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Since many people have asked: the standard pronunciation (at least among the Ms Marvel editorial team) is Ka MAH la (ie كمالة), not COMMA la (like Senator Harris). Different language group; coincidental spelling.
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Kamala--envisioned as a feminized iteration of Kamal--is not a real-real name in Arabic or Urdu; the closest one can get and still be grammatically okay is Kamila, which has a slightly different (though related) meaning. The explanation is: I overthink names.
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(This is also why Nakia has an unusual, non-Turkish name--the backstory, which we never had room to get around to, was that she's named after the nurse who delivered her. And that she+Kamala bonded about their unusual names when they were kids. Again, I overthink.)
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In conclusion, the English transliterations of Kamala Khan (aka Ms Marvel) and Kamala Harris (our Dem VP nominee) may be the same, but they are 2 different names from 2 different language families ( कमल vs كمالة), have different meanings, and are pronounced differently.
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(I think if we at the Ms Marvel launch team had had any inkling the character was going to be a cultural phenomenon, we'd have made things a lot more straightforward. But who had any idea? NOT ME)
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I don't think you're overthinking, that's a cool little tidbit which speaks to a larger backstory for each character, even if it's not all included in the text.
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As someone who has filled entire Moleskine pocket notebooks with backstory info that has NEVER made it onto the page: I adore this anecdote.
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Overthinking For The WIN! Seriously, the joy of the character, the life that is breathed into her, comes from the details. Don't beat yourself up over it, she's BETTER because of stuff like this.
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