Arabic form of the biblical prophet Noah, meaning 'rest' or 'comfort' in Semitic languages.
Nuh (نوح) is the Arabic and Islamic form of Noah, one of the most universal figures in human religious history. In the Quran, where Nuh is mentioned more than any other prophet by name, he is depicted as a patient, steadfast messenger who preached to his people for 950 years before the great flood — a symbol of perseverance in the face of rejection and catastrophe. He is considered one of the five greatest prophets in Islam (alongside Ibrahim, Musa, Isa, and Muhammad), and his story is given its own dedicated chapter, Surah Nuh, the seventy-first chapter of the Quran.
The shared root across Hebrew (Noach) and Arabic (Nuh) suggests a common Semitic origin, possibly related to the root meaning 'rest' or 'comfort' — the name given, according to Genesis, because he would bring relief to mankind's toil. That linguistic kinship between traditions is itself remarkable: Noah/Nuh is one of the few figures claimed simultaneously and reverently by Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, making it a name that bridges the Abrahamic world entire. In Muslim-majority countries — from Egypt to Indonesia, from Turkey to Pakistan — Nuh is a traditional, respected, and actively used name.
In Western contexts, its brevity and clarity give it an unusual minimalist elegance: one syllable, three letters, millennia of meaning. It is a name that needs no embellishment because the story behind it is already complete.