Lately I’ve been thinking about [name_m]Bjorn[/name_m], and whether it would (or wouldn’t) be usable for a little boy in the US. What Scandinavian boys’ names would you find usable here? I think I’d put [name_m]Soren[/name_m], [name_m]Axel[/name_m], [name_m]Magnus[/name_m], and Torben/[name_m]Torsten[/name_m] on this list (and maybe [name_m]Bjorn[/name_m]. I also love Tollak, but I don’t know how well Tollak would go over. Not hard to say, imo, but definitely unexpected here!). And probably a bunch of names used across international borders, like [name_m]Christian[/name_m], [name_u]August[/name_u], [name_m]Matthias[/name_m], [name_m]Casper[/name_m], [name_m]Jacob[/name_m], [name_m]Sebastian[/name_m], [name_m]Tobias[/name_m], [name_m]Maximilian[/name_m], etc., although they don’t feel as decidedly Scandinavian to me.
Anyway. Any you would add here, and would you put [name_m]Bjorn[/name_m] on the “usable Scandinavian” list?
I would say that no, [name_m]Bjorn[/name_m] is not usable in the US. Not because of it being Scandinavian but because it’s the name of a very popular brand of baby carrier. [name_m]Just[/name_m] google “baby bjorn” and it’s the first thing that comes up.
I love Scandinavian names. My sons name is [name_m]Axel[/name_m]. I often wonder about other usable names as well…incase we want to give a sibling a Scandinavian name.
I do not think [name_m]Bjorn[/name_m] works here…though I love it.
[name_m]Axel[/name_m], [name_m]Leif[/name_m] and [name_m]Magnus[/name_m]…[name_f]Else[/name_f], [name_f]Freya[/name_f] and [name_f]Hilda[/name_f]
I think the nice thing about the US is that any name can work here. Whether your from Adelberto or [name_f]Zahara[/name_f]. I’ve known two Bjorns in my life. I think it might be a bit of conversation starter for some people, but in a country where anything that rhymes with [name_u]Aiden[/name_u] is in the top 1,000 and almost a thousand baby’s where named Kashton, I feel like [name_m]Bjorn[/name_m] won’t raise any eyebrows.
I agree with blackcatsmeow, I think any name can work in the US… especially these days with the whole made up name/spelling trend at what seems like an all-time high. I wouldn’t question meeting a little [name_m]Bjorn[/name_m] in any area of the country. I actually saw an episode of House Hunters a while back with a couple who had a young son named [name_m]Bjorn[/name_m].
Someone else brought up the baby carrier brand as being a huge negative for the name, but I actually think it could be a positive. People less familiar with international names may be familiar with the brand and that would cut down on pronunciation issues. I don’t think anyone should avoid using genuine names with history solely because a company also used it.
I personally wouldn’t use [name_m]Bjorn[/name_m]. My son is named [name_m]Stellan[/name_m], a seemingly “usable” Scandinavian name and he is teased often.
Honestly, I disagree with the PP’s who say you can use any name in the US without anyone batting an eye. From my experience as a parent and someone who is around children constantly, names that are legitimate but a bit more rare tend to go over much worse than “made up” names among peers. Kids are much more likely to tease a [name_m]Bjorn[/name_m] or [name_m]Stellan[/name_m] than they are a [name_m]Zayden[/name_m] or Kashton.
This is my personal experience of course, and many may not think being teased as a kid for your name is worth giving up a name they love, but I know my son has said he wished we would have named him [name_u]Noah[/name_u] (our second choice.) We won’t make that mistake again.
I guess you’re right, in a way. It probably depends on where you live. Growing up I always had classmates with names from different cultures and other kids didn’t tease them over it, so my “any name can work” mindset comes from that personal experience. I could see a kid maybe having difficulties in areas without much cultural diversity. But childhood is also a very very short time in a person’s life so I also don’t think parents should avoid nice names they love just to hypothetically avoid teasing that may or may not happen for a tiny fraction of their kid’s hopefully very long life. Your son has a great name and I hope he learns to love it as he gets older!
Thanks, everyone! It seems like you are all about as divided on [name_m]Bjorn[/name_m] as I am. I’ve sort of been thinking of him as a middle (like maybe [name_u]Elliott[/name_u] [name_m]Bjorn[/name_m]?), but I’m still not sure. I was reminded of him just before I posted this thread, and have been trying to make up my mind on him. It sort of reassures me that I’ve grown up in a community where uncommon names are the norm (and not just made-up names, but legitimate names from other nationalities, like M@riela, Ivel!sse, [name_m]Brun[/name_m]@, etc.), and I know many more kids with unusual names than ones with popular ones. I honestly see [name_m]Bjorn[/name_m] fitting right in with the babies and toddlers I know, but, that being said, I’m still sort of feeling it out for my own comfort level.
(@mysticmolly - I’m sorry to hear your [name_m]Stellan[/name_m] has caught so much flack for his own name! With the popularity of [name_f]Stella[/name_f], who would have thought?!)
I love the suggestions of [name_m]Linus[/name_m], [name_u]Sander[/name_u], [name_m]Henrik[/name_m], [name_f]Annika[/name_f], [name_m]Anders[/name_m], [name_f]Johanna[/name_f], and [name_m]Lars[/name_m]! I already have [name_f]Kaia[/name_f] on my list, and I’d love to add a few other Scandinavian choices, so she’s not an outlier. I’d love to hear any other suggestions you might have!