On: FBI Didn't Knock Down a Suspect's Door Because 'It...

[zarzavat]

Yes, Abu X is a kunya[0]. It could mean that your child’s name is X, or X could be something more abstract and figurative like a nickname.

The “ou” spelling of و is French style and would usually indicate a French speaking country or an former French colony.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunya_(Arabic)

[aliswe → zarzavat]

Tarek Abou-Khatwa, my guess on that name (i didnt even read the article, lol) is Morocco? wdyt?

[mardifoufs → aliswe]

"Abou" is a pretty rarely used prefix in moroccan names in my experience. We don't really use Abou or Ibn in moroccan arabic. It's usually "ould", "bou", "ben", and in general last names are rarely derived from filial/familial links. When they are, the "abou" prefix just get blended like gp said into for example, Boumedienne. It almost never remains separate.

Tribal affiliation is more important (though it is true that Abou-x can be a reference to a tribe instead of a particular family) so you get names like Al Alaoui, Al Idrissi, Al Zitouni etc. To me Abou-Khatwa has more of a levant/gulf sound to it.

[ss108 → aliswe]

Could be anywhere from North Africa.

The possibility that the person is from the Levant from among a family who decided to spell their name in a Francophone way cannot be eliminated.