Hello, Berries!! I am wondering if you guys could assist me. Are there any social restrictions on naming children? Should I give my black children Japanese names? Can I give them African or Arabic names without offending other cultures. Please give your opinion. It is much appreciated. Where do you draw the line with names from other cultures? Not expecting, just collecting.
I’m sorta split on this one. First of all, I’m whiter than white, so I may not even be qualified to answer this.
Personally, I can’t see myself using a name from a culture that is extremely different from my own, but I’m also fond of Russian names despite having no Russian blood. However, I would be pretty uncomfortable naming my child [name_u]Kenya[/name_u]. I think it’s a great name and I would love to meet a [name_u]Kenya[/name_u], but my baby will be way too white to pull it off.
On the flip side, I think it’s potentially problematic that names that are historically white are pretty cross-cultural.
I don’t think it should matter, but I would make sure you know the name’s history well enough to stand up for it. I think the biggest thing would be people constantly asking you why you chose the name, like people asking if you had ties to Japan or something if it were a traditional Japanese name and you were very obviously not Japanese.
I kind of deal with a similar problem with [name_f]Elena[/name_f], but I’m pretty sure it’s a self-imposed problem. It seems like such a princessy, beautiful Spanish gem, yet we are not Spanish. That bothered me for years, and I still somewhat wonder if our child could “pull it off”. Plus, our last name is very long and very [name_m]German[/name_m]. [name_m]Even[/name_m] though [name_f]Elena[/name_f] is our top choice, I can’t wrap my brain around this little Spanish name pairing well with our clunky surname. [name_m]Even[/name_m] though it’s a very international name and all over Europe, including Germany (it was #80 in 2013), it still sounds weird to me when followed by the harsh surname. So it’s kind of a double-whammy of questions surrounding these five letters. 
I think that unless it’s a sacred name or a very important name to a community then it’s off limits and cultural appropriation (think along the lines of [name_m]Muhammad[/name_m]). But naming your child a name from another culture (for instance, [name_f]Isabella[/name_f] or [name_f]Anya[/name_f]) isn’t. Otherwise most names would be cultural appropriation.
I know a white [name_f]Naoko[/name_f] with no Japanese heritage at all. Her mother just loves the novel [name_f]Naoko[/name_f]'s Smile. I would have to agree with a previous poster that names that have religious significance are a no go but otherwise you can use names from other cultures bearing in mind points I have made previously about fitting in within your current community e.g. translations into languages your community speak, potential negative associations etc.
I don’t think it should matter, personally. In some cases where the name is quite different, possibly even unheard of, wherever you are, you’d probably get inquiries as to where the name comes from and then if your heritage is such, as people will want to back up your name choice with some kind of story. They’ll just be surprised if it doesn’t have that, not offended. But that goes for anything. People always ask if my daughter’s name is a family name because it’s vintage. So I guess I’m saying, regardless people will ask why you chose a name. However, just by sound alone many people may not even know where a name is from. As long as it’s not a sacred name, I think it’s fair game. Obviously some names may be more accessible than others, pronunciation wise. As it is, many of the names that have been used are of Hebrew origin, Arabic, and tons from all over Europe in the states. I don’t see why branching out into other countries would be somehow wrong. It’s pretty much what we’ve always been doing anyway.
I know a [name_m]Diego[/name_m] and a [name_f]Paloma[/name_f] with zero ties to Spanish/Hispanic cultures. [name_m]Diego[/name_m] throws people off, but then it’s just accepted, and a lot of people don’t know where [name_f]Paloma[/name_f] as a name is from so they don’t even think about it really. They just think it’s a pretty name.
I think it depends. I plan on having an interracial adoption one day, and yes I would be fine with giving my baby a name traditional to their heritage or a “white” baby name. But, if you are white and your child is white (or whatever you’re both the same race), and you live in [name_u]America[/name_u], I think it would be weird to give them a Japanese name. I think you either need to live in the culture, have family in the culture, or adopt a child from that culture. It would just be strange otherwise.
Agreed! This says it perfectly for me.
I agree that it shouldn’t matter, but ‘should’ and ‘does’ aren’t always on the same page. I’m a white woman in [name_u]America[/name_u], and I’m always a little dismayed when I hear someone suggest that what I consider to be an open-minded appreciation for another culture, they consider appropriation of something that makes that culture unique.
I think the pertinent question is how you feel about it, and how you’ll feel about explaining your decision multiple times, and whether you’re prepared to help your child embrace a name that may not fit with society’s preconceptions about what the name means. The fact is that if you choose a name that doesn’t sync up with the expectations of your culture, you will probably encounter some bias, and that bias is not likely to come from someone who’s going to hear the name, hop on nameberry and find out if it was Arabic or African. And if you are white and giving your child a Japanese name, are you prepared to defend your decision to someone whose family was imprisoned in a concentration camp? There are absolutely some touchy issues out there.
There’s also probably a difference in levels of exotic-ness and how strongly a name is tied to a culture in someone else’s mind. If you named your daughter [name_u]Kamali[/name_u], it would probably pass as just another pretty K-name. On the other hand, when I was student teaching, there was a boy in the class named Usam, and the teacher confessed to me that she couldn’t look at him without thinking of Osama bin Laden (this was even before 9-11). I personally would not want my son to be in that situation.
This pretty much sums up how I feel. I can certainly see and understand some of the concerns raised in threads like this; for example, I’d never name my daughter [name_f]Kali[/name_f] or my son [name_m]Mohammed[/name_m]. But I also think some people go a little insane and it becomes a hair-splitting contest with what names and cultures are and aren’t “acceptable.” Who is drawing the lines? Why are [name_f]Persephone[/name_f], [name_f]Ariadne[/name_f], and [name_f]Zoe[/name_f] okay, but [name_f]Paloma[/name_f] and [name_f]Soledad[/name_f] aren’t? And then, too, consider the fact that many of the names which sound borderline bland today were foreign and “exotic” imports once upon a time. ([name_m]Brian[/name_m], [name_u]Ryan[/name_u], [name_u]Shannon[/name_u], [name_f]Colleen[/name_f], etc.)
I think it comes down to “do no harm,” really. [name_m]Jesus[/name_m] and [name_m]Cohen[/name_m] may not be the best idea, but I don’t personally see why naming your Irish daughter the Persian word for star is going to cause any great offense. If handled with care, it can even be a teaching tool to encourage curiosity about and respect for the wider world. In other words, don’t just slap [name_f]Parvati[/name_f] on the birth certificate because it “sounds cool.” Put some thought behind it and be prepared to educate your child about the name’s background so that later, if someone does ask, she can explain it confidently and with pride. Using names such as these comes with a level of responsibility that [name_f]Ashley[/name_f] and [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] don’t necessarily carry, but I don’t see that as a reason to ignore a literal universe of beautiful, meaningful names.
Interesting reading about this very topic:
At the end of the article, she brings up the point that parents are becoming more adventurous and globally-minded every year. What sounds odd to us might not really be that big of a deal to your child’s kindergarten class, whose ears will likely be accustomed to a level of diversity that would’ve been unimaginable two or three decades ago.
I love the name [name_f]India[/name_f] but as I have never been there and have no personal ties to the culture or history, I would not name a child this for cultural appropriation reasons
My opinion is that if it gives you pause, you should immediately cut it out. If you are even a tiny bit concerned, chances are you are wading into being offensive.
For instance, I really like the name [name_f]Miriam[/name_f]. It’s the oldest form of [name_f]Mary[/name_f], very classic, Biblical, all that. But it comes across as a culturally Jewish name and made me go, hmm. I’m not Jewish and don’t plan to convert, so [name_f]Miriam[/name_f] is off the list.
It probably is best to err on the side of caution if you’re truly worried about it, but this is one of those questions that doesn’t have a set-in-concrete answer. I wouldn’t bat an eye at Miriam; I don’t think of it as any more exclusively Jewish than Matthew. Biblical certainly, but it would not even occur to me to wonder if the child was Jewish or not. I think it’s lovely and I wish it were more widely used. But obviously others have different definitions of what is and isn’t acceptable, and that’s totally okay. It comes down to what you’re comfortable with, ultimately.
This is a very controversial issue that has been much discussed, and I’m not going to start it again, but in [name_f]England[/name_f], [name_f]India[/name_f] is so accepted and popular as a normal name that it probably wouldn’t even register as a ‘place name’ unless really thought about. That [name_f]Katie[/name_f] Hopkins interview ages ago, in which she said that she didn’t like place names only to admit that she had a daughter called [name_f]India[/name_f], I can kind of see where she’s coming from with that (even though I think she isn’t a nice person at all) because it just doesn’t register.
I know it’s no excuse, but it’s just a reality that most English people wouldn’t consider it to be cultural appropriation at all until you explain its origins.
In answer to the original question, I think as long as you have a valid reason/have done your research, anything non-offensive is fine.
Oh, I do think it is so lovely, too! I wouldn’t bat an eye at someone else’s [name_f]Miriam[/name_f], if that makes sense. I live in one of the most Orthodox areas in the country, so I might be hypersensitive. What I was trying to drive at is exactly what you said, it comes down to what the parent is comfortable with. If it makes me even a smidge uncomfortable, I know it’s not the right choice. But it well could be for others.