Family claims they are suffering due to reaction to daughter's name: Isis

[Liberal_in_LA]

When you hear the term ISIS, the first thing that probably comes to mind is the terrorist group taking over the Middle East and beheading westerners. Absolutely gruesome stuff. But for a lot of people, they hear ISIS and think, Hey that's my name!

Like one little girl in Sydney, whose parents named her after the ancient Egyptian goddess Isis. Sheridan Leskien says that until a few months ago, people would remark on the unusual beauty of her 8-year-old daughter's name, but now that the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham goes by the same moniker, Isis' name is threatening to tear her family apart.

"Every day there's some sort of reference in the media or brought up in conversation about fighting ISIS, about how ISIS is evil, and I'm worried that she's going to be targeted," Isis' mom shared.

She continued, "It's ruining our family and it's ruining Isis' future. I'm heartbroken for all the families being affected (by Islamic State), the journalists, the different people who are suffering, but my family is suffering too."

While some might call her melodramatic, Leskian says that "friends have abandoned" them, because they're "afraid to be associated with them." Isis' 13-year-old brother Maximus has gotten into fights defending his sister.

http://thestir.cafemom.com/in_the_news/177792/isis_girls_name_terrorist_group

[TlalocW]

1. Those kids better be careful

I remember Isis as being quite an ass-kicker.



TlalocW

[Journeyman]

2. I understand her pain. There was a President who got a lot of grief for his name . . .

people just couldn't understand how someone named Abraham wasn't Jewish.

At first, his national supporters used a different name, but he quickly corrected them: he wasn't "Abram," he was "Abraham," and when he stuck to it -- without modification -- it finally stuck with him.

Some tried to use a diminutive, "Abe," and he went along with it for political expediency, but his friends never called him that. They called him Lincoln, or more often (to give him the respect he strived for throughout his life), Mr. Lincoln.

[kiva]

3. From the article:

People have gone so far as suggesting that they change her name, but the family thinks that's ridiculous. "She's 8 years old, she'll hardly be told what to do at all," Leaskian said. "What people need to do is stop using this beautiful name for this evil group."

Yeah, that is not going to happen...and what exactly does 'she'll hardly be told what to do at all' mean?

[trackfan]

4. When I hear "Isis" the first thing that comes into my head is an Egyptian deity.

Isis and Osiris, and all that.

[MADem]

5. Like being named ALLEGRA before the allergy medication came out.

Such is life...

There's something to be said for Plain Old Names.

Name your kids after their grandparents or great-grandparents--you may get a farty name, but with the exception of the occasional "Ooops, we don't wanna name this baby Adolf" problems, you'll usually get a name that will look good on an ivy-league diploma.

If "friends have abandoned" them, they really need to get some better friends.

[LuvNewcastle]

6. I can sympathize.

I have a French surname that's pronounced quite a bit differently from the way it looks. I can't just tell people my last name; I always have to spell it, too, and that get's very old. The best thing this girl's parents can do is to educate their daughter about the Egyptian goddess Isis so that she can inform others who are taken aback by the name. Tell her not to get mad when people act strangely to her name, just take the opportunity to teach people something. If she gets upset by it and shows her frustration to others, some of the other kids will aggravate her about it. Hopefully she'll develop a sense of humor about it all. It's a fine thing to learn not to take yourself too seriously in life.

[AtomicKitten]

7. Isis opens every episode of Downton Abbey

She's a beauty.

[Fawke Em]

8. Actually, when I hear the name, "Isis," I think of this:

[LuvNewcastle]

10. I think of her, too.

It's sort of disturbing that more people don't think of her when they hear the name. It seems that many people have never even heard of the goddess's name before, even though she's quite prominent in mythology. I know that people aren't as familiar with Egyptian mythology as they are with Greek and Roman mythology, but Isis, Osiris, and Anubis are covered in most standard history textbooks regarding Egyptian history and beliefs. People shouldn't be acting so weird about a girl or a woman named Isis.

[Liberal_in_LA]

12. I'm a kid of the 70s. I think if the TV show

[SoCalDem]

9. Perhaps the child has a middle name they could use

As one who has an unusual name, I always longed to have an ordinary name , so I gave my sons common names and they chose their own nicknames that their friends used ...win win

[Trillo]

11. Then they were not your friends.

'Leskian says that "friends have abandoned" them'.