So we are starting our family and the name debate has started. I’m white American. My husband is Egyptian. We are searching for an Arabic name that will also be acceptable for English speakers. My husband likes the very obviously Arabic names and says my choices are weird, not common in [name_u]Egypt[/name_u], old fashioned. I am trying to accommodate, but he seems to be stuck on the idea of what kids in [name_u]Egypt[/name_u] would say about the name. However, we won’t be in [name_u]Egypt[/name_u] so I don’t think that argument is valid. So I’m looking for some input on my front runners. I’ll write the common translation and how I would choose to spell it for pronunciation purposes.
By the way, my husband seems to only be picky about boys names. And this naming process is going to cause me a giant headache!
[name_m]Laith[/name_m] (pronounced La-eeth in Arabic, but I much prefer the English [name_m]Lay[/name_m]-th)
Haris/Harith – [name_m]Harris[/name_m]
Khayri – Khyri or Kyri
Qais – Kyce
Ilham – [name_m]Elam[/name_m]
[name_u]Aydin[/name_u] – Iden
Ilyas – [name_u]Elias[/name_u] (pronounced Ill-ee-oss in Arabic, but I prefer English Ee-ly-is)
The old testament names are common among both languages ([name_m]Adam[/name_m]/[name_m]Adham[/name_m], [name_u]Noah[/name_u]/Nooh, [name_m]Zachariah[/name_m]/[name_m]Zakaria[/name_m], [name_m]Solomon[/name_m]/[name_m]Suleiman[/name_m], [name_m]Abraham[/name_m]/[name_m]Ibrahim[/name_m], [name_m]Gabriel[/name_m]/Jibreel) but I am lukewarm about them.
From your list I prefer the name Ilyas (with the arabic pronunciation). I think it bridges the gap best between [name_u]Egypt[/name_u] and [name_u]America[/name_u]. But I am from Europe so I can’t really know, but in Europe it would be a quite common choice for bilingual couples. Also the pronunciation here is closer to the arabic one, so that might be the reason I prefer that one.
What about the names [name_m]Karim[/name_m], Makram, Younes/[name_m]Yunus[/name_m] or [name_m]Malik[/name_m]? I think they are pronounced fairly the same in both languages?
Have you thought about turkish names? Some of them are recognised in [name_u]Egypt[/name_u] as well.
[name_f]May[/name_f] I ask what your possible girls names are?
My one piece of advice would be not to change the pronunciation of the Arabic names. If your husband is Egyptian and has Egyptian family that is just going to be confusing for everyone. It would even be better to just used an American name rather than change the pronunciation. If you want Ee-ly-is spell it [name_u]Elias[/name_u]. If you want Ilyas pronounce it Ill-ee-oss. If you can’t agree to the correct pronunciation and he can’t agree to using the American form then it’s time to cross the name off the list and find something else.
I agree with @squidly, you can’t have it both ways, you need to pick one or the other or it’s just going to be confusing. Keep the pronunciation with the spelling.
What about letting your husband have the middle name spot and then you guys work on a first name that you both like, don’t worry about whether it’s Arabic or not? If you are living in [name_u]America[/name_u], you’ll want a name that everyone can pronounce and spell, or it’s just going to be a headache for the child. But that’s just my opinion.
I’m with @moondreams Why not choose a name you both love that will be easy for his school etc to pronounce and spell and give him an amazing Arabic middle name? His Egyptian family can call him by his middle if they want to, and it seems like a nice way to honor both cultures
I agree with @moondreams & @meganleda. If you give him a first name like Khayri, no one will know how to pronounce or spell it. Why not give him a more easily pronounced / spelled FN and save the beautiful, but complicated, Egyptian names for the middle?
I like a lot of these. Especially Ilyas, [name_m]Laith[/name_m], and [name_u]Aydin[/name_u] (tho the latter 2 would prob require constant correction that they’re not pronounced lay-th and ay-den ([name_u]Aiden[/name_u])). I think the correct Arabic pronunciations of Ilyas, Khayri, Haris, and Ilham are fairly intuitive. Qais would also probably be a cool name for a kid to have… and if it is pronounced Kyce, then ‘rhymes with [name_u]Bryce[/name_u]’ should be an easy enough way to get ppl to remember the pronunciation.
The US is filled with people with names from different languages/cultures. I would embrace it and keep working with your husband til you find the right one! Good luck!
I tried the middle name thing, but he didn’t care about middle names. They don’t do middle names in [name_u]Egypt[/name_u]. He doesn’t care about spelling. He would rather change the spelling so people can pronounce the name more correctly. I think no matter what name we finally end up picking, there will be differences in my family vs his family pronunciation just because of the language difference. I have no problem with that. I dont think it would be confusing if one grandma says Kyce with the heavy Arabic Kh and one without for example.
I have looked at Turkish, Persian, [name_f]Indian[/name_f] names as well. I thought because those are muslim areas, the names would cross over/be familiar to my husband. [name_u]Aydin[/name_u]/iden is Turkish. I like [name_u]Rohan[/name_u] too which I believe is [name_f]Indian[/name_f] from my searching. He doesn’t like any of them saying they aren’t arab.
[name_m]Laith[/name_m] is my favorite. No spelling change needed. It means lion. Easy to say. Similar to other names so it doesn’t feel too weird I think.
Girls were easy. My top picks are esra and noor/noori/norah. He simply nodded his head and said “those are good names”. I also quite like safira and it is very close to his mother’s name safeya, but he’s a little unsure about it.
Kyri wouldn’t be bad but I would spell it the way it’s being used in the US. [name_m]Kyree[/name_m]. I know a man with this name, it’s really very nice. I few of those names are but I can see you running into problems with some of them.
I really like [name_m]Laith[/name_m]. I found some other Arabic names that wouldn’t be hard to wear in [name_u]America[/name_u]:
[name_m]Latif[/name_m]
[name_m]Aaru[/name_m]
[name_m]Amir[/name_m]
[name_m]Jamal[/name_m]
Jarrah
[name_m]Kamal[/name_m]
[name_m]Kareem[/name_m]
[name_m]Kahlil[/name_m]
[name_m]Malik[/name_m]
[name_m]Nasir[/name_m]
[name_m]Tariq[/name_m]
[name_m]Idris[/name_m]
[name_m]Zaid[/name_m]
I don’t have any specific in put, but I just wanted to say that I think you’re right in now worrying about pronunciation variations. I personally grew up with international family pronouncing my name in a slight variation, and it actually always thrilled me a little bit
I agree with previous posters – you probably shouldn’t alter to original Arabic spelling and pronunciation as that will be challenging on all fronts. If I were you, I’d do what others have suggested and pick an Arabic middle name and stick with something that will translate well here at school and on the playground for the first name. If you have a girl I think it will be a lot easier – many beautiful Arabic origin girls names that I could easily see translating well here or are already in popular use here – [name_f]Farah[/name_f], [name_f]Layla[/name_f], [name_f]Lila[/name_f], [name_f]Nahla[/name_f], Zeina all come to mind). I think boys are a bit harder. We lived in the Middle [name_f]East[/name_f] for awhile and it seemed to us that parents were a lot more limited to a handful of traditional names for boys – not that there aren’t a lot of Arabic boy names out there, just that parents seemed to only be using a select few (Akram, [name_m]Ahmed[/name_m], [name_m]Muhammad[/name_m] come to mind) – but maybe that’s just where we lived.
When it comes down to it, I tell my husband that while I would never pick a name he didn’t like, and we are both part of the decision making process, ultimately I get final say because I’m the one carrying, birthing and nursing the kid, haha. That may or may not fly with your hubby
I think you should just check the name is wearable in [name_u]Egypt[/name_u]. If yes I do not see any problem Your kid won’t live in [name_u]Egypt[/name_u] if I understand.
I like Kais, [name_u]Elias[/name_u] (I have never heard ee-ly-us before) and [name_m]Laith[/name_m]. [name_u]Love[/name_u] [name_f]Aris[/name_f]. [name_m]Elam[/name_m] is cute too!
Of the ones originally mentioned, I like [name_m]Laith[/name_m], Kais* (spelled this way) & Ilyas. I think most names, even very common names with seemingly obvious pronunciations often get said or spelled wrong as time goes by - a simple correction is all that is needed, as well as some patience with those who need a second or third correction. Personally, I’d rather use a name my partner and their family is familiar with and correct people here and there, than use a variation on a name that tends to lose much of the cultural association/connection.
Have you looked at common names used on modern day children in [name_u]Egypt[/name_u] that you feel could work very well in [name_u]America[/name_u] and asked your husband what he thinks of those? I’m not entirely sure just what these names are ([name_u]Ali[/name_u], [name_m]Daniel[/name_m], [name_m]Karim[/name_m]?), but your husband and his family could definitely shed some light on that, right?
*When I was a child (in Australia), my family were quite close with an Arabic family who had a son named Kais, and the name was simple enough for people to pick up.
Thanks for the feedback. We had to quit talking about names, but I am silently continuing my search. [name_m]Laith[/name_m] is still my number one choice, followed by [name_m]Harris[/name_m]. Hubby was agreeable about [name_m]Harris[/name_m], but still not 100%. He absolutely will not go for an Arabic middle name. I tried and then tried again. What do you guys think about these other possibilities?
[name_m]Ramsey[/name_m]
[name_m]Asher[/name_m] – Ashar in arabic
I think both of these are becoming more popular though
Eyad
Ayman – Pronounced Eye-mon. Similar to [name_m]Eamon[/name_m]
Faris – my husband quite likes, but I cannot get [name_m]Ferris[/name_m] [name_m]Bueller[/name_m] out of my head
Luqman/Lukman – could go by [name_m]Luke[/name_m]?
Haider/Hydar – I like this, but not sure about it. It sounds like Hider. Like hide and seek.
Haytham – also one of my crushes, but idk if it’s too foreign for Americans. It’s pronounced exactly like it looks. Hay-tham. Reminds me of [name_m]Nathan[/name_m]
I think all of your most recent possibilities (Ayman, Luqman, Haytham) are best. Haris is fine also, I mostly just don’t like the name [name_m]Harris[/name_m].
Overall, having worked with children and having seen a lot of crazy names, I much prefer seeing a name I recognize as not American/European than one that is but is spelled crazily. It is easy for me to pronounce a name like Thien or Luqman than Joiey ([name_f]Joy[/name_f]) or Ajuh ([name_f]Asia[/name_f]).
The other path you could go down is to choose an Arabic name that is relatively well known in the US, such as [name_m]Amir[/name_m] or [name_m]Rafiq[/name_m] or [name_m]Ahmed[/name_m] or [name_m]Hassan[/name_m] or Fariq. All are perfectly lovely names in their own right, but are recognizable. I personally have always loved [name_m]Aziz[/name_m] (and the feminine version [name_f]Aziza[/name_f]), especially because it means “beloved”. You would need to run them past yourhusband because there man be an Egyptian spelling of the name that he would prefer, but perhaps this could be a middle ground for you.
Eyad is ee-odd. I don’t tend to like the obviously arabic names simply because they are easily recognizable/associated with a certain group of people. I would automatically think that [name_m]Tariq[/name_m], [name_m]Kareem[/name_m], [name_m]Kaleel[/name_m], [name_m]Aziz[/name_m], [name_m]Samir[/name_m] etc were Middle Eastern, but I would not with [name_m]Harris[/name_m], Faris, [name_m]Asher[/name_m], [name_m]Ramsey[/name_m] etc. It is unfortunate that in today’s [name_u]America[/name_u] I have to worry about terrorist associations, profiling, discrimination because of a name, but it is a reality. [name_f]Do[/name_f] you know how long it takes us to go through the airport with my husband [name_m]Hassan[/name_m] [name_m]Mohamed[/name_m] from [name_u]Egypt[/name_u]? Or how hard it is for him to get a job even though he is a legal resident, has spoken English since he was a kid, well- educated, good experience, certified. I hope one day it will not be like this for my children.
Your kid won’t live in [name_u]Egypt[/name_u] if I understand.