Donald Trump is seen on a video screen during the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. His deliberate mispronunciation of Kamala Harris’ first name is racist and a not-so-subtle message about power and control.
I mispronounced my wife’s name on our first date. We connected online so I had only ever seen it in print, but still, when we met for the first time, I botched it. She is Resham — pronounced RAY shum — but I swallowed the first syllable and leaned too boldly into a broad A in the second: ruh SHAHM.
However, I then did what every decent person does with an unfamiliar name and asked, meekly, “Did I get that right?” She gently corrected me, and the rest is history.
I’ve been thinking a lot about that moment as she and I get ready to welcome our first child later this week. We’ve been trying to come up with a name for months now, and though we’ve got a few semifinalists, we’re waiting to see his face before we decide for sure.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
Some of the names we’re considering, like my wife’s, have an Indian derivation. My mother-in-law is from Punjab, and Resham is a family name — her grandfather’s. So Arjuna and Agastya are on the list, as are Samar and Kavi.
But ever since Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the presidential race cleared a path for Kamala Harris to claim the nomination, I’ve........