Editor’s note: The St. Cloud Times is working to enlighten the debate about refugees and immigrants who make their homes in this community. We are asking readers to submit their questions and we will answer them in a series of stories over the next several months. 

Q: How are Somali children named?

A: We've gotten this question from several readers who wonder why babies with Somali-sounding names listed in the birth announcements don't share the same last name as their parents.

We consulted two sources: Culture Care Connection, an online learning and resource center by the nonprofit Stratis Health to help health care providers understand cultural beliefs of patients in Minnesota; and REL Northwest, one of 10 regional educational laboratories funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences.


We also talked with Ahmed Abdi, a Somali native and Times staff reporter who works as an interpreter.

Here's what we learned:

Somali children are usually given a three-part name. The first name is a chosen name. The middle name traditionally is the first name of the child's father. The last name is the child's paternal grandfather's first name.



Retaining their grandparent's name is a way to maintain their affiliation with the tribe of their birth. By a young age, Somali children can recite their grandparents' names back many generations, Abdi said.

Somalis are often identified by their first and second names, which can be confusing to Americans who are accustomed to using first and last names.

As with American names, the same name can also be spelled in different ways. Mohammed also can be spelled Mohamed or Muhamed, for example.

Abdi said that's sometimes because errors were made on forms when the person arrived in the United States, or because a name written in the Somali language might be translated into English using different letters.

Naming practices do vary among Somalis, so while these are general naming conventions, there are exceptions.

To submit a question to Immigration Fact Check, send an email to or leave a message on the tip line at 320-202-5411. The answers will appear in a series of stories over the next several months.


Read or Share this story: