Giving things names is an important business. From products to people, names matter a lot. Names speak of values, influences and aspirations. One of the first official acts we perform as parents is naming our babies, and one of the first bits of information we give to people we meet is our name. If you introduce yourself to me as Moonbeam Rainbow-Lovelove, then I’m going to have to file you in my tree-hugging hippie box.
The coolest job in today’s world has to be being a professional “namer”. Yes, it is a real job, kind of like a cross between a rapper and a psycholinguist, and large corporations will pay namers, or naming agencies, anywhere uto $75,000 to come up with just the right name for a product, service or a company. Clients want a name that captures the essence of what they offer.
The names we give our children similarly reflect our values and aspirations. US entertainment mogul, Jay Z, called his daughter Blue Ivy, and then set about unsuccessfully trying to trademark it.
Calling your child Blue Ivy suggests that a high value is placed on individuality (how many Blue Ivys do you know?), brand-consciousness and entrepreneurship (Blue Ivy baby shoes anyone?).
Often, there are naming trends and these indicate major social change. A study published in the International Journal of Middle East Studies used birth records spanning 25 years to explore the relationship between baby names and social change in Iran.
It found that during the time of the Shah (Pahlavi dynasty) naming preferences were relatively skewed in favour of traditional Persian names (Khorsheed) over and above more religious ones (Khadija). But in the last five years of the Pahlavi regime – the run-up to the 1979 Iranian revolution – this trend reversed.
Interestingly, after the revolution the trend stabilised, and by 1988 it reversed again, with Persian names regaining ground. It appears that we don’t just vote with our feet, we also vote with our children’s names.
About five years ago, I looked at a huge data set of Emirati girls’ names going back to 1998. I was interested to see which were most popular and if there had been any changes at the top over time. In the US, for example, there is little continuity in terms of the most popular baby names. They change often, with the Brittanys and Madisons swiftly displaced by Emmas and Olivias.
Looking at the UAE data however, there was no real surprise; Fatima was by far the most popular girls’ name, followed by Mariam and then Aisha. In fact, these names were so popular that they accounted for more than 15 per cent of the entire sample. This is not surprising considering that all three names have profound religious and cultural significance in the UAE and the Muslim world as a whole. But the continuing popularity – and exact same ranking – is worth noting. Fatima was number 1 in 1998 and she was still number 1 in 2010. Mariam and Ayesha have also remained number two and three respectively.
Recently, I decided to have another peek at the data to see if the Fatima index (the number of Fatimas in the population) had changed even a bit in the past five years. It hadn’t. The situation remained the same as in 2010, which was the same as in 1998.
Emirati girls are still mostly being named Fatima, Mariam and Ayesha, with various spellings in the English version but, typically with just one spelling in Arabic.
In spite of the great developments and massive social changes that have taken place across the UAE over the past few decades, the names Emirati families give to their babies has remained incredibly stable.
That said, in the online world at least, many Fatimas have now become Fatoom or Fa6oom, seeking the individual monikers so often required by cyber society.
Justin Thomas is an associate professor of psychology at Zayed University and author of Psychological Well-Being in the Gulf States
On Twitter: @DrJustinThomas
ASIAN RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP 2024
Results
Hong Kong 52-5 UAE
South Korea 55-5 Malaysia
Malaysia 6-70 Hong Kong
UAE 36-32 South Korea
Fixtures
Friday, June 21, 7.30pm kick-off: UAE v Malaysia
At The Sevens, Dubai (admission is free).
Saturday: Hong Kong v South Korea
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
Developer: Sucker Punch Productions
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Console: PlayStation 2 to 5
Rating: 5/5
The Written World: How Literature Shaped History
Martin Puchner
Granta
Civil War
Director: Alex Garland
Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Cailee Spaeny, Wagner Moura, Nick Offerman
Rating: 4/5
'Brazen'
Director:+Monika Mitchell
Starring:+Alyssa Milano, Sam Page, Colleen Wheeler
Rating: 3/5
'O'
Author: Zeina Hashem Beck
Pages: 112
Publisher: Penguin Books
Available: Now
Porsche Macan T: The Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 265hp from 5,000-6,500rpm
Torque: 400Nm from 1,800-4,500rpm
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto
Speed: 0-100kph in 6.2sec
Top speed: 232kph
Fuel consumption: 10.7L/100km
On sale: May or June
Price: From Dh259,900
Difference between fractional ownership and timeshare
Although similar in its appearance, the concept of a fractional title deed is unlike that of a timeshare, which usually involves multiple investors buying “time” in a property whereby the owner has the right to occupation for a specified period of time in any year, as opposed to the actual real estate, said John Peacock, Head of Indirect Tax and Conveyancing, BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates, a law firm.
Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire
Director: Zack Snyder
Stars: Sofia Boutella, Djimon Hounsou, Ed Skrein, Michiel Huisman, Charlie Hunnam
Rating: 2/5
Tomb Raider I–III Remastered
Developer: Aspyr
Publisher: Aspyr
Console: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, PC and Xbox series X/S
Rating: 3/5
The specs: 2019 BMW i8 Roadster
Price, base: Dh708,750
Engine: 1.5L three-cylinder petrol, plus 11.6 kWh lithium-ion battery
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power: 374hp (total)
Torque: 570Nm (total)
Fuel economy, combined: 2.0L / 100km
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
Confirmed bouts (more to be added)
Cory Sandhagen v Umar Nurmagomedov
Nick Diaz v Vicente Luque
Michael Chiesa v Tony Ferguson
Deiveson Figueiredo v Marlon Vera
Mackenzie Dern v Loopy Godinez
Tickets for the August 3 Fight Night, held in partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi, went on sale earlier this month, through www.etihadarena.ae and www.ticketmaster.ae.
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
TWISTERS
Director:+Lee+Isaac+Chung
Starring:+Glen+Powell,+Daisy+Edgar-Jones,+Anthony+Ramos
Rating:+2.5/5
THE BIO
Favourite author - Paulo Coelho
Favourite holiday destination - Cuba
New York Times or Jordan Times? NYT is a school and JT was my practice field
Role model - My Grandfather
Dream interviewee - Che Guevara
Jebel Ali Dragons 26 Bahrain 23
Dragons
Tries: Hayes, Richards, Cooper
Cons: Love
Pens: Love 3
Bahrain
Tries: Kenny, Crombie, Tantoh
Cons: Phillips
Pens: Phillips 2
Dengue fever symptoms
- High fever
- Intense pain behind your eyes
- Severe headache
- Muscle and joint pains
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Swollen glands
- Rash
If symptoms occur, they usually last for two-seven days