of" or "House of", not to be confused with ''Al'' meaning "the") to the personal name of an ancestor. In the case of the Al Saud, the ancestor is Saud bin Muhammad bin Muqrin, the father of the dynasty's 18th century founder Muhammad bin Saud (Muhammad, son of Saud).

The surname "Al Saud" is carried by any descendant of Muhammad bin Saud or his three brothers Farhan, Thunayyan, and Mishari. Al Saud's other family branches like Saud Al Kabir,