wish someone iqbāl in the sense of success and standing. Name lists give "prosperity" or "good fortune", which matches. The name is closely tied to Muhammad Iqbal, the poet of "Saare Jahan Se Achha".
Source: Lane, An Arabic–English Lexicon (1863–93), Book I, Part 8 (1893), p. 2983 · entry iqbāl (إِقْبَالٌ), root q-b-l · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026
References: Lane, Arabic–English Lexicon, Supplement, iqbāl, Book I p. 2983 · Steingass, iqbāl, p. 86
Famous namesakes
- Muhammad Iqbal (1877–1938), Urdu and Persian poet and philosopher
Spellings
Iqbal · Ikbal · Iqbaal