Sunday, September 18, 2016

A Good Name

My name is very common, yet it’s meaning is very obscure. Its pronunciation is altered from the name.

The meaning itself is high. Not high in length but high in nobility, dignity, poise, or any other adjectives you can add onto it. It just means high in self-value/importance. I don’t really find a connection or relate to the meaning. But usually in my country, which is Egypt, spell it differently. Instead of spelling it with an I, it is spelled with a Y. It isn’t a vexatious because it is only one letter and it is spelled only one way in Arabic.  It is also the names of one of the important characters in Islam. He was the cousin of the messenger, Muhammed, my peace be upon him. He then took the place of the messenger. The prefix of the name was called Khalifa, the successor. Not only did his name become kind of an onomatopoeia, he also started his own branch of Islam.

Now, my last name is disputable. It is Abousen. It is a very weird combination of names. I had asked my parents about its origin. So what was stated to me was surprising yet is logically sound. My ancestors were from Sudan, which is right below my nation, Egypt. Abou-Sen means father of teeth (Abou means father and Sen means teeth). My ancestors where business men, more specifically, they were merchants/traders. They would sell what was very expensive at the time and still is quite costly, ivory. They would sell the elephant tusks, which were also nicknamed as elephant teeth. So my ancestors were also nicknamed as the father of tooth.


My first name was more cultural, but my last name is also cultural and is developed through the time, which I find very interesting.

2 comments:

  1. Hey Aly,

    I liked this blog post because your name connects a lot to your religion and culture. Aly the fact that your last name goes all the way back to your ancestors and how they were traded and considered the father of tooth is extremely interesting to me. Aly you said you don't connect to your first name a lot and that shows that you are a humble person since your first name relates to high in self-importance. I just think that it adds to you as the humble and caring person you are.

    Good Job with the post!!!

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  2. Hey Aly,

    It was really interesting to know the roots of your name and the deeper meaning of it, I never knew these things before. I really liked and will always remember your last name by "father of teeth", not only because it is very unique but also because it makes more sense than it normally would once someone would understand the story of how your ancestors were traders of elephant tusks.

    Keep it up with the originality!

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