Our name is our personal identity. By our name, we are unique and separate from others. Our names are an easy way to recognize a person, and they can be a way to get someone’s attention. According to my grandparents, a person’s name and the meaning of a name can have an impact on their personality. They believed this deeply. There is an old ritual back in my home country: When a young woman becomes pregnant, an older person would name the newborn baby. My people also believe that a religious name can bring good to a baby’s life, so they like to give importance to a religious name. I am a Muslim girl. Afsana is my first name, and it is an Arabic name. The meaning of Afsana is “story” or “fable.” Mimi is my second name, and the meaning of Mimi is “strong opponent.”

I heard an interesting story from my mom about my name. She said when she was pregnant, she had a craving for sweet foods. Her craving was especially for chocolate. In her mind, one name—Mimi—was coming up again and again. Mimi was a famous chocolate’s name in my country, so she decided that if she gave birth to a baby girl, she would give her the name Mimi. In my country, it is not allowed for parents to know the gender of the baby before delivery. My grandmother had already decided on two names for her grandchild, one name for a boy and one for a girl. Although my grandmother didn’t know the gender, either, she chose an Islamic name for a girl—Afsana.

There is a ritual two weeks before delivery, and all the relatives are invited to the ceremony. All my relatives came to visit my mom with beautiful names because it is a rule that all the guests should come with a suggested name. Everyone revealed their names, and my mom also revealed her choice. Among all those names, they selected two names, though one name is enough for one person. Most of the guests liked the name Mimi. But suddenly, they noticed my grandma became sad because nobody chose her favorite name. Then, because my grandma’s happiness was important to everyone, the two names were connected, and the decision was for Afsana Mimi. I love my name. It is a beautiful name.

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Afsana Mimi lives in Ozone Park, New York. She arrived in New York from Bangladesh in April 2019. She speaks Bangla, Hindi, and Urdu. Afsana Mimi loves her class with Donna Grant at CUNY’s City Tech because she says it helps her improve her English language skills. Inspired by a family member who works in the medical field, she has chosen to pursue a career in medicine.