Will this name be pronounced correctly?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it will be pronounced close to correctly but will feel unfamiliar to many Americans without Arab heritage. Whether that matters to you will depend on you.

If you do want an Arabic name that will be more broadly known in the US, there is a whole category of these and you can find lists online. Off the top of my head, these include names like Noor or Nora, Yasmin, Nadia, Lina, Layla, Maya, Amina, Aisha. But there are others. There are a lot of Arab-Americans with Arabic names so there is actually a lot of acceptance of these names in the US. It's just that Zainab is not as common and will not feel familiar to many Americans without Arab heritage.

Good thoughts! Thank you! 😊 We’re also considering Farah, Fatima, Lujain/Lujayn, Maryam, Nour, and Zahra.

Hi- Arab family here. We named our kids Arab names that were easy to say and people still can get them wrong. My husband’s Arab name is mispronounced constantly because of the spelling, so I would also look at the spelling and see if you are open to some of the alternative spellings (Zara, Miriam, Noor). I had Farrah on my list and was told one possible meaning in Arabic was female rat, so vetoed that quickly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know a Zainab and she isn't Arabic. She was always called Zee Zee.

It's a common name among non-Arab Muslims as well, so you'll see (Muslim) Pakistanis, (Muslim) Indians, (Muslim) Nigerians, (Muslim) Somalis, (Muslim) Indonesians, (Muslim) Malaysians, etc. named Zainab.

I believe it's also common for non-Muslim African-Americans to use Arabic names.

[Anonymous]

I went to high school in the NoVa burbs in the mid 80s with a girl named Zainab and no one seemed to have trouble pronouncing her name and that was back when NoVa was not diverse at all. She was very pretty and well liked.

I thought it was a beautiful name then and still do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She will be viewed as a perpetual foreigner/immigrant if you name her Zainab. I say this as someone who was born in the US with an East African name.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but having a name like Jennifer doesn't change that fact. Some people will still assume. Embrace who you are anyway.

- 3nd gen American who is still thought to be foreigner/immigrant because of what i look like

Yes but being asked if you need a translator (based solely on your "foreign" name) before you have even opened your mouth to speak is definitely somewhat insulting. I probably wouldn't have had that experience if my name was Jennifer (to use your example).

Nobody wants to be seen as a perpetual foreigner when they're 100% American.

Im sorry, no

Im the PP. Even though our family has non European ancestry, we all have bland Biblical names (so not Jedidiah.) It's because of our heritage not because we are trying to be Western.

Im not going to post it here but my name is one 3 and 4 year olds know in the U.S.

I often supply the name to receptionists in the Midwest where I live and they immediately ask me to spell it. There are no variations of my name.

See they didn't listen at all. Their experiences have trained them to believe i look like someone who should have an unspellable name. Im not thinking badly of them. Their experiences are their own.

So in their mind if you don't look like a "Jennifer" they will just assume you have picked a Western name like lots of Asians do.

I assume you and I come from different backgrounds based on the experiences that you have spoken about. I am Black, so it is usually assumed that I am American based on my physical appearance. My name is what makes people assume that I am a foreigner.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it will be pronounced close to correctly but will feel unfamiliar to many Americans without Arab heritage. Whether that matters to you will depend on you.

If you do want an Arabic name that will be more broadly known in the US, there is a whole category of these and you can find lists online. Off the top of my head, these include names like Noor or Nora, Yasmin, Nadia, Lina, Layla, Maya, Amina, Aisha. But there are others. There are a lot of Arab-Americans with Arabic names so there is actually a lot of acceptance of these names in the US. It's just that Zainab is not as common and will not feel familiar to many Americans without Arab heritage.

Good thoughts! Thank you! 😊 We’re also considering Farah, Fatima, Lujain/Lujayn, Maryam, Nour, and Zahra.

Lujain, Maryam, Zainab are my favorites from your list. After living in an Arab country for many years, I also love Khadija(h), Abeer, Haneen, Sahar. I think any of these could be pulled off in the US.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Will Zainab be pronounced correctly most of the time? What would you think the pronunciation is if you saw it written down for the first time? It is not common in the area that we live in, but it is important to us to give our children Arabic names. We're trying to find one that will be easy for all Americans to pronounce. Thank you!

Why would you do this?

Seriously shame on you.

I'm baffled by your comment. Are you asking why OP would give her child an Arabic name, or are you asking why she would pick Zainab?

Please feel free to let us all know what you named your children so that we can heap the same judgment and shame onto you.

[Anonymous]

Zay-knob, right? I went to school with one about twenty years ago and IIRC that’s how she pronounced it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it will be pronounced close to correctly but will feel unfamiliar to many Americans without Arab heritage. Whether that matters to you will depend on you.

If you do want an Arabic name that will be more broadly known in the US, there is a whole category of these and you can find lists online. Off the top of my head, these include names like Noor or Nora, Yasmin, Nadia, Lina, Layla, Maya, Amina, Aisha. But there are others. There are a lot of Arab-Americans with Arabic names so there is actually a lot of acceptance of these names in the US. It's just that Zainab is not as common and will not feel familiar to many Americans without Arab heritage.

Good thoughts! Thank you! 😊 We’re also considering Farah, Fatima, Lujain/Lujayn, Maryam, Nour, and Zahra.

Farah is a household name due to Farrah Fawcett and Farrah Abraham. Lujain will feel very familiar to Americans as it is similar to Luella and Luann(e). Maryam is common here (especially among Jews and Christians) but usually spelled Miriam.

[Anonymous]

Zainab looks and sounds very masculine to me. I'm shocked that it's a female name.

[Anonymous]

Zine-ub?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it will be pronounced close to correctly but will feel unfamiliar to many Americans without Arab heritage. Whether that matters to you will depend on you.

If you do want an Arabic name that will be more broadly known in the US, there is a whole category of these and you can find lists online. Off the top of my head, these include names like Noor or Nora, Yasmin, Nadia, Lina, Layla, Maya, Amina, Aisha. But there are others. There are a lot of Arab-Americans with Arabic names so there is actually a lot of acceptance of these names in the US. It's just that Zainab is not as common and will not feel familiar to many Americans without Arab heritage.

Good thoughts! Thank you! 😊 We’re also considering Farah, Fatima, Lujain/Lujayn, Maryam, Nour, and Zahra.

Farah is a household name due to Farrah Fawcett and Farrah Abraham. Lujain will feel very familiar to Americans as it is similar to Luella and Luann(e). Maryam is common here (especially among Jews and Christians) but usually spelled Miriam.

This is my first time seeing the Maryam spelling, but I like it so much more than Miriam. Miriam feels kind of frumpy and uptight. Maryam feels fresh and sweet.

[Anonymous]

I like Zaina and Zayna more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it will be pronounced close to correctly but will feel unfamiliar to many Americans without Arab heritage. Whether that matters to you will depend on you.

If you do want an Arabic name that will be more broadly known in the US, there is a whole category of these and you can find lists online. Off the top of my head, these include names like Noor or Nora, Yasmin, Nadia, Lina, Layla, Maya, Amina, Aisha. But there are others. There are a lot of Arab-Americans with Arabic names so there is actually a lot of acceptance of these names in the US. It's just that Zainab is not as common and will not feel familiar to many Americans without Arab heritage.

Good thoughts! Thank you! 😊 We’re also considering Farah, Fatima, Lujain/Lujayn, Maryam, Nour, and Zahra.

Lujain, Maryam, Zainab are my favorites from your list. After living in an Arab country for many years, I also love Khadija(h), Abeer, Haneen, Sahar. I think any of these could be pulled off in the US.

I love Nour/Noor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know a Zainab and she isn't Arabic. She was always called Zee Zee.

It's a common name among non-Arab Muslims as well, so you'll see (Muslim) Pakistanis, (Muslim) Indians, (Muslim) Nigerians, (Muslim) Somalis, (Muslim) Indonesians, (Muslim) Malaysians, etc. named Zainab.

I believe it's also common for non-Muslim African-Americans to use Arabic names.

Zee Zee was blonde, blue eye, WASP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know a Zainab and she isn't Arabic. She was always called Zee Zee.

It's a common name among non-Arab Muslims as well, so you'll see (Muslim) Pakistanis, (Muslim) Indians, (Muslim) Nigerians, (Muslim) Somalis, (Muslim) Indonesians, (Muslim) Malaysians, etc. named Zainab.

I believe it's also common for non-Muslim African-Americans to use Arabic names.

Zee Zee was blonde, blue eye, WASP.

That's an unusual choice as Zainab is a highly religious Muslim name (more so than many other Arabic names) typically chosen by Shia (a branch of Islam) Muslims to honor Muhammad's granddaughter and signal that the parents are Shiites rather than Sunnis. At the end of the day, anyone can use any name. I do wonder how Zainab was chosen though. It would almost be the female equivalent of WASP parents naming their son Muhammad.