Naomi Shihab Nye: Hello, my name is Naomi Shehab Nye. My maiden name was simply Naomi Shehab. I had no middle name when I was born, my parents didn't give me one. I was about twelve years old when I realized that Naomi backwards is Imoan. The word Naomi is an old Hebrew name but is used in many countries. My parents pronounced it Naomi and in Spanish it's Noami and in Arabic it's Naimi.

Shehab is an Arabic word that means "shooting star", which I always loved, and Nye is my husband's name, and I like it very much. When we got married I had to make a decision. Was I gonna use his name, keep my own name? So I thought, well since I don't have a middle name, maybe Shehab can become my middle name now.

Nye means "new" or "newcomer". It comes from Scandinavia, where my husband's ancestors came from, Denmark and Norway. So that's my name, Naomi Shehab Nye.