‘Locust’ and ‘Bald’ Apply for Name Change

MAKKAH, 19 November 2006 — If your mother named you “Locust” or “Bald” when you were born, you might apply for a name change, too. Okaz newspaper reported yesterday that approximately 30 young women have applied for name changes at Makkah’s Social Status Department because they were unhappy with the names given to them, such as Jaradah (“Locust”) and Salaa (“Bald”). The ladies say that their parents gave them such names due to tribal traditions of passing on the names of mothers or grandmothers to their children, which implies that the cycle of embarrassing names may have been going on for time immemorial. But it doesn’t have to be: A religious source in Makkah said each individual has the right to have a name of his or her choice.