First off, thank you for voting and discussing the pros and cons of [name_f]Dahlia[/name_f] vs [name_f]India[/name_f]. We read all of your posts and thought about what you said.
When it came to numbers [name_f]Dahlia[/name_f] got the most votes and more detailed comments on support of it. We’re both excited about it and think our daughter will like her name if we call her [name_f]Dahlia[/name_f] [name_f]Felicity[/name_f]. However, my ever helpful and very clever brother in law (he’s 16) asked us if we were going to name our half Afro-Caribbean baby [name_f]Dahlia[/name_f], who is likely to have dark skin like her brothers, so she would be in essence black [name_f]Dahlia[/name_f], which we’re sure no one would ever call her that (almost sure), but will people think of that horrendous murder when they meet our child? Because, if people do, then it’s just too awful to consider.
Congratulations on your daughter! As for that reference, I hardly even know what the [name_m]Black[/name_m] [name_f]Dahlia[/name_f] is, and have never heard anyone mention it at all. I would not think that anyone would associate your sweet little girl with something that terrible, so you really don’t have anything to worry about. Of course, if that bothers you too much, then [name_f]India[/name_f] [name_f]Felicity[/name_f] is also a gorgeous combo!
Minus the whole “black” part of it, I can see where someone might think of that when they hear the name [name_f]Dahlia[/name_f]. However, I don’t think it would be often enough that it should deter you from using a name you love.
This probably isn’t what you want to hear, but when I hear [name_f]Dahlia[/name_f], my mind does gravitate to the murder. I’m also a fan of forensics, so that might be why I make the association with the name to that case so strongly.
However! Meeting a person with said name is completely different from hearing the name in reference to the case. It has a new context as a name, so while people’s minds may flicker to the murder case briefly, the majority of the people who get to know your daughter will be able to see her personality and make a new association for it. As for the name [name_f]Dahlia[/name_f] on a dark skinned person = [name_m]Black[/name_m] [name_f]Dahlia[/name_f], I never would have put those two pieces together if you hadn’t said anything. Again, I think it’s all about context. Most people you meet might not even know about the murder case, much less factor in her skin colour with her name.
In all honesty, I would be thrilled to see someone use the name [name_f]Dahlia[/name_f]. When you google it, the first links that pop up are all about the flower with the name, so clearly the murder isn’t a hugely overbearing association. [name_f]Dahlia[/name_f] [name_f]Felicity[/name_f] sounds wonderfully sweet!
It would’ve taken me a while to put the two together. My dad had never even heard of the [name_m]Black[/name_m] [name_f]Dahlia[/name_f], and honestly I first heard about it on naming websites in discussions on the name! I expect only half of the kids in my grade know what the black dahlia is. [name_f]Dahlia[/name_f] is gorgeous!
My first association with the name [name_f]Dahlia[/name_f] is the absolutely revolting, horrendous murder case…which is a huge reason I can never like the name…I can’t get the images of that crime out of my mind when the name comes up. I can really only hope that the younger generations will not know about the tragedy. I suppose the flower association is nice to have, since that could be used to soften the situation. Honestly, though, I don’t really see your daughter’s potential skin tone to be a cause for worry here.
Personally, the name [name_f]Dahlia[/name_f] does bring the murder to my mind, but that association has become less and less for me, because I think the name is beautiful, and it makes me think of flowers, and it really fits in nowadays with other -lia names. I wouldn’t abandon the name just because some people would think of something that happened many decades ago. Anyone who meets your daughter would surely have a positive association with the name [name_f]Dahlia[/name_f] because of her.
