Ayoub
The Arabic form of Job, from a Hebrew root meaning "returning to God". Around a hundred men in Poland carry it, and it goes to just a handful of boys now, so most people here have never met one.
Ayoub Pronunciation
Ayoub is pronounced ah-ih-O-oop (/aɨˈɔup/).
What Ayoub means
Where Ayoub comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Ayoub is the Arabic form of Job. Behind it sits a Hebrew name, Iyyov, borne by the man in the Book of Job who lost his children, his health, and his wealth, and held onto his faith anyway. Arabic took the name up as Ayyub (أيوب), and Polish received it from there, which is why a Hebrew root wears an Arabic coat.
In the Quran, Ayyub is a prophet remembered above all for patience under testing. The Polish gloss reads powracający do boga, one who returns to God. That reading arrived later. The oldest sense of Iyyov points more toward the one who is tested than the one who comes home.
A boy named Ayoub in a Polish class register carries a name older than any European capital. His imieniny will not fall on a saint's calendar, so the day stays his own. When a teacher reads out the register, the name lands plainly. It means Job, the Arabic form of the Hebrew Iyyov.
How many people are named Ayoub
1 in 207245 men in Poland is named Ayoub. 103 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #3364 among male names.
Ayoub's popularity over time
Fewer than 2 boys were given the name in 2025. It has been stable for a decade.
Ayoub as a middle name
Ayoub is a first name for 103 men in Poland and a middle name for another 8, a 93/7 split. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 3487th, between Atta (8) and Azam (8).
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#3485 Athanasios8
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#3486 Atta8
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#3487 Ayoub8
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#3488 Azam8
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#3489 Ba8