To keep things short, I'll just say that they are important. That is why we have a huge responsibility to shape our children well. The very first responsibility to these little critters angels is to choose a name that is not only good, but also good for them, as well as other. Didn't catch my drift? Here are some hot tips for you...
1. Keep the names to a single word! If your name is Muhammad Kamaruzzaman, you might not want to name your daughter something like Nurul Jannatul Wahidah. First of all, you'll only stall the line at the registration office. Most importantly thought, nobody will ever call her Nurul Jannatul Wahidah, except when her teacher is checking attendance for the first time. So, why waste people's ink and time on names that nobody will ever call. Besides, you could used Nurul, Jannatul, and Wahidah on 3 different daughters, so why waste all three on 1.
2. The less syllables there are, the better! Lets face it, the more syllables there are in a name, the less likely you are to call the kid with his/her full name. For instance, many will just call Khatijah, Ijah, or even simply Jah. By doing so, the name you gave the kid loses meaning. I found the traditional chinese names to be particularly interesting in this regard. Take the name Seng, for example. There is just no way you could ever call him anything but Seng so the meaning remains unchanged forever.
3. Avoid using stylized spellings if possible! Using 'y' or 'ie' to make an 'i' sound in a non-English name is confusing. I mean, if you ask me how Hayaty is pronunced, I'd say it's Hayatai. But the worse crime is using 'ie' instead of just 'i', like Razief for example. That's not Razif, that 'Raziyef' for crying out loud. Someone, somewhere, like me (or even the child him/herself) could get confused! So lets stick to the common spelling folks.
For more hot tips on naming children, be sure to get your copy of Najibu's Guide to Naming Children. It should be available in all major retailers some time in the distant future. Pre-order now and get a second copy for free upon release date.
1. Keep the names to a single word! If your name is Muhammad Kamaruzzaman, you might not want to name your daughter something like Nurul Jannatul Wahidah. First of all, you'll only stall the line at the registration office. Most importantly thought, nobody will ever call her Nurul Jannatul Wahidah, except when her teacher is checking attendance for the first time. So, why waste people's ink and time on names that nobody will ever call. Besides, you could used Nurul, Jannatul, and Wahidah on 3 different daughters, so why waste all three on 1.
2. The less syllables there are, the better! Lets face it, the more syllables there are in a name, the less likely you are to call the kid with his/her full name. For instance, many will just call Khatijah, Ijah, or even simply Jah. By doing so, the name you gave the kid loses meaning. I found the traditional chinese names to be particularly interesting in this regard. Take the name Seng, for example. There is just no way you could ever call him anything but Seng so the meaning remains unchanged forever.
3. Avoid using stylized spellings if possible! Using 'y' or 'ie' to make an 'i' sound in a non-English name is confusing. I mean, if you ask me how Hayaty is pronunced, I'd say it's Hayatai. But the worse crime is using 'ie' instead of just 'i', like Razief for example. That's not Razif, that 'Raziyef' for crying out loud. Someone, somewhere, like me (or even the child him/herself) could get confused! So lets stick to the common spelling folks.
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For more hot tips on naming children, be sure to get your copy of Najibu's Guide to Naming Children. It should be available in all major retailers some time in the distant future. Pre-order now and get a second copy for free upon release date.
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11 free comments:
Haha.. in a matter related to yours, I spent my whole last week asking each of my students to stop calling their friends' nicknames when I AM reading the register to get their attendance. I have 6 Muhammad in my class (and 7 Mohamad) and 3 of them has the syllable 'ikmal' spelled 'iqmal', 'ikmal' and 'ekmal'. So, they gave nickname to each other.. 'Beng' 'Sami' and 'Botak'. I told them, why cant you remember your friend's name? Just imagine 20 years down the line if you were to meet up in a formal function; who knows, one of them becomes the director of Ministry of Agriculture, and there you go, shouting their name not as Dato Seri Muhammad Ikmal but 'OI!! Botak!!' (-.-)'' For me, i end up calling their dad's name.. 'ikmal johari', 'iqmal zahariah' and 'ekmal mohamad'. The reason they gave was just like what you described, they dont remember. 'ikmal' is just from the one class.. there will be more the rest of the forms. To segregate themselves, they either ask which class, which dorm or describe the person. Example: This happened when i was finding for a particular boy who wanted to help me with some matters concerning sports. I catch hold at random of a student and said,
'cikgu nak cari Izzat'.
'Izzat mana cikgu?'
'Izzat ada berapa dalam kelas awak?'
'ada dua cikgu. Cikgu cari yang mana?'
'Hmm.. cikgu cari yang rumah hijau.'
'ooo.. dua dua pun rumah hijau. Satu tinggi dan kurus, main bola sepak, satu pi merentas desa dulu ngan cikgu'
'haa.. yang tinggi kurus itu.'
(-.-)'''' If i were to find for more boys and had to describe it this way.. Gawd knows how my description will be.
Haha~ And you do know my blurness has an immediate effect on this as well, right.. Hahahah!!
lol
could we like paste this guide at every maternity ward in the country?
we'll be doing a public service of sort...
ah tam: walaweh, that has got to be the longest comment i've ever got!
syada: good idea. we really should for the future generation =D
I have another suggestion...
Name your child after a famous person!
It's easy to remember & your children will be famous instantly!
There are 2 Michael Jacksons at school...
How amazing is that?!!
hahaha~~
wow! so one's called michael and the other jackson??
totally dig the idea though! i've got greats ideas already - leonardo, michaelangelo, donatello and raphael. cowabunga dude!
Nope... there are actually two kids who are named "Michael Jackson anak *****".
They are both still young & black.
And I also once met "Mike Tyson" at school too.
wow! for tam's comment. i suggest u write an entry about the same topic as well. :)
well.njb. can i order 1?
hehe
Try Sawittri Shotiwuth Charun.
I always got my teachers raising their eyebrows.
And then came, "Siam ka?"
Hehehe.
sayda, sad to say that my part-time work as a writer is put on an indefinite hold for the time being..jadi xtau la ble baru bleh abes tulis guide ni...
sawi, your name is definitely 1 of a kind...or maybe of A FEW kinds, i dunno but i've never met another sawi ever so yeah, good name =)
aaahhhh.
terase.
fazlin farieza yussuff.
kene sangat.
xde la. nama alin xde panjang sgt. im talking abt ppl yg nama panjang2
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