What does sheikh mean?
Definitions for sheikh
sheikh
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word sheikh.
Princeton's WordNet
sheik, tribal sheik, sheikh, tribal sheikh, Arab chiefnoun
the leader of an Arab village or family
ChatGPT
sheikh
A sheikh is an honorific title in the Arabic culture that is given to a man who is a leader or elder of a community, tribe, or family. The title is also used for a religious scholar, or a man who has achieved mastery in Islamic sciences or spirituality. In a wider context, it can also refer to a head of state or royalty in certain Arab and Muslim countries.
Wikidata
Sheikh
Sheikh —also spelled Sheik or Shaikh or Shekh, or transliterated as Shaykh—is an honorific in the Arabic language that literally means "elder" and carries the meaning "leader and/or governor". It is commonly used to designate the front man of a tribe who got this title after his father, or an Islamic scholar who got this title after graduating from the basic Islamic school. Sheikha is the female equivalent of the term. A sheikh who is wise is called ḥakīm adjective حكيم, ḥākim noun حاكم, yaḥkum verb يحكم; and can govern. The scholar sheikh here can govern but cannot lead directly because the leader is the imam which is based upon the Qur'an and authentic Sunnah; on the other hand the family sheikh can always lead but cannot govern unless he is wise. Although the title generally refers to a male, a very small number of female sheikhs have also existed. It also refers generally to a man over forty years of age. While even a new Muslim can be called a sheikh if he is diligent in seeking the knowledge of Islam based upon the Qur'an and authentic Sunnah, he can be referred to as such by those he teaches. Usually, a person is known as a sheikh when he has completed his undergraduate university studies in Islamic studies and is trained in giving lectures. The word sheikh under this meaning is a synonym of Alim, plural Ulama, Mawlawi, Mawlānā, Muhaddith, Faqīh, Qadi, Mufti, Hadhrat or Hafiz.
The Nuttall Encyclopedia
Sheikh
the chief of an Arab tribe; used often as a title of respect, Sheikh-ul-Islam being the ecclesiastical head of Mohammedans in Turkey.
Surnames Frequency by Census Records
SHEIKH
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Sheikh is ranked #5384 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
The Sheikh surname appeared 6,462 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 would have the surname Sheikh.
71.6% or 4,628 total occurrences were Asian.
14.2% or 921 total occurrences were Black.
8% or 518 total occurrences were White.
3.8% or 250 total occurrences were of two or more races.
2.1% or 137 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
0.1% or 8 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.
Matched Categories
Usage in printed sourcesFrom:
- [["1780","2"],["1798","1"],["1799","44"],["1804","2"],["1806","1"],["1808","5"],["1812","125"],["1814","1"],["1815","7"],["1816","25"],["1817","5"],["1820","8"],["1821","8"],["1822","27"],["1823","124"],["1824","28"],["1825","211"],["1826","1701"],["1827","117"],["1828","2282"],["1829","58"],["1830","440"],["1831","583"],["1832","200"],["1833","54"],["1834","184"],["1835","429"],["1836","401"],["1837","226"],["1838","136"],["1839","127"],["1840","61"],["1841","38"],["1842","57"],["1843","77"],["1844","518"],["1845","558"],["1846","322"],["1847","253"],["1848","248"],["1849","466"],["1850","594"],["1851","180"],["1852","478"],["1853","374"],["1854","345"],["1855","941"],["1856","205"],["1857","2061"],["1858","202"],["1859","1022"],["1860","476"],["1861","296"],["1862","268"],["1863","137"],["1864","261"],["1865","634"],["1866","968"],["1867","290"],["1868","482"],["1869","489"],["1870","831"],["1871","261"],["1872","155"],["1873","262"],["1874","416"],["1875","329"],["1876","666"],["1877","160"],["1878","366"],["1879","347"],["1880","467"],["1881","648"],["1882","319"],["1883","494"],["1884","527"],["1885","464"],["1886","657"],["1887","653"],["1888","277"],["1889","468"],["1890","687"],["1891","625"],["1892","402"],["1893","450"],["1894","392"],["1895","602"],["1896","876"],["1897","376"],["1898","473"],["1899","343"],["1900","558"],["1901","199"],["1902","377"],["1903","254"],["1904","377"],["1905","297"],["1906","310"],["1907","902"],["1908","411"],["1909","298"],["1910","392"],["1911","619"],["1912","1346"],["1913","613"],["1914","223"],["1915","237"],["1916","268"],["1917","269"],["1918","338"],["1919","257"],["1920","426"],["1921","435"],["1922","162"],["1923","741"],["1924","463"],["1925","413"],["1926","290"],["1927","1415"],["1928","455"],["1929","190"],["1930","802"],["1931","685"],["1932","843"],["1933","603"],["1934","586"],["1935","622"],["1936","619"],["1937","456"],["1938","332"],["1939","311"],["1940","491"],["1941","250"],["1942","214"],["1943","246"],["1944","115"],["1945","152"],["1946","277"],["1947","824"],["1948","397"],["1949","351"],["1950","222"],["1951","436"],["1952","257"],["1953","316"],["1954","463"],["1955","474"],["1956","406"],["1957","770"],["1958","604"],["1959","341"],["1960","465"],["1961","617"],["1962","735"],["1963","847"],["1964","1024"],["1965","1619"],["1966","1311"],["1967","1018"],["1968","1145"],["1969","955"],["1970","1042"],["1971","762"],["1972","816"],["1973","779"],["1974","704"],["1975","856"],["1976","709"],["1977","1078"],["1978","1085"],["1979","952"],["1980","1051"],["1981","2272"],["1982","1655"],["1983","2455"],["1984","984"],["1985","2002"],["1986","1491"],["1987","1622"],["1988","1569"],["1989","1634"],["1990","1259"],["1991","2001"],["1992","2803"],["1993","2354"],["1994","2652"],["1995","2337"],["1996","2533"],["1997","4028"],["1998","2347"],["1999","2786"],["2000","3486"],["2001","3034"],["2002","4393"],["2003","4830"],["2004","4928"],["2005","5615"],["2006","7469"],["2007","8138"],["2008","11267"]]
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of sheikh in Chaldean Numerology is: 3
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of sheikh in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6
Examples of sheikh in a Sentence
This is blatant foolishness and insanity. When he still could address the Bahraini people, Sheikh Isa Qassim... would advise against radical and armed actions, attacking Sheikh Isa Qassim means removing all obstacles blocking heroic Bahraini youths from attacking the regime.
Things have flipped. Blatter did a 180-degree turn and that has consequences for the federation, including Asia, sheikh Ahmad and Salman have been weakened. Those who voted for Blatter because they were afraid can now come out of the dark.
Number one, they depend hugely on tourism to get their foreign exchange. Sharm el-Sheikh is one of their number one tourist destinations. The only way to get there is by airplane. You shut down the airport, it dies, the second [reason they’re afraid] is that the Egyptian regime is in a death struggle with radical Islam in the country… And now if they're able to bring down airplanes, the prestige of the regime in sort of winning the battle against the jihadists is really diminished.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid currently holds a valid racing license in the state of Kentucky. There have been no horse racing violations and nor are we aware of any other U.S. regulatory or governmental investigations, we are focused on the three-year-old thoroughbreds who have earned their way into this year’s Kentucky Derby and our responsibility is to the integrity of the race and the safety of those horses.
Charitable donations received from Sheikh Hamad were passed immediately to one of the Prince's charities who carried out the appropriate governance and have assured us that all the correct processes were followed.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
References
Translations for sheikh
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
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"sheikh." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 19 Jan. 2025. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/sheikh>.
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