On Naming the Baby

We've been through many a list of names since we found out we wre pregnant. If we were having a girl it would have been easy. I had at least 10 names that I love and was ready to use. But boy names have been more difficult, especially when you try to find a name that fits in two cultures, not just one.

We've been able to rule out some possibilities based on how they would be viewed or pronounced living in the middle east.

For one, we've ruled out names beginning with or containing a lot of P's. The problem here is that people pronounce P's as B's. Pepsi is Bebsi. Pampers are Bambers. If we named our son Paul, he would be called Ball. Just the other week my language tutor was trying to talk to me about another American she also tutors. She was sure I knew her and she kept telling me her name so I would recognize it and agree that yes, I know her. But I kept hearing her say Bowla.

"What is her name?"

"Bowla."

"Bowla?"

"Bowla."

It took me a while and after getting a little more information on who this person was I finally figured out she was talking about a woman named PAULA.

So we just skipped right on past the P names.

Matthew would be a nice name, but Matt sounds just like the word for dead in Arabic.

We have a friend here named Wes and we really like that name, but everyone here called him Wuss, so he now goes by his middle name.

Do you see the predicament we are in? We could find the perfect name for living in the good 'ol US of A, but since we are here, we want to help our son, not hurt him by giving him a name that could leave him scarred from a childhood living in the Middle East.

Our best option is to find a name that works in both cultures and, in fact, there are many that would work. We just have to think about it a little harder. We are leaning toward a name that is well-known in both Muslim and Christian cultures, English and Arabic languages. Want to try and take a guess?

Of course, everything could change once we see this little guy and decide the name we like just doesn't fit. We will go in prepared with one of our lists and pray that we will come up with the right name before he has to get his passport.