Karim

Karim means generous or noble in Arabic, and al-Karim is among the ninety-nine names of God. That double register, divine attribute and personal virtue, gives the name unusual depth. Two clean syllables, the rolled R at the center, the long ee carrying the stress, it travels easily across languages without distortion. Basketball great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar brought one spelling to global recognition; the French and North African Karim keeps the consonants crisper. It remains consistently popular from Morocco to Indonesia. A name that asks its bearer to be open-handed, Karim wears its meaning without heaviness.