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> We don’t have surnames, but instead two given names. ... So I have my dad’s last name ....

Did your dad choose your last name? (Which, I've read, has a specific meaning in Hebrew, but I'm guessing your family isn't Jewish.)






My parents adopted the western practice and gave us his last name, which he doesn’t share with anyone else in his family. It’s Arabic not Hebrew, but I imagine the words are related.

My wife’s last name is in the Domesday book, and they have extensive record of their family’s activities in the U.S.—which is a cool thing you can do when you have surnames! I feel somewhat guilty that the west coast line of the name will die out in favor of a name that has no family significance to anyone, but oh well.


I don't think they're related, but the name is a very big deal in Islam, albeit with a different (and very interesting) etymology.

It’s almost means the English phrase it superficially sounds like lol.



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