How Abu Hurayrah got his nickname? The great Sahabi Abu Hurayrah (literally “Father of the Kitten”) was so called because he used to love cats and keep them. He became well known by this name and people forgot his real name, until the scholars disputed concerning his real name and there were nearly thirty different opinions as to what it was. Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr said in al-Isti'ab: “The most correct view is that his name was ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Sakhr but none of them disputed that he was Abu Hurayrah.” And Allah knows best.