Abdul is the first part of many Arabic compound names, from abd al-, "servant of the", as in Abdullah, servant of God, or Abdul Rahman, servant of the Merciful. In South Asia it is often used as a standalone given name, and basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar made it familiar in America. Abdul ranked number 1061 in 2000, peaked at number 1029 in 2003 and has eased to number 1867 in 2025.