The writing system Since 1972, Somali has been written using the Roman alphabet, but with the letters following the same order as in Arabic. Sounds peculiar to Somali are represented by two letter combinations or by assigning new values to existing letters.
Somali names Somalis use Islamic personal names followed by their father's and grandfather's names. Women usually keep their own family names on marriage.
Personal name
Family name
Father
Omar Elmi
Dihoud
Mother
Waris Abdi
Duale
Son
Ali Omar
Elmi
Daughter
Roda Omar
Elmi
By the age of five, most children can recite the names of male family members in their father's line for up to seventeen generations.
