My husband is Lebanese and I'm American. We live in the US but may live in the Middle East or elsewhere in the developing world at some point. I really enjoyed the Arabic names thread. It was nice to know others are thinking of similar issues.
It is important to both of us that our child have a name that reflects his or her heritage, especially the Lebanese side of things, since American culture is pretty ubiquitous in the world these days and we live in the US for now. Yet infusing the first name with Arab heritage is not simple thing these days, when nice white people occasionally make terrorist jokes about my Arab husband... to his face! I know it is an issue that other ethnic groups--Irish, Italian, Chinese, Jewish, Polish, Hispanic and other people--have coped with in the past and still do.
We have decided to give our baby a Lebanese first name and an American middle name. We notice that many Lebanese people and Arabs, even really traditional people with no plans to leave the Arab world, seem to be searching for names that sound kind of Western or not too foreign to the Western ear, in case their kids decide to leave the Middle East. (Names like Danny/Dani or Adam, which are fine names, but not ones that attract me for my child. I like Ziad, Zain, or Kozem for a boy, though Kozem is probably "out" and my husband is having second thoughts on the others.)
An acquaintance who lives in the US told us he regrets naming his son "Habib" because it sets him up for profiling. He feels people treat his son differently because of his name. He warned us not to "do that" to our kid. On the one hand, I am really opposed to censoring culture and difference out of our lives. On the other hand, I don't want to put my child at a serious disadvantage. But if all the Arabs and everyone else gives in to this pressure to conform, we'll have even less leeway to be who we are, no matter who we are.
Another difficult thing is that my white American mother complains about all Arab name choices. To her, they are unpronounceable. They are too foreign. They don't honor the child's American heritage. A middle name is not good enough. (Is it really that hard to say Ziad? Not after you've seen it/heard it once or twice!) I am a little concerned that giving our child a non-American name will make it harder for my (often distant) family to embrace our child, but I like to believe they'll adjust quickly.
I don't want to be selfish in how we name our child, but we want to be true to our ideals and not give in to the currently prevailing anti-Arab sentiment in American/Western culture.
Thanks for listening!
It is important to both of us that our child have a name that reflects his or her heritage, especially the Lebanese side of things, since American culture is pretty ubiquitous in the world these days and we live in the US for now. Yet infusing the first name with Arab heritage is not simple thing these days, when nice white people occasionally make terrorist jokes about my Arab husband... to his face! I know it is an issue that other ethnic groups--Irish, Italian, Chinese, Jewish, Polish, Hispanic and other people--have coped with in the past and still do.
We have decided to give our baby a Lebanese first name and an American middle name. We notice that many Lebanese people and Arabs, even really traditional people with no plans to leave the Arab world, seem to be searching for names that sound kind of Western or not too foreign to the Western ear, in case their kids decide to leave the Middle East. (Names like Danny/Dani or Adam, which are fine names, but not ones that attract me for my child. I like Ziad, Zain, or Kozem for a boy, though Kozem is probably "out" and my husband is having second thoughts on the others.)
An acquaintance who lives in the US told us he regrets naming his son "Habib" because it sets him up for profiling. He feels people treat his son differently because of his name. He warned us not to "do that" to our kid. On the one hand, I am really opposed to censoring culture and difference out of our lives. On the other hand, I don't want to put my child at a serious disadvantage. But if all the Arabs and everyone else gives in to this pressure to conform, we'll have even less leeway to be who we are, no matter who we are.
Another difficult thing is that my white American mother complains about all Arab name choices. To her, they are unpronounceable. They are too foreign. They don't honor the child's American heritage. A middle name is not good enough. (Is it really that hard to say Ziad? Not after you've seen it/heard it once or twice!) I am a little concerned that giving our child a non-American name will make it harder for my (often distant) family to embrace our child, but I like to believe they'll adjust quickly.
I don't want to be selfish in how we name our child, but we want to be true to our ideals and not give in to the currently prevailing anti-Arab sentiment in American/Western culture.
Thanks for listening!
: If more people do so then maybe someday we we will have a president Kozem or the like, hey wait we do have a president with a wonderful ethinic name!
, I would say that Arabic names are really beautiful. Irrespective on whether you stay in the US or move to the middle east, my approach and philosophy towards my future children is for them to be proud of who they are and where they come from, particularly if they are multicultural. Their names will keep them grounded and a reminder of their heritage, this is very important.
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