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Romancing with Names

by Hilath Rasheed

Twenty years ago, the process of naming a newborn was plain simple; add the customary first name, a lovable second name and the omnipresent surname.

But today the assembling of names for a child can be a tiresome process, let alone going through the collection of names that has to match one another in their meaning, their significance and their pronunciation.

However, a common pattern identified from this complicated process is that more and more parents are opting for names that are extremely short. Names that can be easily pronounced on the tongue. Names that the recipient will love and be proud of, after growing up.

People's newfound love with change and simplicity are to be credited for this trend; simplicity and change now being the driving force behind the lifestyles and fashions of the present generations.

"Everyone likes short names now -- a name that when pronounced or addressed, rings a musical tone to it," Mohamed Gubad Abu Bakr, co-author of the book Beautiful Names, told Haveeru.

The trend may have set in as a result of the present generation's passion with romance, what with the bombardment of society with all kinds of art that have romantic notes in them, from music to movies, and books to plays. Novelists and screen writers nowadays are painstakingly involved in choosing, with utmost care, names that have a romantic sound to the characters that centre in their stories or melodramas -- the arts always been a cocktail of romantic themes of love, loyalty, hatred and betrayal.

Though there can be no Jacks or Roses (of Titanic fame) here, as Islamic tradition frowns upon non-Arabic names, people have now opted for names as short as Sama, Rana, Zeena or Sheeza for their daughters. For boys, names like Ishan, Haisham and Emaz strike the romantic tones.

The meanings of names are as important as its articulation, according to many parents.

"It is crucial that the names we choose also have good meanings to them," Zoona, a 25-year-old mother, who named her only son Raaid told Haveeru.

Zoona followed another tradition where some families name themselves with those that rhyme.

"My husband's name is Raashid. We named our son Raaid so that his name rhymes with his father's name."

Interestingly, another such trend is where some parents name their children with same initials, the most popular initial being the sound "Sh" as in Shifaz or Shifana.

"But the most critical thing to keep in mind is that names must be chosen for their good meaning, not for their simplicity or rhythm. Our Islamic faith, even though it recommends Arabic names, specifically asks us that the names we chose must have good meanings. Names depicting pessimism, negativism or destruction must not be used," Gubad, who is the Assistant Librarian at the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs, said in an interview.

"For instance, someone may want to name her second daughter Zaniya, to rhyme with her first daughter's name Raniya. But look at Zaniya's meaning, which literally translates into 'the one who commits adultery'! Who would want to give such a name to his or her daughter?" he asked.

Though some people had given unsuitable names to their children in the past, there is no room now to commit such a mistake. Male Municipality now requires every newborn's name to be registered there, and it will not pass any name that is in total disregard with Islamic traditions. A list of acceptable names are kept at the Municipality, and any forwarded name that does not appear in this 'approved list of names' are referred to the Supreme Council which will then look into its meaning and either approve or disapprove it.

Interestingly, as the family unit becomes more and more smaller, with most families now opting for one or two children, naming children have become of special significance to parents. More and more parents are going to extreme lengths to find rare and not-so-common names. Around 10 to 20 of such "unique" names are sent to the Council everyday to have the meaning checked.

The search for "unique" names has also gone hand in hand with the naming of newborns after great historical figures, dead or living. Arafats, Mubaraks, and most recently, Zidanes have been added to go with the recent euphoria surrounding the France World Cup finals.

Since it is not a must that all names have to be of Arabic origin, the option is open for people to choose names that have been directly evolved from Dhivehi language -- the so-called Dhivehi names like Lhahutthu (Young One) or Dhonkaloa (Fair One) given to men, or Beefaanu and Hiyala, female names depicting extreme femininity.

"There cannot be any objection to adopting local names that used to be among us until recently. But nobody has forwarded any such names like Hiyala or Beefaanu," Gubad said.

Non-Arabic foreign names survive even now, and nobody seems to find any problems with that, as Maldivian culture is an assimilation of regional cultures ranging from Sinhalese to Persian. Many people are named Maniku or Manike, borrowed straight from South Asia, while names such as Shahnaz and Farahnaz has been handed down from Persia (now Iran).

It will be a breath of fresh air if one of us could see a young girl or boy grow up to be a Dhon Hiyala or Ali Fulhu, regardless of whether they fall in love and meet a tragic end as depicted in Maldivian folklore.

The sad fact is that nobody seems to be interested in addressing their children in Dhivehi names. Names like Manje (Girl) now appear only on nameboards of cafes and restaurants.

This article appeared in Haveeru Daily on 20 Aug 1998