My friend is due with a little girl. The baby’s ethnicity is English/Irish/Dutch and African American. A lot of people are commenting on how she should name her baby a “biracial” name. What girl names do you think work for multi racial people? Does it matter? She’s not interested in stereotypical names.
She mentioned that she likes the names
[name_f]Hazel[/name_f]
[name_f]Lily[/name_f]
[name_f]Greta[/name_f]
[name_u]Evelyn[/name_u]
I’m not sure there is such a thing, but here are some names I’ve heard on black, white and biracial people. Honestly any name they pick will do. My favorite from her list is [name_f]Lily[/name_f] with [name_u]Evelyn[/name_u] being my second favorite.
I can understand where people would be coming from. They are concerned if the name is too “white” she might not be accepted into the black community. Is it right? Of course not! It sounds dumb! But the thoughts are there, and the people who are saying these things might not even realize how racist they sound!
That being said, my niece is due in late [name_f]May[/name_f] and will be biracial. Her name is going to be [name_f]Ella[/name_f] [name_f]Pearl[/name_f]. Honestly, she can name her whatever she wants and I don’t think she should worry so much about a name being biracial. I have had students who are biracial named [name_f]Samantha[/name_f] and [name_m]Charles[/name_m], and others name [name_m]Dante[/name_m] and [name_f]Kanisha[/name_f]. It should really just be her preference and whatever she feels fits her lifestyle and her daughter.
Saaaaame. I think the only African American girls I know (minus like, 2) have ‘white’ names? They’re [name_f]Chrystal[/name_f], [name_u]Jensen[/name_u], [name_f]Jasmine[/name_f], [name_f]Yasmine[/name_f] and [name_f]Kirsty[/name_f].
I think that naming her something both parents love is important, as is with any baby.
My niece and nephews are biracial, my niece’s name is Myia [name_f]Natalie[/name_f] (pronounced my-uh for the first name) which everyone has always loved.
I have to say I had a similar reaction: what is a biracial name? What does that even mean? A good friend of mine has children that are african american, mexican and norwegian mixed and their names are Mi@, Kimber1y, and [name_u]James[/name_u]. Her name is [name_f]Camilla[/name_f], dad is [name_m]Willy[/name_m].
Sounds like they’re looking for a name that’s not too white and not too black: that leaves tons of options because most names don’t have a color to go with them.
I think her name options are lovely. I especially like [name_f]Greta[/name_f] and [name_u]Evelyn[/name_u]. I think she should name her baby whatever name she loves. If she would like to honor heritage, delving a little deeper in to what African American means for them specifically (in many ways it’s a generic term – is that heritage Ethiopian? Angolan? Otherwise very African American associated names are [name_f]Imani[/name_f], [name_f]Shaniqua[/name_f], [name_f]Tamika[/name_f], [name_f]Kiara[/name_f], [name_f]Aaliyah[/name_f]) and finding a name that works for both would help give a better idea.
I’m with those who say’d I don’t even know what a bi-racial names is.
I think if it’s a name that appeals to and is loved by both parents the name is perfect!
What is a biracial name? My cousin is half white, half black, and his name is [name_m]Nathaniel[/name_m] “[name_m]Nate[/name_m]” [name_u]Howard[/name_u] ([name_u]Howard[/name_u] after our grandfather). My other cousin ([name_m]Nate[/name_m]'s little brother) is [name_m]Alexander[/name_m] “[name_u]Alex[/name_u]” I don’t know his middle name,
I agree completely. The fact that people would even suggest giving her a “biracial name” is absolutely ridiculous, in my opinion.
I’m a biracial American girl, btw. As far as I know, nobody ever expected my [name_f]Indian[/name_f]-born mother and white father to come up with a “biracial name.”
Are we possibly being too harsh on the OP?
I think she may have used the wrong phrasing, but all she’s looking for is a name that honors both side’s of her child’s cultural heritage, which is fairly admirable.
Off the top of my head, these are a few very generally multicultural choices, that are not necessarily relevant to your situation but they are certainly not tied to any specific culture which I’m guessing is what you’re looking for?..
[name_f]Laura[/name_f]
[name_f]Maya[/name_f]
[name_f]Suri[/name_f]
[name_f]Anna[/name_f]/[name_f]Ana[/name_f]
[name_f]Lena[/name_f]/[name_f]Lina[/name_f] - even [name_f]Milena[/name_f]
[name_f]Layla[/name_f]
[name_f]Nina[/name_f]
[name_f]Amaya[/name_f]
[name_f]Raina[/name_f]
[name_f]Anita[/name_f]
[name_f]Sara[/name_f]
[name_f]Lucia[/name_f]
For the reccord, I know mixed race (not just black-white) children called: [name_u]Skye[/name_u], [name_f]Audriana[/name_f], [name_f]Asha[/name_f], [name_f]Imani[/name_f], [name_f]Allegra[/name_f], [name_f]Mara[/name_f], [name_f]Winnie[/name_f], [name_f]Anja[/name_f], [name_f]Izabel[/name_f], [name_f]Krista[/name_f], [name_f]Isis[/name_f], [name_u]Quinn[/name_u] and [name_f]Ella[/name_f].
Wh not just a name that they both love instead of worrying about race?
I’m biracial as is my husband and our future kids will be too, if I thought of such things I’d have a headache in an instant.
It does not matter, wow, that actually sounds racist…
I’m half [name_f]Asian[/name_f] half Caucasian and my parents named me [name_f]Diana[/name_f]… I grew up just fine
I’m half Welsh and half African-American, and my parents named me [name_f]Sarah[/name_f]. Some of my cousins are [name_m]Brandon[/name_m], [name_m]Nicholas[/name_m], and [name_f]Savannah[/name_f], and if you didn’t actually know, you’d never be able to guess from their names which side of my family they are from.
OMG…she should pick whatever the hell she wants. [name_f]Hazel[/name_f],[name_f]Lily[/name_f],[name_f]Greta[/name_f],[name_u]Evelyn[/name_u] are all nice.
I was going to say something alone these lines…my husband and I have different nationalities so it’s important we find names that work in both. Obviously if both parents are from the same culture this doesn’t apply. I can’t think of one name that would be bi-racial.
My post wasn’t meant to start a controversy. My friend just wanted outsiders opinions. She and I feel the way all of you do, that there is no such thing as a biracial name. A lot of her family and friends feel otherwise and it was getting her upset. Thanks for the help.
What are these people suggesting are biracial names?! I could tell from your post, OP, that neither of you were particularly interested, but I just can’t comprehend what a biracial name would be? The biracial kids I can think of, off the top of my head, all have fairly normal names:
[name_f]Nicole[/name_f]
[name_f]Trisha[/name_f]
[name_u]Ashley[/name_u]
[name_f]Gabriella[/name_f] (I think)
etc.
Honestly, they’ll get over themselves. As long as your friend and her partner truly love the name they chose for their baby girl, that’s all that matters. I think sometimes people don’t understand how truly insensitive and hurtful they are. If I married someone of another race or nationality than I, I would be eager to use a name that reflects both my heritage and his, and I’d be SO happy to use a Dutch or [name_m]French[/name_m] or Italian or Thai or whatever name, because I truly adore all sorts of names from all sorts of cultures. But if they’re both American, through and through, or both British, or Australian, or whatever nationality, and they just want to use a name they like, then those “friends” are being really dumb, and really racist. I can easily see a little girl of mixed races wearing any of the names you posted. They’re beautiful. [name_f]Lily[/name_f]'s my favorite, but I also love [name_f]Hazel[/name_f], and [name_u]Evelyn[/name_u] and [name_f]Greta[/name_f] are lovely, as well.
What the heck? [name_m]Race[/name_m] should not dictate a child’s name. What even is a “bi-racial” name? [name_m]How[/name_m] ridiculous. And what gives those people the right to tell her that her baby should have a “bi-racial” name?
Tell her to name her daughter whatever she wants because: a. It’s her daughter, and b. [name_m]Race[/name_m] does not matter.