Khalil

Khalil means close friend in Arabic, a word freighted with the warmth of shared meals and long walks. In Islamic tradition it is an honorific for the prophet Ibrahim, Khalil Allah, the friend of God. The Lebanese-American poet Kahlil Gibran, whose Prophet has never gone out of print since 1923, carried the name into Western living rooms; rappers and athletes have kept it current ever since. Ranked 390 in the U.S., it opens with a breath from the back of the throat and ends on a long, lifted vowel. Lyrical, devotional, and warm without being soft.