barack

Mubarak (Arabic: مبارك‎, Mubārak) is an Arabic given name, which has the meaning "blessed one". A variant form is Baraka or Barack (Arabic: بارك‎, Bārak), not to be confused with the unrelated Hebrew name Barak). Mubarak and Barack are thus the Arabic equivalent in meaning of the Latinate "Benedict" (from Latin Benedictus "blessed"). Etymologically, the name is from the consonantal root b-r-k, meaning "knee", and verbally "to prostrate oneself", and hence "to receive blessing". The feminine noun barakah (بركة) means "blessing". In Islam, and specifically within the Sufi tradition, it has a meaning similar to "charisma". The Hebrew cognate is berakhah. The Biblical name Baruch is the Hebrew cognate; see Book of Baruch for an instance of the name. The name is sometimes written differently in different countries; for example, the last name of singer Shakira (a Lebanese-Colombian) is Mebarak. When an Arabic name is used in other languages, the patronymic is often rendered as a last name....