Barack (given name)

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This article is about Barack (given name). For a similar name, see Baruch. For the Hebrew spelling, see Barak (disambiguation).


The name Barack, (also Barak or Baraq) occurs in the Ancient Semitic Sabean (barqac), in Palmyrene (baraq), and in Punic (Barcas, as surname of Hamilcar), and as Divine name in Assyrian Ramman-Birqu and Gibil-Birqu[1], and personal Biblical name Barukh or Baruch.

In Modern Semitic languages such as Arabic the name Barack (Arabic: باراك ) pronounced ba'-rak (baraq), means 'he who is blessed', while in Hebrew the cognate is Baruch, pronounced ba'-rak (baraq) (Hebrew: בָּרָק‎ ), meaning "lightning flash" derived from the Barak who was the son of Abinoam of Kedesh, a refuge city in Har Naphtali.[2]

Persons with the name Barack:

  • Barack Hussein Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee in the 2008 U.S. presidential election and current junior U.S. senator from Illinois.
  • Barack Hussein Obama, Sr., a Harvard-educated Kenyan economist, father of Barack Obama.

[edit] Something Interesting

Similarity in Spelling in the Arabic and Hebrew versions of the name. But the similarity can be easily recongnized only if you can read both scripts.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Del. Assyrian, HWB, 187
  2. ^ Judges 5:6,7