We are expecting our first child/son in about 3 months and wanted to use a family name and we both had great grandfathers that were named [name]Jacob[/name]. We are not terribly crazy about that name and the popularity of it. We decided to look for some variation of it and found [name]Jacoby[/name]. We did a bit of research and see that it has ties to our Jewish heritage which is rather important to us and our families. Now here is the sensitive aspect of my question, during our research we also noticed people with the name Jacoby were more african-american or non-jewish people (i.e. some football players and do searches on Facebook or twitter). Now the question we are struggling with, does [name]Jacoby[/name] sound or have a modern Jewish association to it?
I’m not sure what you mean by “ethnic”. We’re all ethnic. Jewish is an ethnicity (one I share). Is the real question here “Does [name]Jacoby[/name] sound like an African-American name?”
[name]Jacoby[/name] doesn’t sound exclusively one ethnicity to me, although I don’t know why that would bother you.
I think [name]Jacoby[/name] is a beautiful name for a little boy. I also knows girls with the female variation of [name]Jacoba[/name]
I wouldn’t immediately connect the name with any ethnicity really. It does feel like a trendy/hipster version of [name]Jacob[/name], but I wouldn’t say it feels Jewish or anything else really.
I don’t connect it with any particular ethnicity either, but I also think it’s a bit awkward as a name. People aren’t sure where to pronounce the accent.
Well, I don’t hear the name [name]Jacoby[/name] and think “Jewish”, per se, but I like it. I also don’t think it’s likely for people to have pronunciation difficulties, it’s pretty obvious where the stress goes.
Simple answer, Yes. I am not trying to offend anybody and don’t want this to be taken the wrong way, but it is something we are trying to get unbiased feedback on.
I will try and modify the original post to ask the question more clearly.
Thank you for your response.
I guess I’d have to ask what an African-American name sounds like. I know [name]Black[/name] men named [name]John[/name] and [name]Henry[/name], but I’m assuming those aren’t the names you’re thinking of?
Correct, we aren’t considering [name]John[/name] or [name]Henry[/name]. The name we are considering and on the fence about is [name]Jacoby[/name].
What I meant was that it seems like you wouldn’t consider [name]John[/name] and [name]Henry[/name] African-American names. I’m wondering what constitutes an African-American “sounding” name, to you.
And if it does have an African-American sound to the Berries’ ears will that put you off the name?
Lots of people on this forum have come to us with questions about using names that would cross ethnic lines. I think this is a fair question, although the way you are asking it makes it sound shady. I would hesitate to name my son [name]Emmanuel[/name], [name]Matteo[/name], or [name]Soren[/name] because I am not French, Central-American, or Scandinavian. You don’t want people to necessarily be surprised to find out that your daughter [name]Kimiko[/name] actually has blond hair. That said, [name]Jacoby[/name] has no particular ethnic connotation to me and even if it were primarily used by African American parents, it’s versatile enough to be used by anyone. Additionally, I am all for using names from other cultures if you have a good reason (maybe you lived abroad, you love the meaning, or a famous person with that name) and know the repercussions of it (i.e. [name]Cohen[/name]).
First off, I think everyone is being a little too PC and beating around the bush on this thread. I’m a White girl, but my best friend is [name]Black[/name] and I was one of approximately 10 White kids in my school, and from my experiences [name]Black[/name] people do not like being called “African American” or “[name]Urban[/name].” It’s condescending and in the broad sense, pretty darn racist. They’re [name]Black[/name], just like I’m White and another friend of mine is [name]Asian[/name]. Most [name]Black[/name] people’s families have been in [name]America[/name] for generation upon generation, they are true blooded Americans, not African. I don’t call myself Welsh American. It’s a term that was generated to be overly PC, because suddenly saying “He/She is [name]Black[/name]” became taboo for some reason.
Anyway, stepping off the soap box… [name]Jacoby[/name] is definitely not a [name]Black[/name] name just because a high number of [name]Black[/name] people have that name. A friend of mine, who is very much White, just named her son [name]Jacobi[/name] (definitely like [name]Jacoby[/name] spelling more)
In re: my comments about pronunciation.
I went to school with someone named [name]Jacoby[/name] from junior high thru high school and every year a few teachers would pronounce his name like [name]Jacob[/name] with an e on the end. And he would have to say ja-KO-bee.
I also remember when we watched [name]Hamlet[/name] in a college acting class and were discussing the various actors, most people paused before saying actor [name]Derek[/name] [name]Jacobi[/name]'s last name. And some pronounced it [name]JAY[/name]-ko-bee.
I’m a name nerd from way back so I remember these things. 
I wasn’t just basing my assessment on my own sense of the name’s awkwardness - although it is awkward to me - but on these experiences.
I don’t dislike the name but I think it is possible [name]Jacoby[/name] may have to clarify pronunciation of his name rather often.
Yet another person who thinks having [name]Black[/name] friends makes them an expert on how we ought to frame discussions on Blackness. Yes, I am PC and proud to be. Protip: any sentence that begins “I have [name]Black[/name] friends, and…” will not end well.
I do think this was a good issue to bring up so thank you for that but as someone who is mixed I have to say the “I have a black friend therefor I know how they think/feel/like/dislike” doesn’t really mean anything. You are not black you aren’t an authority on the issue so just give your opinion, don’t try to use the friend as credibility. IMO this is offensive and for what it’s worth I refer to myself as mixed or use the term Black when I talk about my family because that side is Afro-Caribbean but in my experience many Black people prefer to be called African-American.
Could not agree more.
OP Can you give me an example of an African American name that would set it apart from other races or ethnicities so I have a frame of reference to give feed back about what sort of names I think you would like and what you won’t?
As for the name itself I think it’s fine to use, I don’t know anyone with the name but it sounds nice to me. However, if it sounds African American to you and you prefer your child not have a name that sounds Black then I would go with Jacob.
I think it’s fine that you want a name that will tie to your heritage, and also that you don’t want the name to be culturally different. As others said, there are plenty of people on here who will say you shouldn’t use Japanese names unless you’re Japanese, etc. You want the image you have for your child and the image most people have of the name to line up - and honestly I think that’s a common denominator on here. I certainly think different demographics use different names. I know a lot of black people with French names or French sounding names for example - probably from Cajun influence, etc. I myself have a French name (as I’m French/American) and almost every roommate I’ve had here in the USA has told me at one point that when they met me they were surprised that I was white. And it’s purely because of my name (also I now get people to say the ending right because I can compare it to [name]Beyonce[/name] which I find amusing). Sorry, that was a tangent. The point is that yes, people associate certain name with certain groups - national, cultural, ethnic, racial, socioeconomic, etc. It’s just a fact. And it’s OK to want to know the image of the name you’re looking at, and see if it lines up with what you want for your child.
I will say that I know of two legit pronunciations for this name: Ja-KO-bee,a nd [name]Jack[/name]-uh-bee. I’m awful at writing things phonetically, sorry. Neither is [name]Jacob[/name]-y. I don’t associate it with a particular group at all. I think it’s a nice handsome choice though. I wouldn’t know off the top of my head that there’s a Jewish connection if you’re looking for something that strongly states that, but I also wouldn’t be surprised to find a Jewish [name]Jacoby[/name] if that makes sense.
[name]Do[/name] we seriously have to pull the “race card” here? She just wants a name that people will associate with her heritage, and not with other heritages. Nothing racist about that. [name]Just[/name] like if your heritage was French, and you wanted to name your son [name]Henri[/name] [name]Laurent[/name] instead of [name]Jayden[/name] [name]Dakota[/name].
By “African-American” names, I think she means names like Bra’[name]Tasha[/name] and [name]Tre[/name]’[name]Shawn[/name].