[name]Do[/name] you guys think of [name]Lionel[/name] as just an [name]African[/name] American name?
Because that has been the response I am getting from different baby reading materials and people I’ve talked to.
What do you think? Would it be weird for a white baby to be named [name]Lionel[/name]? Because until recently I never even would have thought that and would love some feedback.
I definitely do not think that!! To me, [name]Lionel[/name] is a refined gentleman–not race/ethnicity specific. Maybe people are thinking about [name]Lionel[/name] [name]Richie[/name]. I say use it!
That is the strangest question, not for a minute would I think of [name]Lionel[/name] in that way, but then I don’t live in the U.S.
It is a strong British name imo.
I don’t think any name is just an [name]African[/name]-American name, that would imply that there are names that aren’t for certain people. Anyone can be named anything! 
I’m not American either but I think there are names more commonly used BY [name]African[/name] Americans, that’s for sure. [name]Just[/name] like names can be Spanish, Dutch or Chinese. That being said, I don’t think [name]Lionel[/name] is more [name]African[/name] American than white. It seems pretty neutral to me. Names like [name]DeShawn[/name], [name]Tyrell[/name], [name]Malik[/name] and and [name]Jamal[/name] seem pretty [name]African[/name] American to me, not that they CAN’T be used by everyone but they definitely are used [name]WAY[/name] more among black people even in [name]Canada[/name].
I love the name [name]Lionel[/name] and I don’t think it is for just one race but a strong-sounding name for a man/boy of any race!
Okay. Good to hear. I always thought of it as slightly british and very handsome. Kind of vintage cool. But… just so many people said something and then I read it in several baby name books… that I figure I should ask.
I definitely don’t care if it is commonly used by [name]African[/name] Americans… at all. It is just that if it is “stereotypically” [name]African[/name] American, I might try to avoid it… just as I would avoid anything “stereotypically” [fill in blank here]. I just want a name that is fairly free of stereotyping. So most of you think that [name]Lionel[/name] fits that?
The [name]Lionel[/name] [name]Ritchie[/name] thing though is a strong association that I try to put out of my mind often for my love of the name [name]Lionel[/name]. But it doesn’t seem to be quite as strong among people my age (early/mid 20’s) as it is with those my parent’s age (mid-50’s). Is that fair to say?
I am in my mid 40’s so I do think of [name]Lionel[/name] [name]Richie[/name] when I hear the name but I don’t think people in your generation would automatically think of him. By the way, [name]Lionel[/name] [name]Richie[/name] is a good association…I loved his music!
[name]Don[/name]'t worry, kids these days think [name]Nicole[/name] [name]Ritchie[/name], not [name]Lionel[/name].
dude. i never thought of it like that at all.
Not that I have heard of. It reminds me of [name]Lionel[/name] [name]Ritchie[/name] though.
[name]Love[/name] [name]Lionel[/name] [name]Ritchie[/name]!
[name]Love[/name] [name]Lionel[/name] [name]Ritchie[/name]![/quote]
[name]Lionel[/name] [name]Ritchie[/name] gives the name [name]Lionel[/name] a huge cool factor. I think that it’s fun to choose names that are in multiple cultures of naming. Makes the world a bigger, richer place. [name]Love[/name] the way [name]Miles[/name] makes me think of [name]Miles[/name] [name]Davis[/name], too. The way names get to be cool is when they’re used by cool people. On the other hand Yuppie, white bread names aren’t always the coolest names in town!
Great. Thanks guys. [name]Just[/name] what I was hoping to hear.
I think [name]Lionel[/name] is great, and I actually think of the actor [name]Lionel[/name] Barrymore before [name]Lionel[/name] [name]Richie[/name] comes to mind (but I think both are cool…).
I love the [name]Leo[/name] nickname, too!
[name]Lionel[/name] feels very British and sophisticated to me.
Good luck!
[name]Love[/name] [name]Lionel[/name] [name]Ritchie[/name]![/quote]
[name]Lionel[/name] [name]Ritchie[/name] gives the name [name]Lionel[/name] a huge cool factor. I think that it’s fun to choose names that are in multiple cultures of naming. Makes the world a bigger, richer place. [name]Love[/name] the way [name]Miles[/name] makes me think of [name]Miles[/name] [name]Davis[/name], too. The way names get to be cool is when they’re used by cool people. On the other hand Yuppie, white bread names aren’t always the coolest names in town![/quote]
Thanks [name]Susan[/name] even after all these years I still love my son’s name ([name]Miles[/name]) as much if not more than when I named him. [name]Miles[/name] [name]Davis[/name] is a great person to be linked with too. We also have [name]Miles[/name] [name]Franklin[/name] the author.
[name]Love[/name] [name]Lionel[/name] [name]Ritchie[/name]![/quote]
[name]Lionel[/name] [name]Ritchie[/name] gives the name [name]Lionel[/name] a huge cool factor. I think that it’s fun to choose names that are in multiple cultures of naming. Makes the world a bigger, richer place. [name]Love[/name] the way [name]Miles[/name] makes me think of [name]Miles[/name] [name]Davis[/name], too. The way names get to be cool is when they’re used by cool people. On the other hand Yuppie, white bread names aren’t always the coolest names in town![/quote]
Thanks [name]Susan[/name] even after all these years I still love my son’s name ([name]Miles[/name]) as much if not more than when I named him. [name]Miles[/name] [name]Davis[/name] is a great person to be linked with too. We also have [name]Miles[/name] [name]Franklin[/name] the author.[/quote]
My husband loves jazz, so we hear a lot of [name]Miles[/name]. [name]Love[/name] the name [name]Miles[/name] so much. It is a popular name among the cool families who love old houses in Pasadena, [name]CA[/name]. Is it popular where you live?
I’m 24 and I definitely [name]DO[/name] think of [name]Lionel[/name] [name]Richie[/name]. That said, I love the name! I’ve read sources saying that it a stereotypical [name]African[/name] American name, too… I’m actually fairly certain that nameberry used to say that, but I just checked and it doesn’t say that now. When I read that I was surprised because that never would have even occurred to me. [name]Lionel[/name] is would be adorable on a little boy and very handsome on a man. Great name!
Actually, [name]Lyndsay[/name], we’ve never said that about [name]Lionel[/name] on nameberry or in any of our books. (I just checked, going back to The Last Word on First Names) A modern twist on [name]Lionel[/name] is that it’s the name of a white female author, [name]Lionel[/name] Shriver, whose novel The Post-Birthday World was one of my favorites a few years ago!
I actually thought of [name]Lionel[/name] [name]Hampton[/name], another jazz great, before [name]Lionel[/name] [name]Ritchie[/name]. And no, definitely not “only” [name]African[/name]-American (although my parents, from the South, would probably disagree).