I have a white female friend (Swedish) who is expecting a baby boy this [name_u]November[/name_u].
She wants to name her child Baljeet.
The father is also a white [name_m]Swede[/name_m].
Neither have a connection to [name_f]India[/name_f], but they are both very obsessed with the culture.
Should they name their boy Baljeet or should I coerce them to name their baby something else? She dropped this to me over on a phone call but I’m personally a bit concerned about her giving a 100% white child a name that isn’t part of her (or her husband’s) culture.
She also texted me the following list, saying she was also considering the following names:
Baljeet (top choice)
Onil
Rakesh
[name_m]Akash[/name_m]
Phyan
Gihesh
[name_m]Sagar[/name_m]
Urmil
Pamit
Abjeesh
[name_f]Nisha[/name_f]
Zaka
Kuraj
Amphan
Hajeet
Burevi
Vitik
[name_u]Raja[/name_u]
Fanoos
I wouldn’t worry about it too much. You can mention your concern but she may not appreciate it so be gentle 
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No worries. I’ll do exactly that, but I’d tell her gently.
But would you say this is appropriation?
In my opinion no, but I think it’s something the parents have to consider for themselves.
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No problemo. What’s your favorite name of that list?
I like [name_u]Raja[/name_u] a lot! I knew a [name_m]Rajan[/name_m].
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Inappropriate or not, that’s their baby and I don’t think there’s much you can do.
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I think this question should be answered by actual Indian people, rather than us who aren’t Indian. That said, I agree with @ethelmary that it’s probably not the best idea to pry into their business. If they’re set on an Indian name, then you insisting they don’t use one would just make your friendship tense and not achieve much.
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Yeah, I probably won’t provoke her.
As an [name_f]Indian[/name_f] I definitely don’t think that this would go over very well. Baljeet is a Sikh GIRLS name. The sikh community has always been quite oppressed and mistreated. I don’t think choosing an [name_f]Indian[/name_f] name would cause too many problems but I strongly advise against using a Sikh name. Other [name_f]Indian[/name_f] names on your friend’s list would be fine to use.
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