When the reclusive first lady of Turkmenistan recently appeared in a photo-op for the first time, it sparked some social media chatter among Central Asia watchers.
It was not just this sighting of Ogulgerek Berdymukhamedova attracting attention, but also her name.
Translated from the Turkmen, Ogulgerek means “son needed.”
Similar names are not uncommon in Central Asia, where parents have traditionally prized the birth of boys over girls, because females will eventually leave the family to get married and join their husband’s household.
Such a name bestowed on a girl expresses the parent’s desire for the next-born to be a boy.
In Kazakhstan, one often encounters women called Ulbolsyn, “let it be a son,” Ulzhalgas, “let it continue with a son,” Ultuar, “son offspring,” or simply Ulbobek, “baby son.”
As well as expressing wishes about the sex of future children, parents sometimes use the naming process to voice a heartfelt cry for the survival of their newborn, if previous children have died.
In Kazakhstan, the boy’s name Tolegen, “paid,” suggests the parents have paid their debt and desperately hope the boy will live. Zheter, “enough,” states bluntly that they have lost enough infants already and yearn to keep this one.
Another way of warding off the evil eye is to choose a name like Yeleusiz, meaning “unnoticeable” and implying that the infant is not worthy of attention from the forces that took the life of a previous child, or Yelemes, “let [the child] be ignored.”
Then there is the name Arman, “dream,” traditionally given to boys whose father died before they were born.
The casual question “what’s in a name?” certainly carries extra baggage in Central Asia, where parents are not averse to evoking divine intervention to try and guarantee the survival or sex of their offspring.
-Joanna Lillis
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