500 babies named after Zayed in 2004

The number of babies named after Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan has increased dramatically, according to recent statistics from the Health Ministry.

The Preventive Medicine Department at the Ministry of Health finds that the number of babies named after Shaikh Zayed has quadrupled compared with that of previous years. About 500 residents named a child after the late president last year.

According to statistics, the increase was significant during the last two months of 2004.

"We have witnessed a huge increase in the number of parents wanting to name their newborn sons after Shaikh Zayed," said Dr Ali Al Marzooqi, director of the department of Preventive Medicine.

Statistics showed that in 2003, 190 people in the UAE named their sons Zayed, compared with 148 in 2002.

The majority of people who did so were from Abu Dhabi, where 264 people named their child after him in 2004 while 124 people did so in 2003 and 99 in 2002.

Nationalities varied from UAE nationals to Arabs, Pakistanis, Iranians and Bangladeshis.

According to Amnah Mohammad, a UAE national, it is every mother's dream to name a newborn boy after Shaikh Zayed.

"I always wished I had a boy so I could name him after Shaikh Zayed. He was a fatherly figure who looked upon his people as his own children. I have three daughters, one of them named after Her Highness Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak," she said.

For Amnah, naming a child after Shaikh Zayed is a form of tribute.

"He has given us lot, which we cannot pay back. The only way to satisfy our souls is to pay tribute in a manner such as this," she said.

Mariam Esmail, an Omani mother, named her sons after Shaikh Zayed, the late Shaikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum of Dubai and Shaikh Sultan, Shaikh Zayed's father.

"All my children were born in Al Ain. We have been living here for decades and have never felt like foreigners. The rulers of the UAE were always dear to us, and that is why I and my late husband named our children after them," she said.

Abdul Shakoor, a Pakistani who has lived here for 20 years, also named one of his children after Shaikh Zayed. "I have five sons and two daughters. I named one of my sons after Shaikh Zayed to keep his name alive in our family as a token of gratitude for his hospitality," he said.

Mohammad Ameen, a Sri Lankan who embraced Islam a few years ago, had a son last year and named him after Shaikh Zayed.