what was kareem abdul jabbar's original name
Etymology & Historical Origin-Kareem. Kareem is a variant of KarÄ«m (ÙØ±ÙÙ) which means ânoble, generousâ in Arabic. The name was made popular among English speakers thanks to superstar American basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (b. 1947). Born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, Jr., Abdul-Jabbar adopted the Arabic name in keeping with his Islamic faith (Kareem was raised Catholic but later became a Muslim in his 20s).