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A father's letter to an infant daughter: 'I wanted my last name to be a burden' - Macleans.ca

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Before You Go: Elamin Abdelmahmoud's daughter was given a name that was a gift as much as it was a burden—and both were by design

Amna, you have to know: your name was built carefully, with great tenderness. Craft and thought and meditation went into choosing it for you. The whole thing has a flow: Amna Eliot Abdelmahmoud. Amna, because it’s the Arabic word for safe and sound—a promise your mama and I made to you, that we would keep you safe as long as we live. It was, more than anything, a wish writ real after a tragedy: about 11 months before you were born, we tasted the joy of pregnancy until it was cut short by a miscarriage. Our next try, we said, crossing our fingers, would be Amna. Safe. That’s you. Mama picked it

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