Ahmad أحمد Street - derived from “Muhammad,” a common Islamic boy’s name meaning “highly praised; one who thanks God”; in the Arabian Nights, “The Story of Prince Ahmed and the Fairy Paribanou.”

Arabia شبه الجزيرة العربية Avenue - a peninsula of Western Asia

Aladdin علاء الدين Street - a popular boy’s name meaning “height of religion; excellent in faith; in the Arabian Nights, “Aladdin and the Arabian Nights".”

Ali Baba علي بابا Avenue - slang meaning “an extremely lucky person, especially one who acquires a large fortune by luck or by chance”; in the Arabian Nights, "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves,” a woodcutter who enters the cave of the Forty Thieves by using the password Sesame.

Bahman بَهْمَن Avenue - boys name meaning “Name Of The 11th Month Of The Iranian Calendar”; in the Arabian Nights, “The Story of Two Sisters Who Were Jealous of Their Younger Sister."

Bagdad بغداد Avenue - the capital of Iraq, meaning “City of Peace”; in the Arabian Nights, “The Tailor’s Tale: The Lame Young Man from Baghdad and the Barber”

Banuبنو Avenue - Arabic for “the children of” or “descendants of.”

Beder الشاذ Street - an ancient ruler in Egypt; in the Arabian Nights, “The History Of Beder And Giauhare.”

Caliph الخليفة Street - from the Arabic word khalafa, meaning "successor" or "next in line”; Caliph Harun al-Rashid was in charge of later editions of the Arabian Nights.

Curtiss Drive - named after American aviation pioneer and Opa-locka founder Glenn Hammond Curtiss.

Codadad Street - in the Arabian Nights, “Khudadad and His Brothers”

Dunad Avenue - undefined.

Fisherman صياد السمك Street - in the Arabian Nights, “The Fisherman and the Jinni”

Harem حَرِيمٌ Avenue - in Muslim countries, the part of a house set apart for the women of the family.

Jann جنن Avenue - a gender-neutral name meaning “God is gracious”'; in Arabic meaning “to hide” or “an agile snake”; ancestor of the jinn (invisible creators) in Islam beliefs

Julner جولنر Avenue - a character in the Arabian Nights, also known as The Seaborn, the heroine of nights 738–756.

Kalandarقلندر‎ Street - a rough, uncouth man.

Kasim قاسم Street - one who distributes goods.

Medina المدينة المنورة Street - translates to “city of the Prophet.” Medina commonly refers to a city in Saudi Arabia, where the prophet Muhammad began his work to establish Islam.

Peri بيري Street - According to the Persian exegesis of the Qurʼan Tafsir al-Tabari, the peris are beautiful female spirits created by God after the vicious divs. They mostly believe in God and are benevolent to mankind.

Perviz پرویز, Avenue - lucky man, fortunate, victorious.

Seamanبحار Avenue - the Legendary 7 Voyages of Sinbad begin; an impoverished yet good-hearted young porter Sinbad happens one night upon a fountained courtyard with music and dancing inside. 

Sesame السمسم Street - is a magical phrase in the story of "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" in Antoine Galland's version of One Thousand and One Nights. It opens the mouth of a cave in which forty thieves have hidden a treasure.

Sharazad شهرزاد Avenue - the female character, true protagonist, and narrator of the Arabian Nights; Hebrew, Jewish origin, means bringing freedom to the city.

Sharar شرارة Avenue - named after the character Persian King Shahryar; meaning is “Spark”.

Sinbad سندباد البحري Avenue - prince; Lord of the Sages; Dweller from Sind; Path of the blessed.

Sultan سلطان Avenue - is a position with several historical meanings; Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "or rulership", derived from the verbal noun سلطة sulṭah, meaning "authority" or "power".

What’s In a Name?

With a city founded on storytelling, it’s only appropriate that the streets contained within bear the names of characters within the novels, characters and themes that would serve as inspiration for the city’s Moorish-styled framework.

As you drive or walk through, take notice of them and see if you can recall the story behind the name.

Courtesy of Michael Maxwell and the University of Miami Richter Library