Cultural Appropriation + Names

General Name Discussion
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I know there were probably a million other threads on this, but judging by my [name_u]Dakota[/name_u] thread, cultural appropriation seems to be taken pretty serious.

[name_f]Do[/name_f] you think names like [name_u]Dakota[/name_u], [name_f]India[/name_f], or any other named used by a white person from a minority culture because it looks nice, in anyway bad or cultural appropriation? I’m black and I’m not sure how I would react to a white person with one of my cultural names, but I wouldn’t really get pissy about it. One inrrelevant but interesting thing somebody stated is that there are girls with the name [name_u]James[/name_u], [name_u]Michael[/name_u], or [name_u]Ezra[/name_u] while those names are centuries year old masculine names and nobody bates an eye about it. I found that kinda funny. So I just wanted to ask how you feel about cultural appropriation with names? Would you stray away from it or don’t care?

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[name_m]Hi[/name_m] there.

I wouldn’t personally care. I’m more of a glass half full person, & feel like it’s appreciation & not appropriation. As long as it’s not something specifically sacred or specifically offensive. But I live in the U.S. Which is a melting pot of so many different cultures. Most people don’t even know all of the cultures that they’re bred from. If we never borrowed names from other cultures, it’d be impossible for a lot of people to pick a name, you know?

[name_f]Hope[/name_f] my rambling helps. :slight_smile:

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I think cultural appropriation of names is very real, for example the name [name_m]Kohen[/name_m]. I’m Jewish and in my opinion there are definitely Jewish names that should not be used by people outside the culture and I think the same goes for other cultures as well. I can’t speak to the usability of [name_u]Dakota[/name_u] because I’m not Native and I think every name needs to be evaluated one by one and only by people within that culture.

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I mostly don’t care at all. :crazy_face: Everyone should make their own choices about names and not be bullied into whats “appropriate” especially by people they don’t even know and who don’t know anything about them!

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I personally don’t really care. But I’ve see it come up in so many comments about certain names that honestly I would avoid the names just because I wouldn’t want my kid to read things like that at some point and feel bad about their name or upset that they were given it.

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There are two topics already covering this

But the general consensus seems to be that if it isn’t sacred in another culture, and if that culture isn’t marginalized, it’s OK. I think Native names are generally off limits, due to the fact that Natives have had almost everything stolen from them throughout history. I am not Native, so of course I cannot speak for Native people.

When there are so many names that aren’t at risk of being seen as appropriation, it’s best to just avoid those that are debatable. Worst comes to worst, you could ask someone from the culture what they think.

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hello there!

a couple of my opinions on this subject in terms of naming an actual child, rather than adding a name to a name list:

  • if a name is sacred to a religion or culture, that’s a definite no-go
  • no matter how you or those around you feel, there will always be someone who isn’t comfortable with names taken from other cultures, so the person with the name will most likely hear many opinions
  • everyone automatically assumes that people share the ethnicity of their name, so there’ll be preconceived notions about where the person with the name is from or what they look like
  • you have to consider if the culture is marginalized where you live. It definitely changes with location
  • I’m Jewish, and have very mixed feelings about non-Jews giving Jewish names to their kids. A lot of our ancestors had to change or hide their names so people wouldn’t know that they were Jewish, and we’ve only just been able to embrace our names and wear them proudly, however in certain places, Jewish names can still cause anti-semitism. I guess what I’m leading up to is that if someone who’s not Jewish wants to use a Jewish name, I’d prefer it if they educated themselves about the name and culture, and were respectful about it, realizing that many of us didn’t have the liberty to use these beautiful names ourselves, and some of us still don’t.

so basically, whether a name is okay to use or not really depends on a bunch of different factors. I think it’s best to take things situation by situation. Please keep in mind that this is just my opinion and I don’t speak for all Jewish people and all people in marginalized cultures :slightly_smiling_face:

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There are so many factors that play into this! As a general rule I’d stay away from culturally significant, or sacred names from other cultures that I do not belong to. Some cultures may feel uncomfortable with others using their names, some might love it! There’s no one answer, so definitely seek out the opinions of those within that specific culture the name belongs to. Also remain respectful of the answer that they give you, even if it’s one you didn’t want to hear.

You can still love and appreciate names from other cultures, but I’d definitely check with people who belong to that culture before using it.

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I don’t think choosing a name from another culture is necessarily wrong or bad. Cultural appropriation is a bit of a nebulous concept to apply to names, since names often don’t fall into neat cultural boundaries. Most [name_f]English[/name_f] names aren’t actually [name_f]English[/name_f] in terms of their cultural or linguistic origin (e.g. [name_u]Michael[/name_u] comes from Hebrew and [name_f]Megan[/name_f] comes from Greek via Welsh). And some Western names are used in Japan e.g. [name_f]Naomi[/name_f], [name_u]Maria[/name_u], [name_f]Erika[/name_f].

However, there are certain names that I would avoid. [name_u]Dakota[/name_u] on a white person seems… odd to me, given how much Native Americans were persecuted and had their lands stolen from them by white people. However, it’s just my own opinion and I’m not saying that other people should avoid those names.

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For me [name_u]Dakota[/name_u] seems kind of in the gray area.

For boys it’s listed as name #347 for the US in 2019

For girls #257

So, with that particular name I see it as maybe more mainstreamed then offensively used. I never knew there was some sort of debate with it UNTIL Nameberry forums entered my life.

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I agree with all of what @baya44 said, but I also have a couple further points:

  1. Time
    Something to consider when naming a child is that the child is going to grow up in a world and time different to the one we live in now. 20 or 30 years ago, there wasn’t as much debate over whether names like Dakota etc were problematic or appropriative to use as much as there is contention now. In another 20-30 years, when a child named an “iffy” name now grows up, will there be even more contention? Will they be ashamed of their name? Will they be vilified for it? Maybe not, but also maybe so.

  2. Location
    I think where one lives is a pretty big indication of where one might run into problems in terms of names that can be considered cultural appropriation. If someone grows up and lives in a smaller, homogeneous town with a slightly problematic name, that may not be an issue for them, as they may never run into people who would find it offensive. However, I grew up in a huge, multicultural city. If I had had a name sacred or belonging to another culture, there’s a very good chance my peers from that culture would have been offended or confused by me having that name. Likewise, I think if someone with a more problematic name from a homogeneous location moves to a place with more diversity, they could then begin to encounter issues with their name, which is a problem I personally would not want to saddle a child with.

  3. History
    I live in Canada, where our Indigenous peoples were forced to change their names (especially when they were taken from their families as children and forced into truly reprehensible residential schools), or were forbidden to give names from their cultures to their children. Generations of Indigenous peoples in my country were whitewashed and colonised, specifically through their names, as well as other things. So I would consider taking a name, sacred and beautiful, from a culture that had not been allowed to use their own names for hundreds of years, and giving that name to a child not belonging to that culture an act of appropriation, ignorance, and an affront to the people the name belongs to.

Further reading on Indigenous names for anyone interested:

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Cultural appropriation is a big deal, and it pains me to see how many people “don’t care” or dismiss the notion. Not only are you being incredibly rude and insensitive to others by shrugging your shoulders at their culture and history, you’re also being thoughtless and unloving about choosing a name for your child.

When it comes to names, there should be a lot of thinking and research involved if you want a name from another culture. If it is sacred to a culture or group of people that you don’t belong to, do not use that as a name, period (like [name_u]Bodhi[/name_u], for instance). If it’s offensive to ANYONE, ANYWHERE, do not use that as a name, period (like [name_f]Dixie[/name_f], [name_m]Aryan[/name_m], etc).

Many people come from several different cultures today. As someone in an interracial marriage, there are about seven different cultures between my husband and I. [name_m]Even[/name_m] so, we’re careful not to choose names for our lists from cultures that we have no real connection to anymore, because to be immersed in a culture is to know how others would feel about “outsiders” using their cultural names, and that is something we don’t know, even if we have roots in certain cultures.

All that said, most people don’t care too much if you choose a name traditionally from their culture. We live in a very globalized society and words and names cross the oceans on a regular basis. More names than not are derivations from names from other cultures (just look at all the descriptions on Nameberry as proof).

Cultural appropriation is at its worst when you steal from, misrepresent, then profit from another culture. That is a hard thing to prove when it comes to a name.

Deep self-reflection and examining your personal ethics will help you figure out whether or not you’re okay with taking a name from a culture you have no connection to and using it for a child. Hopefully, the more people that realize the implications, the less cultural appropriation we will have in this world.

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It really depends on your situation, the culture, and the specific name.

[name_f]My[/name_f] area has a lot of Italian and Jamaican-Americans. As a white guy who’s not Italian, most wouldn’t bat an eye at me using [name_m]Giuseppe[/name_m] or [name_f]Isabella[/name_f]. A more Jamaican name might raise a few eyebrows due to my skin colour, though.

If you’re not Jewish, no one would care if you used a more Anglicised name present in the Bible such as [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] or [name_f]Hannah[/name_f]. If you use a name like [name_m]Cohen[/name_m], it could cause problems.

@Scottie491 raises some good points about globalisation. I’d like to add that we’re all slowly merging into one global culture. [name_f]English[/name_f] is the closest to a global lingua franca we’ve ever had. The internet makes it easy for an American and a Thai to communicate, which would’ve been considered crazy only 40 years ago. However, when will cultural lines vanish? It’s hard to say. [name_f]Do[/name_f] you want to risk that?

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I don’t think there should be rules about naming children.

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I think it’s okay to use a name as long as you do your research and are respectful. If a name is sacred or has a specific religious meaning, I think it’s best not to use it. I’m thinking of names like Cohen or Bodhi.

I’m not Jewish myself, but half my SO’s family is Jewish and they have expressed the same opinion to us when they found we were expecting our first child together. My SO and his brothers have Russian variants of Hebrew names and his parents were truly expressing their Jewish identity with their names, to them it felt almost like a victory to be able to give them these names.
My SO’s last name sounds very Jewish, he himself has told me multiple times that he doesn’t want our children to have Hebrew or Yiddish first names because he has experienced some antisemitism because of his name. He’s proud of his name in a sense, even if he isn’t a religious Jew, it’s still a part of his heritage and identity.
I guess what I’m saying is, to Jewish people it’s not just a name, it can be sensitive. And I love Hebrew names, but I also respect my SO’s and his family’s sentiments about this.

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Names have been weaponized against minority cultures - take for example the changing of native american children’s names listed above. I’m also going to echo my own family’s experience’s (I’m Jewish). [name_f]My[/name_f] family changed their names because they were afraid of experiencing antisemitism in the states, as they had just escaped from more violent antisemitism in Europe. It was really radical for one of my cousins to have a Hebrew middle name instead of a fully assimilated secular name and a Hebrew religious name because older generations found it so dangerous.

It hurts to see so many people dismiss this kind of thing as non-existent. Cultural appropriation is real.

I cannot speak to [name_u]Dakota[/name_u], but here are a couple of questions I ask myself before adding a not Hebrew/Yiddish/English name to my list:

  1. Have people from it’s originating culture said anything about others using it? This could be positive or negative! If they say not to use it, this immediately takes it out of consideration for my list.

  2. Is it from a culture that mine has inadvertently or directly oppressed? Ex: I might like a lot of African names but as someone descended from Europeans I have indirectly profited off of imperialism in [name_f]Africa[/name_f]. It’s a bit like rubbing salt into the wound.

  3. [name_f]Do[/name_f] I personally feel like it is “too” connected to a certain culture? Ex: I might love the name [name_m]Miguel[/name_m] but I find it too Spanish for it to work on my potential White-American Jewish child with no connection to south [name_u]America[/name_u] or Spain. Thus it doesn’t go on the list.

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Completely agree. This is great advice.

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It’s not about having rules or laws, and more about your personal ethics and society’s ethical response. If you want to disrespect other people, that’s on you, but know that naming practices are a very sacred practice in some cultures, even if it’s not in yours. Identity is a cherished, complex element of people, even if it’s not for you. If your choice in a name offends a person or cultural group, expect society to respond in a certain way. [name_m]Even[/name_m] if you don’t care about them, why would you do that to your child?

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I have no desire to disrespect people. But one person’s view of what cultural appropriation of names is will vary from another’s. I am not doing anything to my child. I am simply expressing the belief that we cannot control what other people name their children, regardless of how wonderful or offensive those names might be.

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First of all, there are societies that actually do control what people name their children if you do your research. I personally don’t agree with most of the laws, and over the years, restrictions have been lifted in many countries.

Secondly, again I think you’re missing the point of this convo and probably others about cultural appropriation. Some people think that when others try to communicate about how a certain action or choice makes them feel, it is an attempt to control them. That’s not it at all.

It’s not about wanting to control others, but communicating with them so they can be more aware and empathetic. It’s about helping people to learn so that they make better choices in the future and do less harm in the world—a win-win situation for all.

That’s what a good life is all about—continuously caring for others and encouraging them to do the same. If we can all have respectful discussions that open each other’s eyes and teach each other something we didn’t realize before, there would be a lot less cultural appropriation, and a lot less offensiveness, oppression, bullying, fear, etc. Why not work names into a conversation that breeds the same tolerance and love? They’re pretty important aspects of ourselves.

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