Use in Onomastics
Arabic names do not include family names or surnames, but rather patronymics (nasab), where the name of the person is followed by the name of his father, usually linked by ibn or bin ('son'). Patronymics may be long as they may include all known forefathers. When a name is simplified to one or two ancestors, it may become confused with other persons' names, so an additional specifier, a nisbat, may be added as an attribute.
A nisba is usually prefixed by al ('the') and may be to almost anything:
Read more about this topic: Nisbat (onomastics)