Arab-Berber Arabization process in the Maghreb. Various population genetics studies along with historians such as Gabriel Camps and Charles-André Julien lend support to the idea that the bulk of the gene pool of modern Maghrebis, irrespective of linguistic group, is derived from the Berber populations of the pre-Islamic period. Arab-Berber Arab-Berbers (; ) are an ethnic group native to Maghreb, a North African region along the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Arab-Berbers are people of mixed Berber and Arab origin and whose native language is a variant of Maghrebi Arabic. Many Arab-Berbers identify primarily as Arab and secondarily as Berber.
Names of the Berber people Sheba in the "Targum". According to Leo Africanus, "Amazigh" meant "free man". Etymologically, the name may be related to the well attested "aze" strong, "Tizzit" bravery, or "jeghegh" to be brave/courageous. Further it also has a cognate in the Tuareg word "Amajegh", meaning "noble". Names of the Berber people The ethnonym Berber dates to the 19th century, derived from "Barbary" the term for the Maghreb coast used during the early modern period, itself from Greek "barbaria" "land of barbarians". The contemporary self-designation current mostly in Morocco is "Imazighen" (singular "Amazigh"). This term is common in Morocco, especially among Central Atlas,