Re: Pronouncing Names Correctly
How about ADAM. It is very popular as a western name but also very Islamic. I also love Musa and Kamran ( could be pronounced as Cameron!). For girls I like Aneesa and Maliha(which is also Obama's daughter's name)
I love Kamran. Its not a big stretch to say Kamraan and not Cameron either.
Obama's daughter's name is Malia - Ma-LEE-a with a soft ending sound, not Ma-lee-HA... isn't it?
lol Barbie! Human??
Re: Pronouncing Names Correctly
^ Yes 
I’ve been called human by two peoplez… one misread it on my name tag, the other misspelt in an email!
Oh Uma is another one. :hinna: haye!
Re: Pronouncing Names Correctly
Huma is my sister’s name. Ive heard her being called “hey hooooma” a lot.
Starry, focus on names you like and take it from there. Like I said, if you worry about pronunciation that pretty much excludes about 85% of our names.
Re: Pronouncing Names Correctly
why do we make such a big deal out of how hard our names are????
there are enough names out there from other ethnicities that are a nightmare but we make the effort don't we?
why shouldn't we expect others to make an effort for us?
try being from southern india......
Re: Pronouncing Names Correctly
^ ok Mooooozna
Re: Pronouncing Names Correctly
A lot of names are seemingly misprounounced due to differnces in accents. EG Omar is easy but oomar is what what most people are called. However, if its a hard name like Qurat-ul Ain or Abdul Quddus then teh name beocomes really mangled. The focus should be easy to pronounce, good menaing and what you like, not neccesarily in that order.
Re: Pronouncing Names Correctly
name your child Sarah (if girl) and Daniel or Moses (if boy). Islamic + Western :)
Re: Pronouncing Names Correctly
why do we make such a big deal out of how hard our names are???? there are enough names out there from other ethnicities that are a nightmare but we make the effort don't we? why shouldn't we expect others to make an effort for us?
try being from southern india......
TOTALLY AGREEEEEEEEEE!
Okay, if I can say names like Blagojevich and Nowakowski...then people can damn well say my three syllable name.
I dont accept laziness - which is what it is.
I know a girl who named her daughter Sidratul Muntaha...that is only her first name! People who care take the time to pronounce it and the rest...you just teach them.
Re: Pronouncing Names Correctly
TOTALLY AGREEEEEEEEEE!
Okay, if I can say names like Blagojevich and Nowakowski...then people can damn well say my three syllable name.
I dont accept laziness - which is what it is.
I know a girl who named her daughter Sidratul Muntaha...that is only her first name! People who care take the time to pronounce it and the rest...you just teach them.
I agree. And the fact that no matter how hard your child's name is, the teachers will always try their best to say the name as accurately as possible, once you familiarise them with the correct pronunciation. Same with people that you see on regular basis in your professional life, so those who matter will eventually get the hang of your name, no need to worry if random xyz strangers would have trouble 'perfectly' pronouncing the name. Desis like to get overly conscious and apologetic about names, whereas its the same story with French, Russian, Spanish, African, Dutch, Hebrew, Tamil etc name in Anglicized world.
Just choose a name that you like with the meaning that touches your heart.
Re: Pronouncing Names Correctly
The other important thing is how we spell the name. We tend to follow the way it is spelled back home, where they can't even differentiate between 'W' and 'V' sounds. So the name Waqar ends up pronounced 'Wacker' instead of maybe 'Vakaar'. The Arabs get the spelling right most of the time. Their girls are called 'Aminah' instead of 'Amna' in Pakistan....
Somegroovychick, yeah it might be spelled that way, but it sure sounds like our 'Maleeha' !:)
Re: Pronouncing Names Correctly
The other important thing is how we spell the name. We tend to follow the way it is spelled back home, where they can't even differentiate between 'W' and 'V' sounds. So the name Waqar ends up pronounced 'Wacker' instead of maybe 'Vakaar'. The Arabs get the spelling right most of the time. Their girls are called 'Aminah' instead of 'Amna' in Pakistan....
Somegroovychick, yeah it might be spelled that way, but it sure sounds like our 'Maleeha' !:)
My dad's name is Waqar. Its been 40 years since he has been here and we still get mail addressed to Wacker and Wagar and Wagger and whatnot.
Re: Pronouncing Names Correctly
^ lol! thats my dad’s name too! he gets Walker all the time 
Re: Pronouncing Names Correctly
bob
Re: Pronouncing Names Correctly
ppl are frikkin lazy..they can easily pronouce it properly, but dont think they have to. as I have noted previosuly, Andy, a sales manager I once worked with, kept calling me Camille, until they day I had enough and started calling him Undie and he got offended right away saying its Andy ,,and I just responded, yes, just like its Kamal. He never butchered my name again.
Re: Pronouncing Names Correctly
some humour along those lines
Re: Pronouncing Names Correctly
Easy to pronounce :
Bilal
Umar
Azaan
Romi
**Nabeel/Nabil
Daniel
Ali
Adeel/Adil
Imran
Amir
Arif
Asif
Emir
Karim
Khalid
Samir
Tahir
Yasin
Yasir
Zain**
Specially I like name Yasin,, Samir, Adeel and Zain :)
Re: Pronouncing Names Correctly
And Girls names:
Kadira
Aisha
Aaliyah
Abella
Aida
Amira
Kainaat
Amina
Jazmine/Jasmin/Jasmine/Jasmina
Yasmin/Yasmine/Yasmina
Kamilah
Zoha
Zoya
Rania
Sabira
Zara/Sara
Re: Pronouncing Names Correctly
Obama's daughter's name is Malia - Ma-LEE-a with a soft ending sound, not Ma-lee-HA... isn't it?
Love that name..
I have a cousin called Shayaan and people do have difficulty pronouncing it in the UK.. I do think it's a really nice name tho..
Re: Pronouncing Names Correctly
More important than pronunciation is meaning. I'd urge you to ensure that the name you pick does not have a negative meaning in another culture. In other words, don't pick the equivalent of Linda.
Re: Pronouncing Names Correctly
how do Rayan or Essam sound, would there be problems with either of these?