Wikipedia
Al-Obaidi (also spelled as Al Obaidi or Al-Obeidi) is a surname that denotes the belonging to the Al-Obaidi tribe. The Al-Obaidi family is a noble family who are directly descended from the Islamic prophet Muhammed, through his grandson Imam Hussain. They are usually given the right to use the honorific title Sayed before their first name. The literal translation of the Arabic word Sayed is Lord or Sir in the English language.
The Al-Obaidi family's common ancestor Obaid Ullah son of Khalil moved to Mosul where he became the Qadi of the city. Qadi can be literally translated to English as Judge. The position of Qadi was a privileged position in the Ottoman era; whereby every city had one Qadi to judge on the people's matters using Islamic jurisdiction.