The names Inaara and Inara both popped up for the first time in the U.S. baby name data in 1998:
| Girls named Inaara | Girls named Inara | |
| 2000 | 14 | 8 |
| 1999 | 13 | 11 |
| 1998 | 28*† | 8* |
| 1997 | . | . |
| 1996 | . | . |
Why?
Because of a royal wedding!
In May of 1998, Prince Karim Aga Khan IV — who had divorced Salimah in 1995 — remarried. His new bride was German attorney and divorcée Gabriele zu Leiningen. (She’d grown up as Gabriele Thyssen*.)
With her second marriage, she became known as Inaara Aga Khan:
On her conversion to Islam, she and the Aga Khan chose for her the Muslim name Inaara, derived from the Arabic word “nur,” meaning “light.”
What are your thoughts on the name Inaara? (Do you like it more or less than Salimah?)
*Her childhood surname came from her stepfather, industrialist Bodo Thyssen, whose interesting first name can be traced back to the Germanic element bod, meaning either “commander” or “messenger.”
Sources:
- Inaara Aga Khan – Wikipedia
- The Aga Khan Marries Princess Gabriele zu Leiningen (1998 press release)
- Bodo – Behind the Name
- Bodo (given name) – Wikipedia
Image: Adapted from Musachohanagakhan (public domain)
I’m thinking it wasn’t May of 1988 when the Prince remarried, if he didn’t divorce until 1995.
Thank you for catching that typo. :)