A newborn has been dubbed the Saudi Ivanka after her father, a Saudi national, named her after the US President’s eldest daughter.
Even though being just a couple of weeks old, Saudi Ivanka is making headlines. She was born on April 26 at the Maternity Hospital in the northern city of Arar, and was legally named Ivanka Al Anzi by her father who said he was challenged to give her that name.
The naming made national and regional headlines when a picture of baby Ivanka and her birth certificate started circulating on Saudi social media.
Baby Ivanka and a picture of her birth certificate.
Reportedly, Salem Amer Salem Al Ayashi Al Anzi, the girl’s father, said that he proceeded to legally name his daughter Ivanka after a friend had told him that the name would be rejected by General Administration of Civil Status in Saudi Arabia, which is known to prevent registration of names that are considered blasphemous, impermissible or socially unacceptable.
The picture of her birth certificate divided the country into two groups, those who supported her family’s freedom to name their daughter whatever name they like, and those who just couldn’t accept the name.
The naming of newborns is state-regulated in the Kingdom. In March 2014, Saudi Arabia’s interior ministry banned 50 names, including foreign names and those considered blasphemous.
Names that are banned fall under three categories according to authorities, names that are considered offending to religious sensibilities, names of royal titles, and names that are of non-Arabic or non-Islamic origin.
? نبارك لسالم عامر قدوم مولودته: إيفانكا
"مواطن يسير بدقة نحو رؤية 2030"@Arab_News pic.twitter.com/LIyu7s6YvT— ماجد التريباني (@Majed_Altrabani) May 4, 2017
However, some people saw it as progress, and one Twitter user even congratulated Salem for “walking on the path toward [Saudi Arabia’s] 2030 vision.”
33-year-old Ivanka Trump is current US President Donald Trump’s eldest daughter from his first marriage with former model Ivana Trump. She joined her father’s company back in 2005, and today plays a key role in the White House as the President’s advisor.
