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[icebyrd67.livejournal.com]

so he wants arabic names, i want "american" names as well as a chinese name. he is completely against the idea of using two middle names. as a compromise, we would do a simple arabic name that my very very asian father can pronounce. when i say very very asian, i'm talking the man still has trouble saying my name and its Julie. he just calls me by my chinese name.

actually, we kinda agreed with would be -

Arabic Chinese (or vietnamese since those can be spelled a little easier) Surname

now here's my problem...coming up with simple arabic names that my father can say and that people would pronounce correctly with relative ease. (my SO has an arabic name that well, no one pronounces properly. not even me. i know how to but im so used to using his nickname that its pointless)

I've got plenty of girl names - Leyla, Inara, Kadira, Azra, Aneesa

but not very many boy names...Aden, Samir, Radi

we would like names that are a little less uncommon than Mohommed and Hakeem (although my father can pronounce Hakeem thanks to Hakeem Olajawon)

anyone have ideas? thoughts? criticisms of the names we have picked?

Comments

Arab/Chinese Names

[crossingthesea.livejournal.com]

Hey Julie,

There are some really nice Arabic names out there, but first, I'm wondering specifically which letters or sounds your dad has a hard time pronouncing (and should therefore be eliminated if possible)? You're looking for both boy and girl names, right?

I'm wondering with the suggestions of Muhammad and Ahmed if guttural sounds would be okay? I'm guessing not.

Also, if you don't mind saying, what are some of the names in your families already that might work (just as a reference for names you like).

Good luck,

Maya

Re: Arab/Chinese Names

[icebyrd67.livejournal.com]

to be honest, he has issues with any pronounciation of letters that fall outside of the vietnamese alphabet. he pronounces everything like its supposed to be vietnamese.

Most of my family has vietnamese names. those of us who have american names also have a vietnamese name that we go by so the adults have never had to deal with pronouncing difficult names.

after talking things over last night with the mister, we kinda decided that we would just give our children vietnamese names and my parents can call them by that instead.

Re: Arab/Chinese Names

[crossingthesea.livejournal.com]

That sounds like a good solution, especially since it's what they themselves did and would give your kids a nice sense of culture.

One of the reasons I asked is that I am in Israel, but my family is in the US, so even though there are some really great Israeli names, I have to take into consideration things that sound okay with an American accent (and likewise if it were to be an American name-- unlikely-- something that would sound okay in Hebrew).

Sounds like we have similar challenges. I'll be interested to hear what you end up choosing.