Is the Moroccan, Algerian "Zouaoui" family Arab or Amazigh?

Question

It's a very big family even some are in Libya. :)

Answer 1

A Berber would be proud to be a Berber  and an Arab proud to be an Arab.

I have family that are mixed Berbers and Arabs. Both are proud to say what they are.

Answer 2

Zouaoui, slightly derived from the arabic word Zawâwî  meaning ".. of the zaouia"  or "related to the zaouia"

if you don't know what a Zaouia is, see this Wikipedia entry:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaouia

Zawâwî is also a family name spread in Arabia, and a tribe in the Hijaz, but then it must mean "of the corner" since the don't have Zaouias there.

The adoption of a family name is something recent in the Maghreb, so it is likely that different and unrelated families have the same name, reffering to different Zaouias across the region, there are thousands of. In which case it is difficult to know exactly if they are Berbers or Arabs.

Answer 3

in Algerian dialect arabic "Zouaoui" means "Amazigh,berber"

i Think it's Amazigh

:)