Zaidi (surname)

The surname Al-Zaidi (Az-Zaidi) can denote one or both of the following:

• The descendants of Zayd ibn Ali (the grandson of Husayn ibn Ali, who was the grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad), who either stayed in Kufa, Iraq or returned to Hijaz (present-day Saudi Arabia. In the non-Arab Muslim majority countries, they often use the title Syed in their names.
• The use of the surname Al-Zaidi to designate association may be with the Zaidiyyah madhhab, whose adherents are found in Yemen. This is akin to the use of the surnames Al-Hanafi, Al-Maliki, Al-Shafi'i, etc.

People with the surname Zaidi are descendants of Zaid ibn Ali who was the son of Ali ibn al-Husayn Zayn al-'Abidin who himself was the great-grandson of Prophet Muhammad thus Zaidis are direct descendants of Prophet Muhammad and carry the title of Sayyid- an honorific title bestowed upon to the descendants of Muhammad. In Present times, Zaidis can be found in Iraq, India,Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan.