What’s in a name…

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.”

Some might agree, others might not. I just thought that quoting Shakespeare in the start would be a good way of answering this tag passed to me by Dinky Mind.

I mentioned at the end of the previous post (which was a response to another tag) that this one has a better potential for narcissism. Now that I am typing these lines, I am wondering how loud a trumpet one can blow while describing one’s nicknames. Specially if the list of nicknames is really short.

Let’s see then:

Saadi (سعدی). That’s kinda the default nickname for anyone who has the roots of his or her name in ‘Saad’. Sometimes, for me, Saadi is often suffixed with other things, like Saadi baba (not BABA, but baba. My Nana ji used to call me Saadi baba, and my parents still do occasionally); Saadi bhai (most commonly used by my younger siblings and cousins); and Saadi kay bachay (used by people when I am being annoying).
Man. Another default nickname used by my closest friends, but more frequently used by my elder brother.
Chief/Chiefi. Azam calls me that. He also called me “Bennet” for some time after watching the first season of Heroes.
Manto (منٹو). Yes, Manto. This was my nickname in the second year of FSc when, after studying a short story written by Saadat Hasan Manto in our Urdu textbook, my classfellows started calling me that. And no, this had nothing to do with my writing abilities (which were pretty pathetic back then, and haven’t improved much anyway).
Buddy boy/Motu. Gifts from Aapi!

And that’s it. Told you it was a short list.

But… it doesn’t mean that I am stopping here. While posting and reading comments at Dinky Mind’s original tag-post, I just thought that maybe I could add all those mispronunciations of my name as well to the list of nicknames. Listening to distorted versions of my name used to annoy me once, then it started amusing me, and now I just sigh and keep on repeating my name until the other person gets it right.

Saadaat (سادات). The most common mispronunciation of my name, specially if the mispronouncer (is that a word?) is reading it from its English form. New teachers specially used to pronounce my name this way during the roll call.
Sadiq (صادق). This one is popular among shop attendants. They ask my name while filling out a receipt and then write down Sadiq. I even posted a receipt here on Ulta Seedha, and I again challenge everyone to try and find a “Saadat sahab” written on that piece of paper.
Saad. Some people find it convenient to shorten my name like this. Maybe I need to put more emphasis on the “at” part of my name.
Sajid (ساجد)/Sajad (ساجَد). I have no idea how they come up with these. Specially “Sajad”.
Shahadat (شہادت). This one happened in the 1st Dawn Lifestyles exhibition, where a so-called talent hunt was organized on one of the stalls, and an enthusiastic compere was inviting people on the stage for some singing. I told him my name in that proper, ‘ain-conscious tone, and he in turn screamed into the mike, “Wow! Shahadat!” Luckily for me, he calmed down (though somewhat disappointingly) when I spelled my name in Urdu alphabets for him.

Unlike others, I don’t have any nickname(s) that I wish to keep secret. I guess I have been lucky to have harmless nicknames.

And, yes, feel free to tag yourselves!

31 comments

Farooqk

Aug 23, 2008 at 7:39 pm

wese your actuall name is sa’aadat, no? meaning happiness? or have i got it wrong?

karachiwali

Aug 23, 2008 at 7:53 pm

oh people with ‘uncommon’ names usually have to suffer from being called something completely different. It doesnt annoy me anymore too.

Names « Rambling…

Aug 23, 2008 at 7:55 pm

[...] 23, 2008 at 1:55 pm (Musings in life) Tags: blah I was just reading Saadat’s nicknames when I thought of all the weird names that have been given to me over the years. i do not exactly [...]

Saadat

Aug 23, 2008 at 9:04 pm

Farooqk,
Yep, it’s Sa’aadat (سعادت). (But those are too many a’s.) And yes, it means happiness, along with prosperity, good fortune, and felicity.

karachiwali,
Oh yes, they have to. A few unusual names are easy to pronounce too, but most of them are treated as tongue-twisters.

unaiza nasim

Aug 24, 2008 at 6:44 pm

aadaT NAHIN RAKHA KISI NEY:) good idea for a post!

No One

Aug 24, 2008 at 7:39 pm

hahaha interesting post and tag….for some reason i like manto too…so next time in the future when i am contemplating whether i have spelled your name right…I am just going to take it easy and throw in a Manto…hope thats alright…hahah…

I will do this tag too…its neat…take care…peace

Dinky Mind

Aug 24, 2008 at 9:33 pm

Lol

Nice post, Aadat bhai

Saadat

Aug 25, 2008 at 11:42 am

Everyone,
Thank Dinky Mind for this post. She tagged me.

Unaiza,
Haha! Abhi tak tau kisi nay nahin rakha.

No One,
Glad you liked it, kiddo. And I won’t mind being called Manto, as long as people don’t think that I’m a drunken genius like him. (The genius part won’t bother me, though!)

Dinky Mind,
You had to call me that, didn’t you?

Dinky Mind

Aug 25, 2008 at 12:57 pm

Lol…Ive got this lil cousin Saad, and he used to call himself Taado
You want that name??

Saadat

Aug 25, 2008 at 2:13 pm

Haha! Following his convention then, I should be either Taadato or Taadi, right?

No thanks, I’d prefer Aadat bhai!

Dinky Mind

Aug 25, 2008 at 4:13 pm

Lol, darr gai, Taado bhai

Saadat

Aug 25, 2008 at 5:09 pm

Dinky sister, apnay naam ka sattiya naas itni martaba hotay dekh chuka hon kay ab dar nahin lagta, haan tars zuroor aata hai!

Kamran

Aug 26, 2008 at 1:59 am

Hey, glad you’re back to posting in full flow! (maybe i’m late in realizing that =p) – and I think Saadi is what I’d call you with!

Dinky Mind

Aug 26, 2008 at 3:50 pm

Lol…Phir bhee Saadi has some link with Saadat…kuch to sound aa he jati haina… I wonder why people confuse my name with Maimuna. Chalo, wo bhee samajh aa jati hay ke Umema might be the anagram of Maimuna (although, of course, it’s not). Magar Humera aur Umema kahan se miltay jultay naam hein? *pulls hair*

Saadat

Aug 26, 2008 at 8:15 pm

Kamran,
I won’t really call it “full flow”, buddy. I was just answering two tags that were almost jointly passed to me, hence the quick updates. I am back to my procrastinating self now.

Dinky Mind,
Saadi is a nickname, not a mispronunciation. And if you think about it, Humera for Umema is not that strange; one can be mistaken. Of course, it’s the “repeat performance” that makes us pull our hair out!

By the way, it’s not “woh bhi samajh aa jati hai“, but “woh bhi samajah mein aa jati hai“.

Dinky Mind

Aug 28, 2008 at 9:45 am

Oh God, seems like I have to re-appear in my Urdu exam, and keep on re-appearing till I get a distinction

How about “wo bhee samajh aati hay”? :$

Saadat

Aug 28, 2008 at 11:43 am

LOL! Again, it’s “woh bhi samajh mein aati hai“. Because har cheez samajh “mein” aya karti hai!

Dinky Mind

Aug 28, 2008 at 12:30 pm

Ohhooo…Aa gai samajh ‘mein’

AamirRaz

Sep 6, 2008 at 5:25 pm

See, u got many
I have none

Saadat

Sep 7, 2008 at 6:15 am

AamirRaz,
Well, make one for yourself! My younger bro does that all the time.

AamirRaz

Sep 9, 2008 at 1:46 pm

Well, actually I have one. My younger sister calls me ‘Aami’ or ‘Aamy’ (are they 2?)

Saadat

Sep 13, 2008 at 9:42 am

Aami seems like en extended version of Ammi! But cute, nonetheless.

Ordinary Girl

Sep 14, 2008 at 1:32 am

I have countless nicknames and check out the sitm zareefi(Hmmm…I like the sound of this multi-colored sentence!) that the most widely used one is the one I hate most!

Saadat

Sep 14, 2008 at 4:50 pm

Sitam zareefi, indeed. *innocent look* What is that nickname, by the way?

Ordinary Girl

Sep 14, 2008 at 8:37 pm

Now, why would I tell THAT??

Saadat

Sep 15, 2008 at 6:10 am

Ah well. The innocent look didn’t work. Never mind.

BholiBhali

Sep 16, 2008 at 11:08 am

Wow so many nick names of one person amazing.. Its so annoying 2 be called by a nick one dont feel so comfortable with, and usuly what happend is wohi aik pakka nick rakha jata hai

Saadat

Sep 17, 2008 at 6:05 am

BholiBhali,
Haha! People of this world can be so cruel, can’t they?

hfm

Dec 17, 2008 at 6:56 pm

Your name is so unique!
I’ve not heard of anyone else with your name.
Mashallah.
It has a gorgeous meaning.

I LOL-ed at the variations of your name- makes you wonder what’s in these people’s ears when they hear you say your name.

Saadat

Dec 18, 2008 at 12:15 pm

hfm,
Thank you. And yes, I rarely come across my namesakes, though I have heard about a few.

Names « Leena's Idle Curiosities

Jan 3, 2010 at 1:48 pm

[...] August 23, 2008 Leena S. I was just reading Saadat’s nicknames when I thought of all the weird names that have been given to me over the years. i do not exactly [...]

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