Foreign Names in the West

Having Arabic name in the West comes with its pros and cons. I’ve never hated my name or wanted it change because I really do like my name- just not the way Americans say it. 
But it makes sense that people do mispronounce it, there’s different vowels and letters in Arabic that just can’t be accurately translated into English.


The process with having a foreign name kinda goes like this, in elementary school, you try to correct the teacher every chance you get to make sure that the teacher says your name correctly. By the third or fourth time, you kind of give up and just let them say the Americanized version of your name. So by fifth grade, I gave up on trying to correct people. 


My name is Salma, pronounced sell/ma (click on link to hear the pronunciation). It means peace in Arabic, but when I asked my parents why they chose to name me Salma and they said it just came to them, which is probably the best background story ever. The name Salma though is very interesting because it has so many other meanings other than peace, like survivor, free of fraud and deception, and free of disease. 


My dad also found a site that talks about what kind of person someone named Salma is like, and it’s so accurate, it’s kind of scary. The website says, “ The owner of this name has many positive aspects: attractive personality. Full of optimism. Love to do good. Diligent in her studies. She cares about her elegance. Polite and a good person. Her personality is very strong. Respects others and has the ability to earn their love. She cares a lot about family matters. She loves reading. Love traveling and prefer quiet places.”* I don’t mean to brag or anything but this description is pretty spot on. When I tell people my name in English, the most common remark I get is, “ Oh Salma, like Selma, Alabama?” But in Arabic, as you can tell, there’s so much more to the meaning of the word “Salma” and what it represents  that it really does make me feel like my name is special. I don’t think I could ever hate my name.  


*I also want to note that the weird structure of the sentences is because I translated the site from Arabic to English

Comments

  1. Salma is such a beautiful name. I always associated it with the historical character (I think she was related to one of the Sahabah?), but I never knew it had those meanings too. Those descriptions really suite you!!

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  2. My name, Nusayb, is Arabic, but my parents pronounce it in a Hindi-style way. For example, they sort of dilate the enunciation of the ص, and they say it more as a س, and I grew up saying it that way too.

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  3. Your name is so beautiful and unique. I definitely agree that after fourth grade you stop trying to correct everyone mispronouncing your name. I definitely don't have that problem with my first name but almost everyone mispronounces my last name. I also agree that the description of a person named Salma is super freaky. It's literally the exact description of you!!

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  4. I totally relate to the struggles of growing up with a foreign name but also the beauty that comes with it. Early into kindergarten, my parents and I decided it would be best for me to go by an Americanized version of my full name. Nilkanth got abbreviated into Nil. The meaning of my name is woven into a story about Lord Shiva's bravery in drinking poison and everywhere I go I keep this story with me. Salma is also a really cool name by the way.

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