Today’s Google Googly: Where Did the Arabic Numerals Originate? Find the Correct Answer Here

Have you ever wondered where Arabic numerals originated from and their history? We have researched this for you after today's Google Googly asked the question. According to the Inside Egypt report, Arabic numerals were invented in India around 500 AD. Later, the numerical system became popular among mathematicians in Baghdad and spread throughout the West.

عجائب الأرقام!

العالم المسلم الخوارزمي هو من أسهم في نشر وتطوير طريقة كتابة الأرقام العربية (1 2 3 4 5…) التي تستخدم اليوم عالميًا، وهي ذات أصل عربي وليست إنجليزية كما يظن الكثيرون!

أما الأرقام التي يستخدمها العرب حاليًا (١ ٢ ٣ ٤ ٥…) فأصلها هندي. pic.twitter.com/oEmzWHpw7j

— حمد الخضيري (@hamad_alkhudiri) March 18, 2025

By the 8th and 9th centuries CE, this numeral system had spread westward. Persian and Arab scholars, notably the mathematician al-Khwārizmī, played a pivotal role in introducing these numerals to the Islamic world through scholarly works and translations.

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Some examples of Arabic numbers are: ٠ 0 sifr, ١ 1 wahid, ٢ 2 itneen, ٣ 3 talata, ٤ 4 araba, ٥ 5 khamsa,٦ 6 sitta, ٧ 7 sabaa, ٨ 8 tamanya,٩ 9 tisaa, ١٠ 10 ashara.

The Italian mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci first encountered Arabic numerals and spread them later through Europe. So, in fact, the figures came from Arab countries to Europe. What about the numbers used in Arabic-speaking countries? These are numbers derived from the ancient Indian numeral system and are still used in the Arabic language today.