Arabic-L:LING:More Boktor responses

[Dilworth B. Parkinson]

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Arabic-L: Tue 11 Jul 2000
Moderator: Dilworth Parkinson <dilworth_parkinson at byu.edu>
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1) Subject: Boktor response

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1)
Date: 11 Jul 2000
From: David Harris <dharris at las-inc.com>
Subject: Boktor response

[These are some responses to David's original question that were sent
directly to him, and which he is reposting here since the subject raised
quite a bit of interest.]

Dear David:

     Hi. I'm an Egyptian doctor. I haven't come across the name `Boktor'
anywhere. However, the word `doktor' in our lanaguge refers to its English
counterpart `doctor'. I am sorry I couldn't help.

Heba Aboul-Enein [haboulenein at hotmail.com]
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Dear Mr. Harris,
I think it might be a coptic name. Being an Egyptian I have met a lot of
Christian (Copt) Egyptian males whose given name is Boktor.
I hope this simple info helps as a clue to help you in your research.
Samia Montasser
Lecturer in Arabic.

Samia S. Montasser [sam231 at gwis2.circ.gwu.edu]
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hello David
This is Hanna Boktor. I am Egyptian. I have got your message through Dr.
Stevens, a sociolinguist here at the American Univeristy in Cairo. Let me
know how I can be of assistance.

Sincerely

HANNA BOKTOR [HBOKTOR at aucegypt.edu]
    -------
My Response to HB:

Greetings from Washington, DC! Thanks for offering to help. I had noticed
that BOKTOR is quite a common name among Egyptian males, and I was curious
as to its origin. One person speculated that it might be a Coptic Christian
name. Is this true? And is it restricted to males or can females also be
named BOKTOR? Also, what is the meaning of the name?

One last thing: I assume your father's name is BOKTOR if your name follows
typical Egyptian naming practices. The alternative would be that BOKTOR is a
surname which is passed from generation to generation as typical Western
family names are. But I'm betting on the former.

Anyway, thanks for offering to help,

David Harris
    -------
HB's follow-up message:

hi David

Greetings from Egypt. Thanks for your interst in the origin of name. I
haven't given it much of a thought. All I know about the name is that it
is name of a coptic saint. Some people told me that it may be somewhow
related to 'victor' but I am not sure of this. It is definitely a
christian name. and it is also restricted to males. It is rare as a
first name.

I have an interesting story about my name as well. When I arrived at the
States in 1997, I was not sure which name to use as a family name. I did
not have one that we pass on from generation to generation. I used my
father' name and then I found out that the American Embassy used my great
grandfather's
name as my last name. As a result, I had two surnames: my father's and my
greatgrandfather's. So my Univeristy ID had Boktor for a last name and
the check issued from the school where I worked had "Fouad" for a last
name. I had to ask friends to confirm to the bank that the two names
belong to the same person; otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to cash
any checks.

hope this information helps.

Hanna
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End of Arabic-L: 11 Jul 2000