Um, the majority of people in [name]India[/name] don’t practice Islam. They’re Hindus. The taboo thing with [name]India[/name] has to do with the colonization of [name]India[/name] (ie, the British basically taking it over and then using the name on their kids).
I really like the name [name]Mara[/name], but it means “bitter”. I still think I would consider it regardless of the negative meaning, but still. I’d feel bad giving that name to my daughter.
This one wouldn’t be as much offensive as it would be stupid. Malheureuse (or the male form ‘Malheureux’) is one of my favourite words and whenever I say it out loud, I think of what a great girls name it would be (especially with the nickname “[name]Mal[/name]”). However, naming a child “miserable” is too much of a stretch for me 
I like the name [name]Jezebel[/name], but like others said, it has evil connections, so I’ll probably never use it. Same goes for [name]Delilah[/name].
My daughter’s name is [name]Pandora[/name] [name]Hope[/name]. I call her Panda, Panda bear, and Panda-roo . I have gotten compliments and criticism… I can see it either way but as a parent I will raise her to be proud of her nontraditional name and own it. Originally her name was not intended to be linked to the myth but I just could not find a more fitting middle name <3 it was perfect (to me)
I like Nyani for a girl, but it means baboon in Swahili. So probably not the best choice.
[name]One[/name] name:
[name]Desdemona[/name]
It’s a lovely sound, but I can’t use it knowing she was killed in the end, even though she was innocent.
I guess I am a bit naive with most of these. Being no religious, I don’t get most of the negative connotations with [name]Jezebel[/name], [name]Delilah[/name], etc. lucifer, I get.
And I guess I’ve never read this book with [name]Lolita[/name], cause I never would have gotten that one.
I have the opposite problem, in that being non-religious, not sure if I would want to go with some of the names I really like such as [name]Noah[/name], [name]Ezra[/name], [name]Josiah[/name].
I always liked [name]Kayleigh[/name]/[name]Caylee[/name], but wouldn’t use it after the [name]Caylee[/name] [name]Anthony[/name] thing.
“[name]Mal[/name]” has terrible connotations in Portuguese (it means evil) and in Spanish (meaning bad, sick). added to the the “miserable”, I think it’d be quite an unlucky choice… 
Also… Tamerlan… I actually heard it on the news, and I knew exactly who it was, but it stuck with me. [name]Love[/name] the name, don’t love the bomber.
[name]Colombine[/name] is so pretty. [name]Colombia[/name] might be a better choice though.
I knew a boy named [name]Arian[/name]. I always thought it was an odd choice & wondered why his parents picked it!
I think it’s odd that names trend upward when children by that name are featured in the news as victims.
[name]Aurora[/name] was one of the top names on my list, but after the shooting, I couldn’t do it. I think it’s still popularly used, though.
[name]Ophelia[/name] is another one who’s connotations are too tragic, although I’d use [name]Juliet[/name] in a heartbeat!
I think [name]Adolf[/name] is a really nice name, too, but not in [name]America[/name] these days. Also, at least up north, [name]Jemima[/name] seems pretty unusable, because people consider it racist.
[name]Cohen[/name] is the only one I can think of. I used to love the name as a teen, but I had no idea that it is offensive. (I still don’t fully understand why the name is offensive but I understand that it is offensive in some way so I couldn’t use it.) I still love the sound of it now. I probably couldnt use it because my brother is called [name]Callum[/name] and it’s a little too close, but I still like it.
I love, love, love the name [name]Madeleine[/name]. It’s perfect in every way…apart from the McCann association. If you’re not British, I don’t think it would be as much of an issue, but here I know that it’s still very much in the public conscience. Perhaps when the time comes for me to have children that connotation will have faded away, but for now I’d say it’s a bit soon.
And [name]Lucifer[/name]. It’s a great name, it has a great rhythm, a great sound, and a great meaning, and I’d probably still use it if I knew that the super-devout religious nutcases wouldn’t come after me with machetes. (Obviously most religious people aren’t like that at all…but I’m sure I’d soon find a few that were if I used the name.) And I couldn’t do that to a child.
I’m also a little bit iffy on [name]Bridget[/name]. Has that association died down now? Because I’m seeing it on a few lists lately…and I love it.
I really love [name]Hermione[/name] (partly because of the books and partly because I quite liked it before as well) but I probably wouldn’t be able to use it because when my daughter introduced herself she’d probably get the “oh so your parents liked [name]Harry[/name] [name]Potter[/name] then”. Although I am a [name]HUGH[/name] fan and I guess it’s a lot better an association than some things ([name]Hermione[/name] is an awesome character). So I feel your pain
I’m another fan of the name [name]Columbine[/name]. An updated [name]Clementine[/name] or [name]Colleen[/name], with the nickname [name]Collie[/name] or [name]Calla[/name].
I also love [name]India[/name], but due to the debates over the colonialism connections makes it entirely off the table. And [name]Lucifer[/name]. Oh, how I love [name]Lucifer[/name]. Sadly, I could never bring myself to give that to a boy- especially one who would most likely grow up in a [name]Christian[/name] environment.
I’ve never really liked the sound of [name]Jemima[/name], so i wouldn’t have used it, but i had no idea until i joined nameberry that it was considered a racist name. My only experience with the name has been characters in a few British chick-lit books. Never would’ve guessed. Also how is [name]Jemima[/name] pronounced? I’ve always said it “jem-ih-mah” but google says it’s “jeh-my-mah”?
It makes me so sad that [name]India[/name] has such a negative connotation. Again, i had no idea until i joined nameberry, and now that i know, I’d never be able to use it. I have a special place in my heart for [name]India[/name]. I hear it and just taste spicy tea and see multicolored chalk and i equate [name]India[/name] with intense beauty and even though i know the [name]India[/name] i picture in my head is not the [name]India[/name] that actually exists, i still love that picture in my head so much. I’m not like heartbroken that i can’t use the name, but oh it would be so lovely. [name]Indie[/name] is a nice name, but [name]India[/name] is just perfect.
Not meaning to offend anyone here, but has it ever occurred to anyone that the only reason names like [name]India[/name] are deemed offensive is because people keep telling each other it is… There is nothing offensive about that name unless you really want to find it. It’s like that with most place names. [name]America[/name] for instance. Or [name]Holland[/name]. Or [name]Morocco[/name]. If you dig into a names history you’ll find something offensive to them all. We’d have no names left…
I adore [name]Columbine[/name] too. I didn’t know that people felt that it was considered so offensive before I joined nameberry. I would still consider it though, because I love it so much. I actually wondered if the same thing would happen to [name]Aurora[/name] after that happened, but I doesn’t seem like it.
Another problematic one is [name]Salome[/name]. The more famous biblical [name]Salome[/name], isn’t exactly a fantastic namesake. I’m not religious, so personally I’m not that bothered by it, but I’m still afraid that other people might be.
Oh I used to love [name]Madeleine[/name] when I was younger. Used to be #1 on my lists! But the combination of the McCanns and an evil boyfriend-stealing b!tch I happen to know has made the name unusable for me. Had a little look at our stats and it fell 68 places between 2007-2008. That McCann association is very strong I think.
I’d quite happily use [name]India[/name] if I loved it enough. But if that’s deemed offensive to people, I don’t see why [name]Jordan[/name], [name]Israel[/name], [name]Scotland[/name], [name]Ireland[/name], [name]Kenya[/name], [name]America[/name], [name]Britain[/name], [name]Asia[/name], [name]Africa[/name], [name]Boston[/name], [name]Dakota[/name], [name]China[/name] etc aren’t also offensive.
And as a Cornishwoman, I find the name [name]Devon[/name] minorly offensive 