Lamine

Syllable breakdown

Name meaning and origin

Origin

Wolof (Senegal / The Gambia)

Meaning

the West African form of Al-Amin — meaning the trustworthy one or the faithful one in Arabic — one of the titles by which the Prophet Muhammad was known before his prophethood, given to him by the people of Mecca for his exceptional honesty and reliability; bearing a name of the Prophet is one of the highest honours in Islamic naming tradition, and Al-Amin's transformation into Lamine in Wolof usage shows the characteristic West African compression and adaptation of Arabic names; Lamine is extremely common across Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea, and Mali among Wolof, Mandinka, and Fula communities; it is sometimes combined with other name elements — El Hadj Lamine for a man who has made the pilgrimage — and carries the moral qualities of trustworthiness and fidelity that were associated with the Prophet in his community; the name is used across generations and social classes and carries no diminishing connotation despite being a shortened form of a compound Arabic title

Gender

male

Also spelled

El Amine, Alamine