HIS NAME

Europeans are sometimes puzzled by Arabic/Islamic naming conventions, which mostly do not include a given, middle, or family name. Instead they tend to have a potentially lengthy series of epithetic, aspirational, and/or patronymic names. This may have just been a nickname since "battuta" means "duckling". His most common "full name" is given as Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Battuta, which simply means "Father of Abdullah (and Abdullah means "worshipper of Allah"), Praiseworthy son of Battuta". But many authoritative texts will go on longer, adding more of his acquired name sequence. In his travelogue, the Rihla, he gives his full name as Shams al-Din Abu'Abdallah Muhammad ibn'Abdallah ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Yusuf Lawati al-Tanji ibn Battuta.