General Designations

The society is designated with diverse terms, which are translated in different ways:

TUAREG

The term Tuareg (Twareg / Touareg) is an outside label that is not used by the people themselves. The origin of the term is subject to a lot of speculation.
While the term Tuareg holds positive connotations for most Europeans, the term is used as a swear word in North and West Africa (comparable with the term gypsy).

IMUHAR

The proper names, i.e., the ones used by the nomads themselves, are

• Imuhar (in Algeria/ Libya; also written Imuhagh/Imouhagh),
• Imushar (in Mali/Burkina Faso; also written Imushagh, Imoushagh)
• Imasheren (in Niger; also written Imajeren, Imascheren)

The different designations developed out of sound changes. That makes it difficult to find a common name for the society.
The different spellings are for example due to the French transcript “ou” or the German transcript “sch/j” or instead of “r” the outdated Orientalist’s spelling “gh” is often used.

FREE MEN

The term Imuhar (Sg.:Amahar) can NOT be translated with "free men" (LINK: origin) . "Lullet" means “to be free” in the language of the Imuhar and a free man is called "Elalli" (Pl.:Free men = Ilallan).

In addition to that, the people of the Imuhar, including craftsmen (Enadan) and slaves (Iklan), call themself Imuhar (see Pandolfi 1998:27).
An old proverb of the Imuhar (sg.: Amahar) says:

"Wa sawalen Tamahaq imda Amahar" - " He, who speaks Tamahaq, is an Amahar"

KEL TAMASHEQ

It is not necessary to call the people “Kel Tamahaq” (Kel Tamascheq), which literally means “people of the Tamahaq” / “people of their own language”. 
It is better to just call them Imuhar(Sg.: Amahar). Nobody calls eg. Germans THE PEOPLE WHO SPEAKS GERMAN, but they are straightforwardly called Germans.
It is also incorrect to translate Kel Tamascheq with “people who speak Tamascheq” because the verb to speak (siwel) is missing.

KEL TAGELMUST

Sometimes, the society is named Kel Tagelmust (people of the turban). The term is not used by members of the society. Furthermore, the term excludes women because they do not wear a tagelmust.

A collective designation?

The use of the term Tuareg suggests that the people are still a social, cultural and political unit but this is not the case anymore. Several groups distance themselves from other groups, according to their group affiliations and their geographical origin. Just like national states such as Mali, Niger, Libya and Algeria develop in different directions, the groupings of the Imuhar, Imushar and Imasheren drift apart and develop own identities.