Idris — Name Meaning in Islam

Root: the lexicographers differ, and honestly so. Many Arab philologists connect Idrīs to د-ر-س (d-r-s), "to study, to teach", and explain the name by how much he studied and taught. Others answer that if it were Arabic from darasa it would take full case endings, and it does not — so the name must be foreign, brought into Arabic from an older language, and the connection to dars is a resemblance rather than a derivation.

From that root, if it is that root: dars (lesson), madrasa (school), mudarris (teacher), dirāsa (study), midrās.

Who carried it: the Prophet Idris. The Qur'an names him twice: once among the Prophets remembered in Surah Maryam, where he is called ṣiddīq and Prophet and is said to have been raised to a high station (19:56-57), and once alongside Ismail and Dhul-Kifl among the patient (al-Anbiya 21:85). The Qur'an says nothing further about him, and what circulates elsewhere is later material of varying reliability.

Spellings: Idris, Idrees, İdris (Turkish), Idris (Indonesian), Idrees (Urdu), Driss / Idriss (French/Maghrebi), إدريس.

Pronunciation: id-REES, stress on the long second syllable.

Feminine counterpart: none in common use.