Family name origins & meanings
- Arabic : name indicating descent from the Quraish, the leading tribe in Mecca at the time of the birth of the Prophet Muhammad (ad 570); the Prophet’s mother was a member of it. The Quraish at first opposed Muhammad’s teachings and persecuted him and his followers, but by the time of his death they had begun to accept the new faith and played an important role in bringing Arabia under the banner of Islam.