I've always been fascinated by language. I think it's the greatest invention of the human mind. Lately, I've been interested in learning about the origins of names. I'll share a couple of names in our family and the stories behind them.

Let's start with mum. When she was born her mother was happy that she now had a daughter-she previously only had sons. She promptly gave mum the name Waris(newsworthy). The midwife called her 'Milga'(precious)*. Days later, on her Aqeeqah, my grandfather gave her the name Fatumazahra.

For the first few years of her life, my grandmother spoke mostly Borana. So when her mother would send her to get their brother Abdullahi, she would stand at the edge of the playing fields and shout "'Abdullahi, Kot! Kot!" (come! come!). His playmates baptized him Kotkota, a name that would follow him for the rest of his life.

Some names in the family are geographical. Two of my nieces are named after European cities: Belfast and Berlin. Two cousins are named England. An uncle is named after Somalia, the newly independent country he was born in.

But we don't stop there with the geographical names. Another cousin is named after the continent of Asia, allegedly because her mum thought she had asiatic facial features. Yet another one is named after the entire planet: Ardha(Earth). Probably to emphasize the fact that she was not born on Mars or one one of Jupiter's moons.

*_The Irish surname 'Milligan' sounds similar to my mum's name Milga. However it is closer to the Borana name Molu. Both Milligan and Molu mean 'bald'._