Baby Names and Cultural Appropriation

I wanted to see what the Berries thought about a white woman (me) bestowing Arabic names upon her (at least half) white children. Is it a huge, disrespectful no-no? Or is it appreciation and not appropriation? I’m a lover of Arabic names and their beautiful meanings, but I don’t want to offend anyone.

Personally, if it sounded very Arabic, I would stay away, but there are many Arabic names that can work across cultures. For example, I dont think most people would be surprised by [name_f]Alia[/name_f], [name_f]Lila[/name_f], [name_f]Lina[/name_f], [name_f]Zara[/name_f], [name_f]Amira[/name_f], etc. But names like Ishtar, Takira and Nashwa would be harder for a white child to wear. But, it also depends on your region. If you live in an Arabic area, or a place with lots if overlapping cultures, it might cause less problems or may even be easier (on the same line as many immigrants find it easier to give their children names more familiar with the country they have moved to)

I think it’s appreciation and not appropriation. In the end we’re all human and sharing is caring.

I agree with dayjoy that it depends largely on the name and on the region you live in. I also think it never hurts to talk to people within that culture in your area, if possible, and otherwise to just stay generally informed about the name/s and culture. I think it’s something that does require sensitivity, but isn’t inherently a problem.