Observe Omani culture when naming babies

IT’S ALL IN THE NAME: Names reflect the culture and heritage, and represent the history of a person’s country of origin

When naming newborns, choose names that are in congruence with the Arab tradition, failing which the name will be rejected, the Directorate General of Civil Status at the Royal Oman Police (ROP) has said.

Observe Omani traditions and culture when naming your newborns because names reflect the culture and heritage, and represent the history of a person’s country of origin.

“Omani parents should bear in mind the tradition and culture of the nation and choose names of the babies accordingly,” said a senior official at the Directorate General.

He said there are two dedicated dictionaries for Arabic names and names can be chosen from them.

“We have the ‘Sultan Qaboos Dictionary of Arabic Names’ and ‘ An Arabic Dictionary of Names’, which are very handy when choosing names of babies.”

A special committee for approving names will crosscheck with the dictionaries and approve names. If a name is not found in the dictionary, the committee has the power to reject the same.

While the rule applies to citizens by birth and naturalisation, exceptions have been made for children born out of international marriages, such as those born to an Omani father and a foreigner mother.

“The committee makes exceptions for children born out of marriages, treating them as special cases. It may or may not approve foreign names.”

“The rules don’t apply expatriates,” he added. to

Studies have found that ‘Mohammed’, the name of prophet (May Peace Be Upon Him) and ‘Maryam’ top the list of the most widely used names among Muslims across the world.

However, Abdullah, Ahmed, Mustafa, Ibrahim, Ismail, Nooh, Fahad, Fatma, Khadija, Laila, Bushra, Omar, Laila, Habiba, Reema, Saad, Khaled, Bushra, Hamza, Khalid, Noura, Saleh, Shams, Al Anoud, Asiya, Asad, Haifa, Majid, Raihana, Hassan, Hussain, Zainab, Ummu Kulthuum, Amal and the like are also widely in use.