Al-Ghossains in Lebanon
English Section
Al-Ghossain, Ghossain, El-Ghossein Ghossein, Al-Ghussein, Ghossein, Ghossayn, Ghoussain, Gossayn, Gossine, Gosine or any variation of the name used in the world with or without (AL), or (EL) which means (the) Ghossain
The old Lebanese tradition was to call their first-born son after the paternal grandfather, and the second name of the sons, and daughters was always their father’s first name. Tony Doumit Moses Younis Massoud Younis al-Ghossain means: Tony the son of Doumit, son of Moses, son of Younis, son of Massoud, son of Younis …………al-Ghossain.
The spelling of the Lebanese names is phonetic, because many Lebanese letters do not have equivalents in the Latin alphabet.
writer Tannous (Tony) Doumit, Musa Younes, Masoud Younes Al-Ghossain,
Some of the Al-Ghossain family migrated from A’aqoura to Kfarh’atna in Batroun, while some others migrated to Ain Al-Qabou near Baskinta, and from there, some migrated to Zahle and its suburbs.
Amongst its monuments in A’aqoura are the Ghossain wine press under Al-Shakara, the Ghossainiya in front of the spring roundabout, and the Ghossain monuments near Al-Jar Jara. (History of A'aqoura by Monsignor Louis Al-Hashem, p. 421).
It was stated in Al-Dawani, p. 182, by the historian and genealogist Issa Iskandar Al-Maalouf, that the Al-Ghossain Al-Gemayel and Maqsoud families are from the same lineage. The scholar Issa Iskandar Al-Maalouf was one of the main references for Monsignor Louis Al-Hashem.
The most famous of the family’s prominent figures in the past, according to these references, is the brave adventurer Nicola Al-Ghossein, governor of H’awsh Al-Zara’neh in Zahle, and more recently, Dr. Antoine Al-Ghossain, dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Saint Joseph University, Dr. Imad Adeeb Al-Ghossein, a radiologist, and his brother, dentist Fouad Adeeb Al-Ghossein, from Zahle, as well as Dr. Nadim Al-Ghossein and his brother Edmond from Darb I’shtar in the Koura district, who are the founders of the Ghossain Hospital in H’azmieh a suburbs of Beirut, and Dr. Gregory Al-Ghossein, a dental implant specialist in London, as well as the late Bishop Tobia Al-Ghossain from Darb Ishtar, who was the Archbishop of Tripoli.
The Al-Ghossain family in Hadath Al-Jubbeh (H’adid) came from Ain Al-Qabou, and this is agreed upon by all the older generation. Uncle Yaqoub Anton (Saloum) Al-Ghossain, Uncle Wadih Gerges Al-Ghossain, and Uncle George Youssef Al-Ghossain (Gerges Rahwan) mentioned that to me, based on what they heard from their fathers and grandfathers. My uncle, Imad Anton Al-Ghossain mentioned this in a paper written in his own handwriting dated Sunday, February 12, 1870, and the paper is with the Mukhtar of Hadath Al-Jubbeh, Sae’id, Massad Al-Ghossain.
According to an old document, handwritten in the late 1700, and in my possession, the first Ghossain to come to Hadath Al- Jubbeh from Ain Al-Qabou was Younis Al-Ghossain.
According to what my Uncle George (Georges Youssef Al-Ghossain) told me, the elders used to talk about the visits that the great adventurer Nicola Al-Ghossain used to make to his cousins in Al-Hadath, when he was fleeing from the Ottoman Empire. His constant companion was Al-Maalouf. They were famous toughs at that time. It was said that they kidnapped the wife of one of the governors and treated her honourably. She asked her husband, who was in love with her, to reward them for their honourable treatment. Nicola was appointed head of customs in Alexandria, Egypt. It is believed that his descendants are still there.
There is also an Al-Ghossain family in Bqerqasha near Al-Hadath, and their nickname there is Beit Maroun.