Fatima: The Story Behind My Name

 

When I was younger, I quite honestly despised my name -- more accurately the way it was commonly mispronounced by those around me who did not come from my culture. I hated the way my classmates would make “fat” jokes out of my name from kindergarten to around second grade. It was frustrating to me that even the so-called “American” version of my name was difficult to pronounce for some individuals and that I would have to constantly be correcting them. It’s Fuh-TEE-muh not Fat-uh-muh. I’ve said this exact sentence at least a hundred times. 

I hated the fact that I could never find my name on keychains at souvenir shops, or that I did not know of anyone famous who shared my name. I felt like an outsider to American culture and different than the rest of my classmates. Perhaps the most awkward encounters would be when adults would ask “where I was from,” and I would explain that while my parents immigrated from India, I was born in the United States. It was uncomfortable being singled out at a young age when none of my peers would be. 

The story behind my name has two parts: religion & family. My family is Muslim and they chose to name me after the prophet’s youngest daughter. She was known for being pure, faithful, and fearless in the Quran. I know for a fact that I am not fearless as even a moth makes me scream. Another reason my parents chose the name Fatima was to name me after my grandmother. My name is spelled a bit differently than hers -- hers does not have an “i” in it. 

I do not go by a nickname; however, my family calls me by a shorted version of my name -- “Fati.” I am still not quite sure why the nickname came to by, but my hunch is that they wanted a shorter name to call me or that we had too many variations of my name in the family already. In addition to my grandma sharing my name, I have a cousin and an aunt that do so. I’m quite aware parents picked the most creative name they could for me. I do not mind my nickname as long as it is only my family using it. It feels strange to even have friends call me by something other than the correct way to say my name or the “Americanized” version of it.

 I no longer wish that I had a different name. I enjoy the fact that my name means “captivating” in Arabic and represents a part of my culture. In recent years, I have embraced my culture more rather than being embarrassed by it. A part of that culture is the Indian/Muslim name that my parents blessed me with.


Comments

  1. Zahraa RasheedSeptember 20, 2021 at 1:17 PM

    I feel you on the frustration with people for saying your name wrong. It can be quite difficult to correct people, especially as a kid, but I'm glad that now you've embraced your culture and you no longer feel embarrassed by your name. It's kinda funny that people consider it an uncommon name here in America, since its one of the most common Muslim names out there. Maybe one day they will start carrying your name in souvenir shops, but unfortunately the chances of it being spelled the same way you spell it are still slim.

    ReplyDelete
  2. KaraSeptember 20, 2021 at 1:47 PM

    I really like you explained your frustration for people pronouncing your name wrong. I like how you described where your name was from and the pronunciation for your name. I think it's really cool when your parents name you something that signifies a trait, like for you being fearless. I like how honest you are when you describe how you are scared of moths. I am glad you have grown to like your name and are embracing your culture and name more now. I agree with Zahraa above about being able to find your name in souvenir shops!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Desi Girl

When I was a young child, the only real exposure I had to music were the Bollywood songs my parents would play. These Bollywood songs are my earliest memories of music. I don’t remember many of them now, but my favorite was always Desi Girl from the Bollywood film “Dostana.” I would always excitedly insert the CD (yes I know, the nostalgia) into our car’s player whenever my parents asked what song I wanted to listen to. I had absolutely no clue what the majority of the song was saying -- as it was in Hindi, and I did not speak Hindi yet -- but I loved singing along to the English chorus at the top of my lungs while my parents took numerous videos of me.  To illustrate how much I loved the song, I have the following vivid memory: My father had picked me up from school and I, of course, wanted to listen to Desi Girl . After listening to the song on repeat for the majority of the way back home, the song was suddenly interrupted by my mother calling. She shared that I had won a The Li...
Read more

Eid

  My family from both my mother and father’s side are devout Muslims. In turn, I was raised in a household and in a community full of devout Muslims. We fast during Ramadan, pray 5 times a day, and abstain from eating pork. While these examples are daily occurrences of Muslim “traditions” we follow in our lives, they quite honestly unfaze me because of how normalized they have become in my life. A Muslim “tradition” -- more accurately a holiday -- I enjoy is Eid. From waking up at 6 am due to sheer excitement to rushing to ToysRUs after the mosque prayer to buy new toys as an Eid gift, I grew up loving Eid. It was my version of Christmas since my family does not celebrate “American” holidays.  Muslims actually get two Eids (making it better than Christmas in my personal opinion): one after Ramadan and one around 3 months later the “Ramadan Eid”. While the Ramadan Eid feels like the “bigger one” since it culminates an entire month of fasting, it is meant to be the “lesser” of ...
Read more