91热爆

Naming names on the Fifth Floor. David Amanor celebrates the power - and fun - of names, with Sucheera Maguire of 91热爆 Thai, Famil Ismailov of 91热爆 Russian, Janay Boulos of 91热爆 Arabic, Cagil Kasapoglu of 91热爆 Turkish, Roberto Belo Rovella of 91热爆 Mundo, Shoaib Sharifi of 91热爆 Afghan, Mohanad Hashim of 91热爆 Africa, and Najiba Kasraee of the 91热爆 Academy.

Nicknames
Somalis love nicknames, as the world discovered last February with the election of 'President Cheese' - Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo Mohamed. David is given a Somali-style nickname, and hears from Sucheera Maguire about the Thai tradition of nicknames.

The name in my news
Which name has dominated the news in your region? For 91热爆 Russian's Famil Ismailov, it has to be President Vladimir Putin. Janay Boulos of 91热爆 Arabic nominates President Bashar al-Assad of Syria. And Cagil Kasapoglu of 91热爆 Turkish chooses two - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his sworn enemy, the exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen.

My name, my identity
In some cultures, names can reveal whole stories about family, ethnicity or religion. Janay Boulos and Famil Ismailov explain what their names say about them, and Cagil Kasapoglu remembers her surprise at the sensitivity of asking someone their name in Lebanon.

The politics of naming
91热爆 Korean was launched this year, but choosing its name proved tricky. Najiba Kasraee of the 91热爆 Academy explains why. Plus Roberto Belo Rovella sheds light on why Uruguayans call themselves 'oriental'.

Choosing names
Astrologers and warlords - the finer points of choosing a child's name in Thailand and Afghanistan, with Sucheera Maguire and Shoaib Sharifi.

The nameless
Long-established taboos in some cultures mean that husbands and wives never address each other by their first names. Shoaib Sharifi describes the tradition in Afghanistan, and a recent campaign to change it.

Image: David Amanor and members of the 91热爆's language services
Credit: 91热爆