My fiancé and I were talking about baby names, he mentioned that a lot of our names ([name_f]Amy[/name_f], [name_u]Haven[/name_u], [name_f]Mirabel[/name_f], [name_u]Emerson[/name_u], [name_u]August[/name_u], [name_u]River[/name_u]) scream “white people!” - which, you know, makes sense, because we are white people. But he said he thought it was a plus if you can’t tell the kid’s ethnicity/race from looking at the name. So we talked about which of the names we both like are ethnically ambiguous - meaning that if you saw the name you wouldn’t necessarily be surprised when meeting them that they were white, but you wouldn’t be surprised if they weren’t, either. Here’s what we have:
Ha, I don’t think [name_u]Haven[/name_u] or [name_f]Mirabel[/name_f] scream “white people!”, quite the opposite really. They remind me of [name_f]Aretha[/name_f] [name_m]Franklin[/name_m], [name_f]Rosa[/name_f] [name_m]Parks[/name_m], [name_f]Queen[/name_f] [name_f]Latifah[/name_f] (with [name_f]Mirabel[/name_f], because of her character Motormouth [name_f]Maybelle[/name_f] from Hairspray) [name_f]Harriet[/name_f] Tubman etc (especially [name_f]Mirabel[/name_f]). I don’t know how to categorise that.
And with [name_m]Idris[/name_m], I would assume they were black because of [name_m]Idris[/name_m] [name_f]Elba[/name_f]. So, I’d say this is something that’s a matter of opinion to say the very least.
I think the more popular a name is the more ethnically ambigious it is but in the end it very much comes down to the area you live in and the people you know.
If you live around many caucasian people, almost any “normal” name will make you think “white person”, esepcially if you are white yourself. If you live in a more diverse area, it will depend on how many people you know with said names (or similar ones) and what ethnicities they are a.
[name_f]Emma[/name_f], [name_m]Henry[/name_m], [name_m]Liam[/name_m], [name_f]Anna[/name_f] etc. make me think of white people, even if I know none, as I am white and most people around me are caucasian or have names that heavily reflect their ethnicity (as as [name_m]Mohammed[/name_m], [name_m]Esra[/name_m], etc.), if I met a black [name_m]Liam[/name_m], that would then be my ethnic association for “[name_m]Liam[/name_m]”.
I do think that certain names are quite “black” or “white” (or hispanic, etc.), [name_u]Angel[/name_u]‘a, D’[name_f]Lyla[/name_f], etc. don’t make me think “white” while Emmarsyn, Huntah, Fylicity, make me think of children of suburban white moms with too much time on their hands.
Most correctly spelled and not-too-weird names wouldn’t surprise me on any ethnicity though when somebody tells me to picture a [name_m]Felix[/name_m], [name_f]Florence[/name_f] or [name_u]Finn[/name_u], I tend to picture a caucasian kid, though purely because of the area I live in.
I’m glad to hear you think that about [name_f]Mirabel[/name_f]! It’s his #1 choice and one of mine as well, so a serious contender. Maybe if a name is unusual enough (or common enough!) it’s less easy to nail down, though I do think with some trendy-sounding names (like -er occupation names such as [name_u]Porter[/name_u] or [name_u]Sawyer[/name_u]) they can sound super white regardless of how common they are. [name_m]Idris[/name_m] has separate origins in both Arabic and in Welsh, so that’s why I put it on! [name_m]Idris[/name_m] [name_f]Elba[/name_f]'s birth name is actually Idrissa, an African name.
Thanks for the suggestions! We both like [name_m]Isaac[/name_m], too - it means “laughter”! I like [name_u]Micah[/name_u] but he’s not wild about it; he likes [name_m]Eli[/name_m] but I’m not as on board.
@opheliaflora - that all makes sense! I think we’re looking for names that are both on the unusual side (but not too out there) and ethnically ambiguous, because you’re right that most super-common names are given to kids of all backgrounds.
A lot of the names that I like usually fall into this category, because I draw a lot of inspiration from my heritage which is not predominately caucasian.
[name_f]Celeste[/name_f]
[name_f]Lydia[/name_f]
[name_f]Elena[/name_f]
[name_u]Damaris[/name_u]
[name_f]Paloma[/name_f]
[name_f]Susanna[/name_f]/[name_f]Suzana[/name_f]
[name_f]Veronica[/name_f]
[name_f]Beatriz[/name_f]
[name_f]Vanessa[/name_f]
[name_f]Esther[/name_f]
[name_u]Ariel[/name_u]
[name_f]Rosa[/name_f] ([name_f]Rosa[/name_f] is more latina than [name_f]Rose[/name_f])
[name_f]Rosalie[/name_f]
[name_f]Lily[/name_f]
[name_f]Angelica[/name_f]
I think this is incredibly subjective. For example, I know of four Havens: a white male in his early 20s, a white female in her early 20s, a Chinese female in her early teens, and [name_f]Jessica[/name_f] [name_f]Alba[/name_f]'s daughter. You say it’s a white girl’s name, I say it doesn’t indicate a particular sex or ethnicity. I would make assumptions about the ethnicity of someone with a name like Daehyun, Trevonte, [name_f]Solveig[/name_f], or [name_f]Habiba[/name_f], but as a resident of the English-speaking world I generally don’t make assumptions about the ethnicity of someone with a traditional English name or English word name. You say that [name_f]Amy[/name_f] screams “white,” but I’ve met white Amys, black Amys, [name_f]Asian[/name_f] Amys, and mixed race Amys. I also don’t think that there’s anything wrong with giving your child a name that indicates their ethnicity.
[name_f]Lila[/name_f] - Reminds me of my friend [name_f]Leila[/name_f], who is [name_m]Black[/name_m].
[name_f]Naomi[/name_f] - ambiguous.
[name_f]Noelle[/name_f] - reminds me of my friend [name_f]Noelle[/name_f], who is also [name_m]Black[/name_m].
[name_m]Idris[/name_m] - I only know of two people named [name_m]Idris[/name_m], and neither are white.
[name_m]Jonah[/name_m] - I’ve only ever known white [name_m]Jonahs[/name_m].
[name_u]Ari[/name_u] - [name_u]Avi[/name_u] Kaplan is the first thing that comes to mind. Fairly ambiguous, though.
If it helps - I’m mixed and my name is [name_f]Susanna[/name_f]. My mixed siblings are [name_f]Monica[/name_f], [name_f]Ileana[/name_f], [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] and [name_m]Stephen[/name_m]. If you’re looking for something ethnically ambiguous, I’d think the [name_m]New[/name_m] Testament is probably the way to go.
My mixed siblings are [name_f]Monica[/name_f], [name_f]Ileana[/name_f], [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] and [name_m]Stephen[/name_m]. If you’re looking for something ethnically ambiguous, I’d think the [name_m]New[/name_m] Testament is probably the way to go.