There is a common theory that almost every country gets its name from one of four things: a feature of the local landscape, the native people, an important person/leader, or a directional description of the country. While this holds true more or less on a global scale, it’s a different story in the Middle East.
One of the main reasons the Middle East does not follow this conventional theory is the lack of historical written records. Names have been passed through multiple languages through thousands of years through the Greeks, Romans, Berbers, and others. As a result, almost 1/3 of the countries in this area have no certain explanation for their names. Of those countries where the etymology, or origin, is certain, the naming of sed countries comes mainly from natural and manmade geographic features. Albeit there are more than 10 other countries in the area which the origin is either unclear or disputed.
Algeria, Kuwait, and Tunisia all take their names from capital cities. Other countries take their names from physical features of the landscape, with water often being that distinguishing factor. Bahrain means “two seas” in Arabic, referencing the waters to the east and west of the island. Iraq means “shore” or “bank” in Arabic, probably in reference to the Euphrates and Tigris rivers which have supported life in the country for thousands of years. Jordan is also named after a river, although the origin of the River Jordan’s name is itself uncertain, possibly meaning “river of Dan” after a son of the Biblical Patriarch Jacob.
Another large category of names is derived from people, sometimes combining with the landscape as well. Mauritania is named after the countries largest ethnic group, the Mauri. Sudan means “land of the blacks”. Israel is named after the biblical figure Jacob (as mentioned above) who was the grandson of the patriarch Abraham. Saudia Arabia is a combination of the name of the Al-Saud family dynasty and the Arabian lands they ruled. The name Turkey comes from the ruling people there, called the Ti-Kiu or Tu-Kue by Chinese sources in the 6th century describing the people of the once central Asian empire.
It’s very interesting to see how each country is unique in how its name came about. The name of each country is one of the first ways we distinguished our native lands from each other. Assigning a special name to our homelands which was inspired by local land, people, or legend.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/dominicdudley/2019/12/06/where-middle-east-countries-get-their-names/#1e11d6c649e2