My dad shared this with me today. A letter dated 60 years ago that confirms his last name registration as Ahmad.
Naming conventions differ wildly around the world. When he was born, my father was not given a "last name."
Naming conventions differ wildly around the world. When he was born, my father was not given a "last name."
He may have been known as son of Chiragh-ud-din, his father. Or perhaps by the village of his birth, clan, or family occupation. But when he immigrated to England in the early 1960's, he needed a last name. So he picked one.
We've only been Ahmads for 60 years, as of yesterday.
We've only been Ahmads for 60 years, as of yesterday.
In my practice, we deal with a wide variety of naming conventions: Latino conventions with both parents' last names, Chinese with the family name first, transcription variances from non-Roman alphabets, and "last names" that aren't family names.
It feels unpredictable and maybe even inefficient. But there is emphatically a beauty in the diversity of human names, and a certain defiance against reduction to a simple trinomial pattern.
I dig it.
I dig it.
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