Zalina Orozobaeva

ESL 100

August 28, 2015

        Gold Born

            My name is Zalina. My mom gave this name. First, she wanted to give me Alina. Coincidentally, her friend was pregnant at the same time as her, and gave birth before my mom. Her friend gave her daughter the name ‘’Alina’’. My mom was very sad that her best friend gave the name to her daughter because she loved this name. Nevertheless, she didn’t want to give me the same name. Then she decided to give me the name Zalina even though she didn’t know what it meant.

            I never liked my name before because I didn’t know the meaning, and in my school where I studied, nobody had the same name. I loved another name Angela (in English Angel). For me this name was softer and more beautiful. I thought if my mom would call me Angel then I would be more gentle and feminine than I actually was.

            When I met my boyfriend after high school, he asked about my name and its meaning. I told him that I didn’t know because it was not a common name in Kyrgyzstan. The next day he told me about the meaning of my name. He said it meant ‘’Gold Born or Aristocratic’’. Its name comes from Arabic, but not Zalina. It was Salina just in my country people say ‘’Zalina’’. Now I don’t complain about my name. It is not so popular, but very easy to remember, and I am glad that my name is Zalina, not Angel or Alina.