She’s deeply spiritual in two major religions – and undeniably pretty, too.
Thanks to Sassy for suggesting Fatima as Name of the Day.
Fatima conjures up images of the Middle East.
Where every name has a story
She’s deeply spiritual in two major religions – and undeniably pretty, too.
Thanks to Sassy for suggesting Fatima as Name of the Day.
Fatima conjures up images of the Middle East.
Fatima says
February 25, 2016 at 4:17 PMMy name is Fatima, and I hate it so much. Please don’t give this name to your child! My father is a Pakistani Muslim, and my mother is an Irish Catholic, so my dad decided on giving me an Islamic name. I had depression from the time I was 11-15, and became obese as a result. My name certainly didn’t help me. Even when I was in elementary school, I was relentlessly bullied to the point of going by a different name. My teachers never bothered to learn how to pronounce my name, either. It’s not fun to see the disgusting look on their face when they take attendance on the first day of school! I chose Marina for myself and haven’t looked back since. I live in the US, and the first three letters give a dreadful first impression to any English speaker. Even though I’ve lost weight, people still have this “Fatty Fatima” image of me. The nicknames aren’t any better (Faaati, Tima, etc). And in case you haven’t noticed, FATIMA spells I AM FAT. Go for a more classic and easy to pronounce name… Trust me, it’ll save your child from a lifetime of misery.
appellationmountain says
February 26, 2016 at 11:47 AMMy heart breaks for you, Marina. I’m so glad you found a name that you love, and that feels like it suits you better.
nom says
May 3, 2011 at 8:13 PMlove, love love this name, probably my favorite girls name—and its pronounceable in most languages-important since we tend to move a lot.
but on the off chance my child does her schooling in the US; I’ll probably pass– what if she has a weight problem–kids can be cruel. that said fah-ti is cute nickname to my ears.
Nicole says
November 29, 2010 at 2:15 AMLooking through old entries and I came across this one. I love the name Fatima and always have. We’re religious and half of my family was entirely Muslim and so the name doesn’t strike me as odd and I hardly notice the Fat association since I know so much of the names history. I can understand how people who aren’t used to pronouncing it might cringe away from it but for someone who’s heard it and used it all her life, I think it’s lovely. I’m half Hispanic and half Pakistani and I do call girls who have the name Fatima Fah-ti for short. Not Fatty, but Fah ti. We also use Gordo and Flaco/Flaca as nn’s often and no one minds it.
appellationmountain says
November 29, 2010 at 9:41 AMMy neighbor calls his son Gordo – he’s from Ecuador – so I’m used to that one. Fah ti is a pretty sound, and Fatima is a graceful name, so it is good to hear it is wearable!
Sarah A says
November 30, 2010 at 4:08 PMNicole – one of my best friends is Fatima and some of us call her Fah-ti. She used to be kind of nit-picky about people pronouncing her name (b/c it’s NOT Fa-teema) but now she says it’s better than people giving her a confused blank stare because they’ve never heard it
🙂 I also have a few family members named Fatima. It’s a really beautiful name, especially for those of us as you said have heard it all our lives. I myself am Muslim, half Saudi and half Scots-English and I married a man whose heritage is mostly Scottish, so I’m always on the lookout for good crossover names! Omar is another good one that brothers really well with Fatima. All in all, I think that despite the ‘Fat’ association, Fatima is a great name!
SophieGray says
July 3, 2009 at 2:26 AMYep, sorry – I’m another that just sees ‘FAT’ at the beginning! It’s a bit too unflattering for me.
Kat says
July 2, 2009 at 9:03 PMIs this name related at all to Famke? As in the Dutch actress Famke Janssen, of the X-Men movies?
youcantcallitit says
July 1, 2009 at 3:12 PMI too went to high school with a girl named this! Sadly, her last name was H0. Lucky for her, she was thin as a rail and rather shy.
chaneltara says
June 30, 2009 at 1:49 PMIt’s one I want to like, and in fact I do appreciate it’s history and everything…but I wouldn’t be able to ever get over the Fat- beginning.
Rachel says
June 30, 2009 at 11:00 AMMake that another one who doesn’t like the “Fat-” beginning!
babynamelover says
June 30, 2009 at 7:55 AMI don’t like it 🙂
Sebastiane says
June 29, 2009 at 10:35 PMI went to school with a girl from Spain by this name. It always made me cringe when the other Spanish students would call her Fat or Fati. It was perfectly normal for them because I guess that is the logical nickname in Spanish. Still, if you are an English speaker its not the most appealing. Since I am Catholic, I do tend to associate this name with Our Lady of Fatima v. the wife of Mohammed. I do like its cross-cultural potential even if the sound is rather unappealing to my ears.
Maryam says
January 12, 2013 at 7:34 AMFatima was the daughter of Muhammad (pbuh) not his wife.
Wrenn says
June 30, 2009 at 12:00 AMUnfortunately I can’t get past the “fat” part of Fatima. I think this would be difficult for a middle school aged girl to wear in the US – kids are mean!!
fadime says
June 29, 2009 at 9:26 PMThere is also “Fadime”, the turkish version on Fatima. There are also the nicknames Fadik and Fatos (pronounced Fa-tosh).
Allison says
June 29, 2009 at 8:16 PMIn high school, I knew a Portuguese girl a few years older than me named Fatima; we all pronounced it wrong, FAT-ima instead of Fah-TIMA. The cross-cultural barriers for this name, combined with the f-a-t beginning (yes, I am that superficial) make this name tough to rally for.
appellationmountain says
June 29, 2009 at 8:39 PMOh I hear you, Allison! It is lovely, but a) it reads so strongly Muslim to me, despite my Catholic roots and b) the F-A-T thing does bother me. My neighbor (from Ecuador) calls his son Gordo – fatty. It’s a perfectly normal term of endearment – and his kiddo is actually kind of on the small side – but it still throws me every time I hear it.
JNE says
June 29, 2009 at 8:07 PMFatima is a beautiful name – I love its sound. Every time I meet a Fatima, it strikes me again that it’s such a pretty name. While it’s not a name I’d use for my child (let’s just say I don’t strongly associate with any religion), I love it on others’ kids.