India

[smithe]

It has meaning so use it if you love it.

[sarah15]

@dreamingoffireflies

I’m from Australia, and [name_f]India[/name_f] doesn’t seem like a strange name to me because I’d say it’s not exactly common but it is a familiar name here. I know a few [name_f]India[/name_f]'s. One of the characters on Neighbours had a baby named [name_f]India[/name_f]. I feel like cultural appropriation doesn’t matter as much here, because we are SO multicultural (well, I’ve never encountered it much in my experience, except maybe in regards to the Aboriginal culture). That’s my two cents anyway. I think you can definitely use it

Thanks! I tend to share your feelings on this. It’s nice to have a fellow Aussie weigh in

[rubylayla]

I think [name_f]India[/name_f] is a great name! It’s not a ‘popular’ name, but it’s also not an unheard of name…think of [name_f]India[/name_f] Hicks. Definitely use it…it’s bold and beautiful and has great meaning for you!

[SparkleNinja18]

I don’t find place names all that pretentious but maybe that’s because I’ve grown up with people named [name_u]Sydney[/name_u], [name_f]Savannah[/name_f], [name_u]Brooklyn[/name_u], etc. They have all mostly been white middle class girls. Some places I’d think were a bit weird. If I met an [name_u]America[/name_u] I’d wonder why any parents would do that to a kid. I think if [name_f]India[/name_f] has that much meaning to you, plus you both like it, then go for it!

[luella_madison]

I seem to have the minority opinion, but it is offensive to me. As someone whose recent [name_f]Indian[/name_f] ancestors were forced into slavery (under another name, indentured servitude, as it was outlawed by then), it baffles me that people think there is not a horrid cultural connotation here. A white child named [name_f]India[/name_f] is a huge flip of the bird to all of the people who suffered during colonialism.

Obviously I cannot give an unbiased opinion, but please don’t become angry with me. It’s a beautiful name undeniably, and if you really do love it, then use it. However, you should review the connotation again and decide if it’s really, truly worth it. Not everyone will find it offensive, and you don’t need to appease a stranger on the Internet, but the differing viewpoint is worth hearing.

(And to other posters, the colonialism part is my opinion. I’m not going to change it and I’m very sorry if you take offense. If you think that a baby name has nothing to do with it, I will politely decide to disagree: OP asked for opinions of both sides. I don’t want to start a war with my comment so just ignore it if you disagree with me.)

Good luck deciding I hope I didn’t come off rude.

[abohemianmind]

[name_m]Don[/name_m]'t pay any attention to anyone who says it’s pretentious or that it’s cultural appropriation. [name_f]India[/name_f] was called Bharat long before it was called [name_f]India[/name_f] and according to my research, most Indians still think of [name_f]India[/name_f] as Bharat. In any case, naming a child after another country is cultural appropriation as much as going to an [name_f]Indian[/name_f] restaurant and eating [name_f]Indian[/name_f] food is - i.e. not at all cultural appropriation. I’m sorry and I don’t mean to be inflammatory but in my experience, people who are offended by such little things are generally oversensitive and ready to be offended by anything (and often are white apologists). And the only names I find pretentious are ones such as [name_f]Queen[/name_f], [name_f]Princess[/name_f], [name_m]Saint[/name_m], etc.

[name_f]India[/name_f] is a very pretty word and has significance for you. I find it hard to believe that any [name_f]Indian[/name_f] would find it offensive that you named your girl [name_f]India[/name_f]. After all, you wouldn’t use the name if you didn’t love it and/or the country. It’s just showing your love and appreciation for the culture. If that’s offensive to some people, well frankly, it’s not your problem.

I’ve got to say, if you already feel your girl is [name_f]India[/name_f], then giving her any other name would be one of the biggest regrets of your life. You’d probably feel a small clench in your gut every time you called her whatever potential name it would be. And she gets a cute, cinema-related nickname to boot - [name_f]Indy[/name_f]. Here’s to hoping she grows up to be a whip-cracking archaeologist!

[emiliana]

I’m an Aussie and I don’t see it as an issue, I also don’t see it as unique either (in my state both [name_f]Indi[/name_f] and [name_u]Indiana[/name_u] are in the top 50). I do know two [name_f]India[/name_f]'s and the only other people I know with “country names” are a [name_f]Chynna[/name_f], [name_f]Savannah[/name_f] and an American [name_u]Sydney[/name_u] and out of them all only [name_f]Chynna[/name_f] seemed weird mainly because of the spelling. The [name_f]India[/name_f]'s I know both get called [name_f]Indi[/name_f]/[name_f]Indie[/name_f]/[name_f]Indie[/name_f] (I’ve never seen it spelt before). My own name is one that I’ve seen culture appropriation arguments about and I’ve never had a problem with it.

[Daphodil]

@tfzolghadr

Ok, there is the issue of cultural appropriation. Essentially, many people choose the name [name_f]India[/name_f] because of the exoticness of [name_f]India[/name_f]. Yet using it is almost using the name, without really having a claim to the culture… and tends to just keep perpetuating the idea of an “exotic” other. Ok, so this is the first argument.

The issues I see are that yes, it does strike me as strange on a middle class white girl. Kind of like a white girl I knew named [name_f]China[/name_f]… who ended up (have you guessed it?) in [name_f]China[/name_f]. It was really, really hard for people to understand why her name was their country. Probably would have worked better if there was a cool story behind it.

The other issue is that, as with all names, you can’t own it’s future… but I think this is especially true of place names. [name_f]Imagine[/name_f] that you had named a kid Beirut right before the Lebanese Civil War, or Damascus before the Syrian Civil War… All of a sudden the place name is all over the news, and not necessarily for positive reasons. With place names, you don’t really know what connotation they will have in the future…

But in the end, it’s up to you to weigh all these conflicting issues…

I agree with this!

[lilievans]

I don’t think it’s pretentious or weird at all. [name_u]Paris[/name_u], [name_f]Ireland[/name_f], [name_f]Vienna[/name_f], and [name_f]Adelaide[/name_f] are all widely accepted place names. I knew a [name_f]Geneva[/name_f] once, too. [name_f]India[/name_f] is special to you, so it’s not like you just randomly chose it (although honestly, even if you had I would still tell you to go for it, because why not?)

If I’m right, there was an [name_f]India[/name_f] in Gone With the Wind.

[cheyenne]

My name is [name_u]Cheyenne[/name_u] and I have never had an issue. My daughter’s name is [name_u]Holland[/name_u] (my family is Dutch and I wanted to honor that side) and we’ve never had an issue with that either. I say [name_f]India[/name_f] is a beautiful name and has meaning to you just as my parents had reason and history behind naming me [name_u]Cheyenne[/name_u] and I had reason and family ties in naming my daughter [name_u]Holland[/name_u].

[boyandgirl]

Here are my two cents worth:

1. I dislike place names
2. People are way too easily offended. I don’t think most people are going to care
3. On the other hand, I would not give my child a potentially controversial name
4. I have heard [name_f]India[/name_f] several times in the US.
5. Almost anything can be used as a name anymore. [name_f]India[/name_f] is quite tame in comparison to many

That’s probably not a lot of help. You probably would never have any issues. I will suggest [name_f]Indie[/name_f]. I find it much fresher.

[minxtruck]

I find the name [name_f]India[/name_f] very British upper crust and not in a good way.

[sarah15]

Wow. Thanks everyone for your comments. I had no idea that this name would polarise people so much!! You have definitely all given me food for thought.

While I did ask the question, and some of you have tried to explain it, I find it hard to understand how the use of this name could be seen as a slap in the face to [name_f]Indian[/name_f] people because of past British colonialism… I mean, why would I, or anyone for that matter, name their child with the intention of offending an entire culture/country full of people? My love for this name stems from my love for the country, it’s people and the wonderful experiences I had there. Not because I have some hidden agenda to show my support for what the British did there in the past. They did it in Australia too, and almost wiped out our indigenous people in the process, but I’m not about to boycott the word or possible name Australia because of that. The past is the past and hopefully history never repeats itself.

Anyway, everyone has and is entitled to their own opinions, and I thank you again for sharing yours with me regarding this topic. It certainly has made for interesting reading!