Fatoumata and Fatimah
Fatou Samba of "Blackswan" Origin: West African and Arabic Gender: Female Meaning: "To Abstain" Pronunciation: fa-TOO-mah-tah; FA-teem-ah Other Forms: Fatou, Fatuma, Fatma, Fatima, Fatimah, Fatimata, Fatimatou My sister, K-pop lover that she is, was the first one to bring to my attention Fatou Samba, one of the first black members of a K-pop group, and her beautiful name. Fatou is a diminutive of Fatoumata, a version of the Arabic Fatimah, which is popular in French-influenced parts of West Africa. Fatou herself was born in Senegal, but raised in Belgium. Fatimah means "to abstain", and its most famous bearer is a daughter of the Prophet Muhammad and eventual wife of Ali, fourth of the Rightly Guided Caliphs and the first Shia Imam -- Fatimah bint Muhammad. According to Sunni Muslims, she was the youngest of his daughters, while Shia Muslims believe she was the only child who lived to adulthood; either way, Fatimah is regarded as an incredibly important fi...