Toula: the humble village, setting new horizons in new times
7. Family
Family Names of members of the village:
All the families of the village are Maronite. Family names of the village are well known to many people. They are characteristic of names in many areas of Lebanon. Some of the family names in the village (in alphabetical order) include Abboud, Barakat, Chahla, Dagher, Daher, Farah, Fayad, Gereige, Jilwan, Lahoud, Mokdassi, Saad, Safi, Moussa, Nasta, Nicolas, Obeid, Younes, Youssef and Zada.
Barakat (Some of its branches: Nicola, Zada, Daher, Safi, Younes), Saad (Some of its branches: Shahla, Maroun, Estephan, Obeid, Hanna), Yazbeck (Some of its branches: Dagher, Lahoud, Fayyad…), Jilwan, Farah (One of its branches: Jreije), Al-Mekdessi, Nasta. A group of these families moved from Toula to live in Al-Bhaira because of its abundant water.
5 – The History of the Maronite Families That Inhabited the Toula Village, Bhairet Toula and Aslout
The Barakat Family
Barakat is a masculine name for all members of the family*. It is an Arabic name, which is the plural form of ‘Baraka’, meaning ‘growth’, ‘increase’, and ‘abundant goodness’.
Source: Toula Village, 5.1
The Saad Family
Saad is a masculine name for all members of the family*. It is an Arabic name meaning ‘good luck’, and is noted as a sign of optimism. In ancient times*, a poet* said:
He called him Saad for optimism in his name,
Indeed he called him Saad the Slayer.
Source: Toula Village, 5.2
The Yazbeck Family
Yazbeck is a masculine name for all members of the family*. Its origin is from the name ‘Azbeck’, where the letter ‘A’ has had a ‘Y’ placed before it. Historically, Azbeck was the name given to those originating from the Azbeck country, and it means the ‘respectable notable’ or ‘independent prince’.
Source: Toula Village, 5.3
The Farah Family
The name means ‘happiness’, ‘joy’ and ‘satisfaction’ – and it is a name used widely by the Arabs. Amongst the most renowned of them in Toula is Michael Farah, considered by many to be a martyr, since he was assassinated in 1975, as a result of being condemned based on his identity card. He owned the Maktabat Al-Thakafa Al-Jadidah or The New Culture Bookshop in Tripoli, which ressembled a literary forum.
Source: Toula Village, 5.4
The Jilwan Family
In Arabic 'Jilwan' means ‘clear, high and revealer of truth’. Most notable from Toula is the the American of Lebanese origin General George A. Joulwan, who was the former Supreme Allied Commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), from 1993-7. Source: Toula Village, 5.5
The Makdessi Family
It is an Arabic name referring to ‘whoever visits Beit Al-Makdes (Jerusalem)’. The origins of this family is disputed, as some say it came from the Christian valley in the district of Hosn al-Akrad (Syria) and it was originally from Akkar, while the author of the book History of Kfarakka says that the Makdessi family is originally from the Ghassan clan, which came from Houran in 1520 to Batroun and Btaaboura, and then on to Kfarakka. However, the Makdessi family in Toula has come from Bazoun near Hasroun. Source: Toula Village, 5.6
‘5. History of the Village’ Source: Toula Village
2 images7 Family
