[name_m]How[/name_m] do we feel about [name_m]Cristiano[/name_m] on a fully-white (we’re talking pasty-white here!) little boy? We’re talking an English/[name_m]German[/name_m] white-as-wedding-silk here, who burns in 15 seconds at the beach and peels back to pasty white a week later. There is (virtually) no tanning involved. There is no way a little boy of mine would ever be mistaken for Hispanic, Portuguese, Italian, or anything even darker. He’ll very likely be blond haired and blue eyed. Could [name_m]Cristiano[/name_m] ever work on a little boy with that coloring? I don’t have a problem using a name not from my nationality, but is a blond-haired, blue-eyed [name_m]Cristiano[/name_m] just too jarring?
I’ve had a crush on [name_m]Cristiano[/name_m] for what seems like a really long time, and I love that it would honor both my faith and my favorite uncle (who is a [name_u]Chris[/name_u]), and I could get to the elusive [name_m]Ian[/name_m], which I haven’t been able to make work yet (which would also honor my dad, brother, and grandfather!), but how usable is it?
[name_m]Christian[/name_m] seems like the perfect solution, but I’m just not feeling it lately. [name_m]Cristian[/name_m] might be a happy medium, but it doesn’t seem to have the perks of either [name_m]Cristiano[/name_m] or [name_m]Christian[/name_m] for me.
[name_m]How[/name_m] does [name_m]Cristiano[/name_m] fit in with the names in my signature? Would [name_m]Cristian[/name_m] or [name_m]Christian[/name_m] fit any better?
First of all, there’s nothing wrong with borrowing names from other cultures (from my perspective). Obviously, some borrowing is more culturally acceptable, at least in the US, but for the most part anything goes.
Secondly, keep in mind that all nationalities have varying shades of skin, and because there is no such thing as a “pure” culture (due to intermarriage and war and whatnot) there is a wide range of skin tones and hair colors.
Using my family as an example… my heritage is partially Lebanese. I look very much like one would expect someone with middle-eastern roots to look, but my brother has blonde hair and blue eyes. Both his hair and his eyes are recessive genes, which means that you need to have an ancestor on BOTH sides of the family with those traits in order to get them. And one of my “uncles” (I think he’s technically my mom’s cousin…) from the Lebanese side of the family has flaming red hair! That too is a recessive gene which must come from both parents-- and while his mom’s heritage was mostly Scottish, his father’s background was completely from Lebanon/Syria! The family joke is that some viking must have gotten REALLY lost during one of their raids
I know more than a few blonde-haired, blue-eyed Italian girls (one of them my cousin, who is also part-Lebanese!), and you would never know by looking at him that my husband is part Spanish-- while he has dark hair and brown eyes, his skin is so light that he practically glows in the dark and he gets sunburns just from sitting in the car.
… I guess what I’m saying is, I don’t think that anyone will even give a second thought to your use of [name_m]Cristiano[/name_m]. I know that I certainly haven’t <3
I’m certain there are a few pasty white little Cristianos running around N. [name_f]Italy[/name_f], Italian-speaking portions of Switzerland, and possibly into Southern Germany.
Thanks, ladies. I’m not opposed to using names from other cultures (I already have [name_f]Eleni[/name_f], [name_f]Giovanna[/name_f], and [name_m]Boaz[/name_m] on my list, and I’m not Greek, Italian, or Hebrew)–I just was afraid it’d come across as jarringly wrong. I love names from other cultures–and I’d love to have a small brood of children with hard-core Polish names, for example!–but I’m just not sure where to draw the line. I do like the idea of [name_f]Eleni[/name_f] and [name_m]Cristiano[/name_m] as siblings, though, or [name_u]Everett[/name_u] and [name_m]Cristiano[/name_m]…
I think it’s fine. However, if you go to Europe and have a white son called [name_m]Cristiano[/name_m] people will believe you’re a huge [name_m]Cristiano[/name_m] [name_m]Ronaldo[/name_m] fan. But I like it. I like O-endings :D!
[name_m]Christiano[/name_m] is certainly swoon worthy. I love it and think you shouldn’t hesitate to use it! [name_u]America[/name_u] is a melting pot, after all. African-Americans don’t use [name_m]JUST[/name_m] African names, Mexican-Americans don’t use [name_m]JUST[/name_m] Mexican names, why should you have to be restricted to names from your own culture?
I also think of [name_m]Cristiano[/name_m] [name_m]Romano[/name_m], but it is a nice name. And I have said this here before: not all Latinos have dark eyes and skin. My kids are Latino like their blue-eyed father, and they are fair-skinned with light brown hair like me (not Latina).
I also think of [name_m]Cristiano[/name_m] [name_m]Ronaldo[/name_m], haha. That’s where I first came across it, but that’s not why I love it, and why I would use it. I wonder if most Americans would think I would be naming my son after the footballer, too, if I ever used it?
I’m also considering some other international [name_m]Christian[/name_m] variants, like the Romanian [name_m]Cristian[/name_m], or the Scandinavian [name_u]Kristian[/name_u], although I’m not sure I like either better than [name_m]Cristiano[/name_m]…
I think of [name_m]Cristiano[/name_m] [name_m]Ronaldo[/name_m] too. I really like [name_u]Kristian[/name_u] but there is a Scottish Footballer with this name although he goes by [name_u]Kris[/name_u].
