In English, it’s names like Mavis, Gertrude, Esther, Mildred, Phyllis, Agnes or Winnifred that we associate with the older fuddy duddy generations of bifocal spectacles and zimmer frames. Arabic is no exception in naming fashion and lends its own idiosyncratic counterparts to this trend. There are a distinct set of names, once popular, that evoke a whince, a grimace or even a sigh of relief from the teenagers of today that they dodged the naming bullet. These classic Granny names are being consigned to the ‘old school’ and the preserve ...