[name_m]Hi[/name_m]! I’m just looking for some suggestions. We are a mixed race couple expecting a baby this [name_f]June[/name_f]. Husband is African-American and really wants our baby to have a traditional, in his words, “black” name because it helps to preserve his culture. On the other hand, I tend to lean towards more [name_f]British[/name_f] names (my heritage). [name_m]Can[/name_m] you please help provide some suggestions that we might like? We aren’t going to find out if we are having a girl or a boy, so we are looking for options for both.
I’d look at historical figures who are important to him whose names are [name_f]British[/name_f] like [name_m]Malcolm[/name_m] or [name_m]Booker[/name_m].
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I agree with @Casea33
Also like [name_m]Desmond[/name_m] too. Some girl names I like are [name_f]Amara[/name_f], [name_f]Nia[/name_f], [name_f]Zola[/name_f], [name_m]Amari[/name_m], and [name_f]Amina[/name_f]. Wish I had more to add but these are my favorites
[name_m]Carver[/name_m]
[name_m]Langston[/name_m]
[name_m]Cullen[/name_m]
[name_m]Terrence[/name_m]
[name_m]Vander[/name_m]
[name_m]Vance[/name_m]
[name_m]Miles[/name_m]
[name_m]Keats[/name_m]
[name_m]Titus[/name_m]
[name_m]Royce[/name_m]
Royer
[name_f]Ruby[/name_f]
[name_f]Brianna[/name_f]
[name_f]Denae[/name_f]
[name_f]Gwenna[/name_f]
Tybith
[name_f]Roshelle[/name_f]
[name_f]Yasmeen[/name_f]
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How about:
Amara
Leah
Maya
Naomi / Noemi
Aaliyah
Eliana
Nia
Zara
Eden
Layla
Nova
Ariana
Jasmine
Ethan
Isaiah
Elijah
Caleb
Lucas
Theo
Jude
Malachi
Jude
Micah
Ezra
Levi
Ziggy
But I don’t know whether you can please both? Hoping so but obv don’t want both to feel like they’ve gone for second choice.
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[name_f]Do[/name_f] you have any specific names you and your husband like? That might make it easier to come up with compromises?
Some general ideas:
[name_f]Maya[/name_f] / [name_f]Maia[/name_f]
[name_f]Nella[/name_f]
[name_f]Amara[/name_f]
[name_f]Naya[/name_f]
[name_f]Amira[/name_f]
[name_f]Leila[/name_f] / [name_f]Layla[/name_f]
[name_f]Esther[/name_f]
[name_f]Malia[/name_f]
[name_m]Leon[/name_m]
[name_m]Terrence[/name_m]
[name_m]Zayne[/name_m]
[name_m]Darrell[/name_m]
[name_m]Shawn[/name_m] / [name_m]Sean[/name_m]
[name_m]Andreas[/name_m]
[name_m]Dante[/name_m]
[name_m]Roman[/name_m]
[name_m]Ajay[/name_m]
Everic
[name_m]Jarrett[/name_m]
Congratulations!
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Good idea! Thank you!
Thank you for the name suggestions, everyone! I’ll write an update here as we get further along in narrowing down some ideas.
Congratulations!
I have a mixed race daughter (I’m White European and hes black British Ugandan descent) therefore was in a similar position to you. I loved a lot of names that he felt was very ‘white’ such as Iris, Clementine, Theodora & Genevieve. I remember struggling to contextualise what he felt was a ‘white name’ or ‘black name’ moving away from usual stereotypical names of each race. I think what helped me was questioning Joseph about what he felt was a black name and what he felt was white. I then zoned in on our heritage. My mother is Ashkenazi Jewish, father is Irish/Scottish and he’s of Ugandan descent. We knew we wanted to choose a name that followed Jewish naming customs but felt inclusive so I just reached our name choices to see how universal they were. We settled on Lilia a name that is used globally and has a very universal feel. I think going for a name that is universal would help massively as it doesn’t feel so European or so exclusive off his African-American identity.
You’ve had lots of lovely suggestions so count any repeats as me being in agreement with the berries
Amara
Ava
Faith
Inaya
Jasmine
Leilani
Laila
Maya
Naomi
Eden
Nova
Rose
Estelle
Olivia
Zelie
Zara
Athena
Daphne
Phoebe
Tara
Abel
Abraham
Ezra
Ezekiel
Elijah
Caspar
Isaiah
Josiah
Moses
Booker
Victor
Emmanuel
Malcolm
Joseph
Samson
Vincent
Nathanael
Solomon
Hugo
Tristan
Malachi
Hope this helps
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Congratulations on your upcoming bundle ! I think there is absolutely some room for compromise or maybe the baby can have one name that you pick that [name_f]Honora[/name_f] your heritage and a middle that represents his , or vice versa
Some names I like off the top of my head are
[name_f]Aaliyah[/name_f]
[name_f]Imani[/name_f]
[name_f]Rochelle[/name_f]
[name_f]Hattie[/name_f]
Adiya
Asmita
[name_f]Hazel[/name_f]
[name_f]Jada[/name_f]
[name_f]Raquel[/name_f]
[name_m]Isaac[/name_m]
[name_m]Emmanuel[/name_m]
[name_m]Michael[/name_m]
[name_m]Benjamin[/name_m]
[name_m]Sean[/name_m]
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Thank you so much! I’ll bring these names forward to see what he thinks. You’re right though, I think we need to chat about each other’s views a bit more to better understand!
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Great ideas! Thank you 
Maybe you can take a look at Nameberry’s lists Black Hero Names[name_f][/name_f] and Black History Names
[name_f][/name_f]A little peak from both lists:
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Audre[/name_f] or [name_f]Audrey[/name_f] (Audre Lorde)
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Betty[/name_f] (Betty Davis)
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Ella[/name_f] (Ella Fitzgerald)
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Harriet[/name_f] (Harriet Tubman)
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Hazel[/name_f] (Hazel Scott)
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Ida[/name_f] (Ida B. Well)
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Josephine[/name_f] (Josephine Baker)
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Octavia[/name_f] (Octavia Butler)
[name_m]Booker[/name_m] (Booker T. Washington)
[name_f][/name_f][name_m]Cassius[/name_m] (Cassius [name_m]Clay[/name_m] aka [name_m]Muhammad[/name_m] Ali)
[name_f][/name_f][name_m]Hendrix[/name_m] (Jimi Hendrix)
[name_f][/name_f][name_m]Hugh[/name_m] or [name_m]Langston[/name_m] (Langston Hughes)
[name_f][/name_f][name_m]Malcolm[/name_m] (Malcolm X)
[name_f][/name_f][name_m]Martin[/name_m] (Martin [name_m]Luther[/name_m] King)
[name_f][/name_f][name_m]Miles[/name_m] (Miles Davis)
[name_f][/name_f][name_m]Otis[/name_m] (Otis Redding)
[name_f][/name_f][name_m]Solomon[/name_m] (Solomon Northup)
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