Nehme ( ar, نعمة) is a prominent Lebanese surname which is derived from the given name Nehme. As of 2014, Nehme is the 39th most common surname in Lebanon with about 13,000 people holding the surname, or about one in 380 people.

Etymology and history

The name derives from the Arabic word for “blessing” or “grace”. The Nehme family is believed to stem from the Daou family tree with one of its sons, Nehme Daou, as the father of all Nehme families within the Levant.

Lehfed Lehfed ( ar, لحفد, also known as ''Lihfid'') is a municipality in the Byblos District of Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate, Lebanon. It is 55 kilometers north of Beirut. Lehfed has an average elevation of 1000 meters above sea level and a total land a ...

, a small village near

Byblos Byblos ( ; gr, Βύβλος), also known as Jbeil or Jubayl ( ar, جُبَيْل, Jubayl, locally ; phn, 𐤂𐤁𐤋, , probably ), is a city in the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate of Lebanon. It is believed to have been first occupied between 880 ...

in the

Byblos district Byblos District ( ar, قضاء جبيل; transliteration: ''Qadaa' Jbeil''), also called the Jbeil District (''Jbeil'' is Lebanese Arabic for "Byblos"; standard Arabic ''Jubail''), is a district (''qadaa'') of the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate of Leb ...

of modern-day

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

, is believed to be the ancestral home of the Nehme family. As

Mount Lebanon Mount Lebanon ( ar, جَبَل لُبْنَان, ''jabal lubnān'', ; syr, ܛܘܪ ܠܒ݂ܢܢ, ', , ''ṭūr lewnōn'' french: Mont Liban) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It averages above in elevation, with its peak at . Geography The Mount Le ...

was an area of continuous civil unrest at the end of the 19th century, many Nehme families were forced to flee to nearby towns, including the city of

Deir el Qamar Deir al-Qamar ( ar, دَيْر الْقَمَر, lit=Monastery of the moon, translit=Dayr al-qamar), is a city south-east of Beirut in south-central Lebanon. It is located five kilometres outside of Beiteddine in the Chouf District of the Mount ...

, while others ventured further south to reach the city of

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

and beyond. The surname Nehme is most prominent within

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

families in the north of Lebanon;

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his S ...

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

, and

Druze The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of ...

families in the country also share the surname. For example, a Shia branch of the family tree is also present in the south of Lebanon, specifically in the town of

Mahrouna Mahrouna ( ar, محرونة) is a small agribusiness town located in the south of Lebanon. It is situated at a distance of 100 kilometres from Beirut, the capital, and 18 kilometres to the southeast of the city of Tyre. Mahrouna stands at a he ...

Variations

Because of the challenges facing transliteration, many variations of Nehme exist such as Naameh, Nemeh, Neme, Nimah and Naama. There are other Nehme families in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

which may not be related to the Lebanese branch, for example in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

and the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

, who usually have the "Al-" or "Abu" prefix, such as Al-Neama or Abu Nimah.

Notable people

Nehme

* Abeer Nehme (born 1980), Lebanese singer and musicologist *

Abraham Nehmé Abraham Nehmé, BC or Ibrahim Naameh (8 October 1927 – 9 December 2022) was Archbishop of the Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Homs in Syria. Life Nehmé was born in Kaïtouly, Lebanon on 8 October 1927. Nehmé was ordained to the priest ...

(1927–2022), Archbishop of the Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Homs *

Adel Nima Adel Nima ( ar, عادل نعمة; born 26 February 1970) is a coach and former international Iraqi football (soccer), football player. He played as a Defender (association football), defender, he is currently working as a coach for Al-Sinaat Al- ...

(born 1970), Iraqi football coach and former player * Angelo Nehme (born 2004), Danish footballer * Ghassan Nehme (born 1995), Lebanese basketball player *

Laïla Nehmé Laïla Nehmé (born 1966) is a Lebanese-French archaeologist. A specialist in the archaeology and epigraphy of the Ancient Near East, she is known for her research on Nabatean writings, the evolution of the Nabatean script into the Arabic, and arc ...

(born 1966), Lebanese-French archaeologist * Lina Murr Nehmé (born 1955), French-Lebanese author and professor * Raoul Nehme (born 1956), Lebanese minister of economy and trade *

Rodrigo Nehme Rodrigo Nehme (born ''Rodrigo Vázquez Nehme''; 22 August 1982 in Mexico City) is a Mexican actor known for his performance in the Mexican telenovela '' Rebelde'' as Nico Huber. Rodrigo Nehme was born to a Mexican father, Jorge Vázquez Fernánde ...

(born 1982), Mexican actor * Stephen Nehmé (1889–1938), Lebanese Maronite professed religious from the Lebanese Maronite Order *

Tania Nehme Tania Nehme (born September 1966) is an Australian film editor. She has edited a number of films directed by Rolf de Heer and won and been nominated for many awards for her editing work, including an Australian Film Institute Award for Best Edit ...

(born 1966), Australian film editor * Safaa Ali Nema (born 1959), Iraqi wrestler

Abu-Nehme

* Hasan Abu Nimah (born 1935), Jordanian ambassador *

Ali Abunimah Ali Hasan Abunimah ( ar, علي حسن ابو نعمة, Arabic: ; born December 29, 1971) is a Palestinian-American journalist who has been described as "the leading American proponent of a one-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian confli ...

(born 1971), Palestinian-American journalist

Al-Nehme

* Ahmad Alenemeh (born 1982), Iranian association football player

References

{{surname Arabic-language surnames Lebanese families