Why does Egypt have “Arab” in the official name of the state?

Egypt is Egyptian, not Arab. The word “Arab” appeared, for purely ideological and poltical reasons, for the very first time in the name of the country in 1958. 

In 1958, the Republic of Egypt and the Syrian Republic became the “United Arab Republic.” 
Since then, the name has stuck: the “Arab” Republic of Egypt and the Syrian “Arab” Republic. 

A lot of people in the West think that “Arab” = Arabian = Muslim = Middle Eastern, or thinking it some kind of “ancestry” or “race.”

If you ask an actual Arabian from Arabia, are Egyptians Arabs? The answer would be “Not all! Egyptians are not ethnic Arabs, they are Arabized Copts!”

“Among the tribes of Arabia today the term ʿarab seems to signify people with a genealogy or belonging to a lineage connecting them with certain forebears. This traditional definition is probably a heritage from the early Islamic period when the term was given this sense. A modern definition of “Arab” was first advanced by the ideologists behind the modern Arab nationalist movements. The criteria are several common characteristics: language, culture, history, and sometimes even ancestry. This definition, based ultimately on the European concepts of nationhood, developed during the last decades of the nineteenth century and turned out to be useful as an ideological weapon in the struggle against European colonial powers after World War I.”

 “The Pan-Arabic ideology was finally made politically manifest in the creation of the Arab League in 1946. The influence of the new concept of Arabism culminated ideologically in the writings of Ṣāṭiʿ al-Ḥusrī (d. 1949) and politically in the career of Jamāl ʿAbd al-Nāṣir (Gamal Abdel Nasser, d. 1970 C.E.), who tried to implement the idea by taking the first steps towards a pan-Arab political structure. Despite the failure of this project, Arab ideology still plays an important role in political rhetoric. Its most important result, apart from the abolishment of foreign political control in the Arab world, is the revival of the ʿArabiyya language (modern standard Arabic) and its introduction as the official language in nineteen states from the Atlantic to Oman (as well as a second language in five others)”

- Retsö, J. (2010). Arabs (historical). In K. Fleet, G. Krämer, D. Matringe, J. Nawas and D. J. Stewart (eds.), Encyclopaedia of Islam Three Online. Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_22957 

“In the process of conquering the Fertile Crescent, North Africa, Iran, Central Asia, and parts of India and Europe, the meaning of “Arab” was profoundly modified. The cultures and civilisations of the assimilated regions with their Christian, Jewish, and Zoroastrian populations were not only influenced by the Arab invaders but also gradually modified the nature of Arab identity itself. The conquered populations may have been subjugated politically, but their administrative skills, crafts, arts, and worldviews slowly wrought profound changes in the conquerors. In the first years of the Arab conquests, it was possible to convert to Islam and, at the same time, become Arab, by entering into a client relationship with an Arab tribe. Eventually, however, restrictions were placed upon conversion (Bulliet), so that conversion to Islam and the acquisition of Arab identity became separate processes.”

“A second, more widespread use of the term ʿarab, which emerged in the early Islamic centuries referred to the community of those who spoke Arabic, as in the well-known Qurʾānic passage (Q 12:2), “We have sent it down as an Arabic Qurʾān, that you may understand.” In this sense, ʿarab was opposed to ʿajam, a term that meant those unable to express themselves clearly in Arabic, primarily Persians.”

“Although various attempts at Arab unity have emerged in recent times, political solidarity remains an unfulfilled aspiration. A principal legacy of the short-lived union (1958–61) of Egypt and Syria, called the United Arab Republic, was the term “Arab Republic” itself, which subsequently became part of the official names of several other states in the region. Popular enthusiasm for the concept of Arab unity was overwhelming when it was introduced in the 1950s. The rhetoric of unity varied considerably amongst its proponents, but the persistent common elements included the notion of a region-wide ethnic foundation (qawmiyya), with a corresponding de-emphasis of loyalty to particular nation states (waṭaniyya), which was often denigrated, in the heyday of pan-Arabism in the 1950s and early 1960s, as “regionalism” (iqlīmiyya). Practically, however, the union of Egypt and Syria highlighted significant regional differences among Arab states and the fact that political unity was aspired to primarily by the ruling elites, especially under the banners of Nasserism and the Baʿth ideology of Syria and Iraq.”

– Eickelman, D. F. (2013). Arabs (anthropology). In K. Fleet, G. Krämer, D. Matringe, J. Nawas and D. J. Stewart (eds.), Encyclopaedia of Islam Three Online. Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_24947 

Even though Egypt, unfortunately, has the word “Arab” in its name for political reasons, the “Arab” Republic of Egypt never abandoned the Egyptian identity nor did it claim any ethnic or cultural ties to Arabia. The entire “Arabism” thing started with Christian intellectuals in Syria and Lebanon, then Nasser spread it to Egypt. What is perceived as “Arab” culture is literally modern Egyptian and Levantine culture.

From the current Constitution of Egypt:

“This is Egypt, an immortal homeland for Egyptians, and a message of peace and love to all peoples.

In the outset of history, the dawn of human conscience arose and shone forth in the hearts of our great ancestors, whose goodwill banded together to found the first central State that regulated and organized the life of Egyptians on the banks of the Nile. It is where they created amazing wonders of civilization, and where their hearts looked up to heavens before earth knew the three Abrahamic religions.”