Would you use an ethnic name if it was from a culture that you don’t have any ancestry from or history with?
Personally, I like a lot of names with a very strong cultural association, especially Spanish, Russian, and Gaelic. My ancestry is [name_m]German[/name_m] and Irish, and of course I have no idea what the background of my future spouse will be or the opportunities that will open up. I personally would feel uncomfortable giving my kid a name from a very different ethnicity, since it feels somehow inappropriate and would also probably clash with their last name. I would actually consider some of my Gaelic favorites, like [name_f]Aoife[/name_f], but most of the others have been de facto relegated to the GP list, at least until I’m no longer single.
For me, there’s a difference between a name with a slight cultural flavor that’s been mostly mainstreamed and a name that is still very tied with a certain traditional heritage. For instance, I wouldn’t use the very Russian [name_f]Nadezhda[/name_f], but I might use the more mainstream diminutive [name_f]Nadia[/name_f].
Are there any cultures whose names you specifically like? Would you use the names even if you’re not from that culture?
I agree with you for the most part. I wouldn’t use a name from an ethnicity that I don’t have any history with. I realise of course that you can’t be a real “name purist” and use names from your ancestry only, because names aren’t always linked to one culture only, if you know what I mean.
Personally I only use Hebrew names for my children, because my ancestry and culture are very important to me. I like a lot of names from different cultures, especially nordic names. But I wouldn’t ever use them.
Well, luckily for me, I married someone outside of my own ethnicity, so there are definitely more name possibilities. I wouldn’t consider using a name purely associated with a culture that I had no connection to. I would, however, consider using [name_f]Alessia[/name_f]. It’s a name I love and though I’m not in any way Italian, I have had a lot of contact with Italian culture and have Italian friends, so it wouldn’t be completely unexpected of me to use a name like that. I also think it’s a very versatile and easy-to-pronounce name.
I love Spanish names, and luckily my fiance is Mexican. We can also use Aztec names because he is Aztec. However, my fiance had wanted to give our daughter a Chinese and Japanese name, Anyi Sayuri. I don’t know how I feel about that. Possibly if we Used one as a middle name, but I feel like people would ask if she were [name_f]Asian[/name_f] if one of the names were her first name. It may also sound weird with her Hispanic last name.
We like international names - but [name_f]Canada[/name_f] is very multicultural so it’s not ‘weird’ here to hear names from all sorts of ethnicities all the time.
Well I’m 100% Dutch so if I’d limit my choices to my own ancestry well…ooph and I tend to think people with mixed especially European ancestry are being unnecessarily purist if they limit their choices to some drops of blood from like a century ago, despite the fact that on the old continent we’re not as mixed as say Americans and Canadians may be it’s not the blood that we care about, it’s the culture and the language which often got lost anyhow. That does however not mean that I’ll be comfortable myself giving my child just any name from any culture, because I might feel it doesn’t fit. It’s more like it sounds weird to me rather than me thinking: ooph that’s so inappropriate unless it’s a culture where that sort of things is considered completely out of bounds.
I love Hebrew names - not Jewish, I love Lithuanian names, French and Breton names, Scandinavian names… certain English names, Irish names, Welsh ames. I probably wouldn’t feel limited to use French, Breton and Scandinavian names but Hebrew names can be riskier and a lot of English names would sound odd on a Dutch child. Irish and Welsh… well… spelling!! But especially with Welsh names I don’t really feel that it wouldn’t fit on a Dutch child.
I usually stick to names of Biblical or European origin - Welsh, Irish, Scandinavian, [name_m]German[/name_m], Greek, etc - but I don’t see an issue with branching out if you really love a name.
I would never limit myself to names of only certain origins. I’d always chose the first name that I liked the most at that time. I live in a very multicultural city that wouldn’t bat an eyelash if I named my child anything. I don’t think naming my child something from another culture is any more unusual than going to a cultural restaurant for dinner. I know that sounds extreme but it couldn’t be more true for me personally.
Yes. My top three girl names are all traditionally from different countries of origin, and I don’t think any of them would pose a problem where I live.
I wouldn’t consider using a name purely associated with a culture that I had no connection to. I would, however, consider using [name_f]Alessia[/name_f]. It’s a name I love and though I’m not in any way Italian, I have had a lot of contact with Italian culture and have Italian friends, so it wouldn’t be completely unexpected of me to use a name like that. I also think it’s a very versatile and easy-to-pronounce name.