Ok so I’m really torn with this one. I NEVER like place names. Like I wouldn’t say I hate them but I strongly dislike them, with the exception of a few that I don’t associate with the place such as [name_f]Adelaide[/name_f]. But recently I [name_u]LOVE[/name_u] [name_f]India[/name_f]. It sounds like my style, I think it’s beautiful and exotic and the nn [name_f]Indie[/name_f] is adorable. However, the name is controversial. Is it usable in your opinion? I REALLY don’t want to offend anyone, but I don’t know about the history of the name. I just think its a beautiful name, despite being a place (although the country is pretty amazing too). Is [name_f]India[/name_f] usable?
I would say so!
[name_f]India[/name_f] is a really adorable name!!
Personally I usually prefer there was a connection with the place but I think this works
If you’re still unsure just go for [name_f]Indie[/name_f] itself or [name_u]Indigo[/name_u]
I really like the name [name_f]India[/name_f] because it flows so nicely off the tongue and can be matched sucessfully with many other names. Since there are people now who are named [name_u]America[/name_u] & a multitude of other place names, I don’t understand the controversy though I heatd the argument once.
This is an interesting topic since I read a recent forum post disputing this very name. Personally I like [name_f]India[/name_f] and think [name_f]Indie[/name_f] is an adorable nn. I probably prefer when the namer has a connection to a place/word name - even a tenuous one! Sometimes people can feel deeply connected to a place or culture without ever having visited and I don’t think this is inappropriate as some might describe it.
But I do also think that if you were from [name_f]India[/name_f] you would likely never call your child [name_f]India[/name_f]. [name_m]Just[/name_m] as [name_u]London[/name_u] is a popular name in the US and not in the UK or names like [name_u]Indiana[/name_u] are attractive to me but probably less so to those who live in or near the US state. I imagine Aussies feel similarly about the name [name_u]Sydney[/name_u].
[name_m]Feel[/name_m] free to correct me if I’m wrong but this is purely an instinctive opinion on place names!
I am pretty passionately against “place” names that also verge on cultural appropriation. [name_f]India[/name_f] falls into that boat for me. There was a thread on this a few years back that you might want to check out: Nameberry - Welcome to the Nameberry Forums
I’ve met a handful of girls named [name_f]India[/name_f], and none of them had a problem with their name.
Once upon a time, I really adored the name [name_f]India[/name_f] but was told by many on the internet that it would cause offence and I would be assumed as racist for doing so, so I asked a friend of mine who happened to be from [name_f]India[/name_f] if he thought a white child named [name_f]India[/name_f] seemed racially insensitive.
He asked his mum and dad (who both came over to [name_f]Canada[/name_f] about 17 years ago from [name_f]India[/name_f]) as well what they thought, and I received the same response from all three:
[name_m]Long[/name_m] story short - they thought I was crazy for thinking that I’d be seen as a racist individual for using [name_f]India[/name_f], because it is well known as a name.
So given my experience with it, I’d say you’re fine.
See, I’m torn on it too. I personally think it is okay and no one else that I’ve personally talked to, from various locations (even many of those from [name_f]India[/name_f] itself) and of various backgrounds, thinks there is a problem with it. It’s slightly evident to me that, in my opinion, those worried about the ‘cultural appropriation’ of it aren’t actually from there at all. A huge part of me likes to hope that we as a people can move past difficult histories…not forgetting about them or excusing them though…and create new, beautiful futures for what once was bad. Various peoples have been trying to do this with different words or even names. [name_m]How[/name_m] many Ophelias are there? Juliets? Anyone know a [name_f]Jenna[/name_f]? Part of the beauty of being able to interact with the world is learning about new things and sometimes, you find something that means so much to you that you’d like to bestow that feeling of bliss on your child via their name, even if it is of a different culture or means something not-so-pleasant to someone else…but, alas, a few have very loud voices that scream over the Internet about how wrong that is. Take it with a grain of salt. You would not be a terrible individual for naming or child [name_f]India[/name_f], or even liking the name.
Anything you do is going to offend someone.
Being inoffensive to all is not a reasonable or desirable life goal.
A biblical name might offend an atheist. A Druidic name might offend an evangelical [name_m]Christian[/name_m]. A corny name might offend a snooty person. A sophisticated name might offend a yokel. The word yokel might offend someone. Who friggin’ cares?
[name_f]India[/name_f] is lovely. Me, I also like [name_f]China[/name_f], [name_f]Odessa[/name_f], [name_u]Havana[/name_u], [name_f]Avalon[/name_f], [name_f]Catalina[/name_f], [name_f]Caledonia[/name_f], [name_f]Russia[/name_f], [name_f]Corsica[/name_f], [name_m]Baltimore[/name_m], [name_f]Scotia[/name_f], [name_u]Tangiers[/name_u], [name_m]Wales[/name_m], Norway, [name_u]Sweden[/name_u], [name_f]Argentina[/name_f], [name_m]Taos[/name_m], [name_f]Geneva[/name_f], [name_f]Lucerne[/name_f], [name_f]Arizona[/name_f], [name_m]Vermont[/name_m], [name_m]Moab[/name_m], Tanzania, [name_u]Egypt[/name_u], [name_m]Israel[/name_m], [name_m]Quebec[/name_m], [name_m]Boston[/name_m], and [name_u]Ceylon[/name_u] as well.
[name_u]Leslie[/name_u]
Some friends of mine (one from [name_f]India[/name_f], the other from Bangladesh) said they found it weird, but I wouldn’t say they found it offensive. I personally wouldn’t use it, but that’s probably more to do with the fact I don’t love it enough as a name, and I’m not the biggest fan of country names, but I think it’s okay/usable.