Fadhma

Fadhma is a genuine Amazigh (Berber) female given name used chiefly in Kabyle and some other North African communities as a local form of the Arabic name Fatima. Linguistically, it connects to the Arabic root ف-ط-م (fa-ṭa-ma), whose basic lexical field involves 'weaning' and by extension abstaining; hence classical senses rendered as 'she who weans' or 'one who is weaned'. The name is historically attested in Maghreb sources—most notably borne by the 19th-century Kabyle figure Fadhma n'Soumer—so it functions both as a vernacular cultural name and as an Islamic-era personal name derived from Fatima. In modern usage it remains relatively rare and regionally concentrated; families choosing it often do so to emphasize Amazigh identity and continuity while acknowledging the Islamic origin of the root. Related names and forms include [[Fatima]] and the variant [[Fadma]] and the historical bearer [[Fadhma n'Soumer]].