[name_m]How[/name_m] do you feel about people using names that aren’t their culture? Like an American naming their daughter [name_f]India[/name_f], or a Jew naming their son [name_m]Muhammad[/name_m]? Are there any names that are just off limits?
Thanks 
[name_f]India[/name_f] I find less of an issue with because there is at least a literary connection (it was used in Gone With the Wind for a relatively main character), and because it ranks well within the top 300 names in the UK, I’ve seen a lot of usage of it on people who have little to no heritage connecting the name to themselves. I feel like outside of the UK though, it may be less wearable.
[name_m]Muhammad[/name_m] is a bit of a different scenario imo, as it’s the name of a God, so to me, it’s akin to [name_m]Cohen[/name_m] or [name_u]Messiah[/name_u], which I feel is perhaps more difficult to wear if it’s not part of your religion, as it has no real outside associations.
Hopefully that makes some sense, lol. I know [name_f]India[/name_f]’s a hot button name on the site, though. It’s caused quite a stir in the past.
@leafsgirl44 actually [name_m]Muhammad[/name_m] is name of a prophet not a God - it is shirk to claim as such - Muslims all over the world names their sons [name_m]Abraham[/name_m], İshak, [name_m]Musa[/name_m] etc I think a Musevi/Yahudi naming their son [name_m]Muhammad[/name_m] or Hebrew equal of MHMD isn’t weird but I still think [name_m]Muhammad[/name_m] isn’t a name that will be used in Hebrew community just like [name_u]Isa[/name_u]/[name_u]Messiah[/name_u] as they reject prophecy of these two figures - btw do they accept [name_m]Yahya[/name_m] Yuhannan as a prophet or not?
I’m not religious, and even Biblical names (apart from those honouring family members) are something I’d rather steer clear of when naming my hypothetical kids. I guess that’s more a matter of taste since names like [name_m]Jacob[/name_m] and [name_f]Rachel[/name_f] are pretty much considered common, classic English names, but it doesn’t feel right naming a child after a faith I have no personal connection to. Which is why my tastes tend towards names with a fantasy-esque feel, or those with Norse and Celtic roots, as I’m very interested in fantasy fiction as well as the mythology and folklore of those cultures, so those names have a lot more significance to me.
I’d feel just as weird using a name from a culture I have no connection to on my baby. It’d just seem like a completely random choice, particularly if the child wasn’t born to parents from, or being raised in a culture where that name was common. I’ve studied Japanese before and have a few Japanese friends, but neither I nor my boyfriend are Japanese so we wouldn’t name our daughter Ayane [name_m]Jones[/name_m] or Haruka [name_m]Jones[/name_m] (not the real surname, just an example), as pretty as those names may be.