He was named after Abd ar-Rahman I of the Umayyad Caliphate who brought Islam to Spain and was thus nicknamed "ad-Dakhil" ("the conqueror"). His name is stylized in the traditional Arabic naming system as "Abdurrahman, son of Wahid". His family is ethnically Javanese of mixed Chinese-Arab origins with some native blood. From his paternal line, he is descended from a well-known Moslem missionary from China known as Syekh Abdul Qadir Tan Kiem Han who was a disciple of Sunan Ngampel-Denta (Raden Rahmat Bong Swie Hoo) – one of the Nine Wali (Holy Islamic Saints) who became one of the first Islamic Kings on Java who islamicized Java in the 15-16th centuries.