United Arab Emirates: First Name or Title?

From ExecutivePlanet.com

Addressing others with respect

The use of first names denotes more familiarity than in the west and there is no real equivalent to Mister, although the Hashemite noble title 'Sayyed' is borrowed for this purpose in correspondence.

'Bin' [or ben or ibn], preceding a name, particularly a middle name, means 'son of.' 'Bint' [daughter of] is the female form.

The perfect level of friendliness without undue familiarity in any Arab society is achieved by the use of the kunya. A man becomes known to his friends as 'Abu' [father of], followed by the name of his [usually eldest] son. It is quite acceptable to ask a mutual acquaintance if you don't know a man's kunya. Somewhat less common is the female equivalent 'Umm' [mother of].

Members of ruling families are addressed as His/Your Highness [Samu al-Emir]. Ministers and ambassadors have the standard international designation of 'Excellency'.

The titles Doctor, Shaikh [chief], Mohandas [engineer] and Ustadh [professor] are used, as on the Continent, in both the literal and honorific senses. 'Shaikh' should always be used the same as a knighthood in English--applied only to the first name, never the surname.

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