I’ve seen many people comment that they love a name ([name]Katja[/name], [name]Manon[/name], [name]Alessio[/name], etc.) but they wouldn’t use it because they aren’t of that ethnicity/nationality. Although I’m [name]German[/name], I currently live in the US, and I definitely plan on using names that reflect my background. However, I also loved names that aren’t [name]German[/name], and I would consider using them despite the fact that I’m not French or Italian or Hispanic, etc. I wouldn’t think twice of naming my daughter [name]Mattea[/name] or naming my son [name]Diego[/name] because they are names I [name]LOVE[/name].
So what are your thoughts? Would you use a name that doesn’t reflect your nationality?
As a fellow german you know how hard it can be to get away with “slightly exotic” names over here in Germany.
I would love if there was a broader range of names used, not just a ton of Finns and Emilys (beautiful names though they are).
Using a name that comes from a different background is a great move, because it might interest the child in that culture.
Anyway, when you like a name you shouldn’t let anything stop you from using it (unless it’s a really ridicolous name that’s gonna harm the child).
I think it’s great when people use foreign names outside of their own heritage!
While I personally like the idea of keeping my familial and cultural bond alive and well by using names from my own background and ethnic heritage, I am not opposed to using names from cultures with which I have no connection.
I feel that in the U.S., everyone’s background is such a hodge-podge anyway that there really shouldn’t be any reason NOT to use foreign names. You might really miss out on some fantastic names if everyone passes over the foreign sounding ones in favor of anglo-sounding mainstream names.
[name]Case[/name] in point, I’d much rather meet a [name]Giacobo[/name] or [name]Yasha[/name] than another [name]Jacob[/name] or [name]Jake[/name].
I think the only exception might be when your child or your family history or surname might come off as being too much of a culture clash to the point the child might get teased.
And it’s helpful to keep in mind that some names are beautiful in their native tongue, but if you transfer them into another language it could take on an entirely different meaning… Example:
I had a friend with the Japanese name Kazuya - it means peace child or peaceful one. When I was in [name]Italy[/name], I told a story to my Italian friends about my friend, Kazuya, and they wailed with laughter at the sound of his name. Kazuya sounds a lot like a popular naughty word in Italian. : P
Soooo… I would not name a child Kazuya if I had an Italian surname.
I wouldn’t. I think names should have more significance than just their sound. If it from another culture, then it probably can’t be very meaningful to you. An exception would be if, for example, you aren’t Russian but are a professor of Russian literature and choose a Russian name.
i would use a foreign name… hahah my mother and friends tell me that my tastes are very european. but even there, i don’t view as international per se b/c in the US we are mixed with everything, so i was kind of surprised at the reactions to the names i like, which i think are semi-conservative. LOL
fay - Your reply made me think of some related questions in general, so I don’t want to make you think that I’m speaking specifically to you, just people in general. Although I would love to hear what you think. : )
What about names that have the same root name or meaning from either Latin, Greek, Hebrew or other languages, but have so many international variations? [name]Do[/name] variations come across as having different meaning although they are essentially all the same name?
I feel that sometimes the difference between [name]Elizabeth[/name] and [name]Isabel[/name] or [name]Michael[/name] and [name]Michele[/name] boils down to just sound and flow or even personality perceptions (an [name]Isabel[/name] is far different from an [name]Elizabeth[/name] to me), since the two versions share the same meaning.
I’m curious what other people might think if I name my child a foreign variant name that doesn’t seem to have a connection to our heritage/surname on paper instead of the version that matched more linguistically. Would it automatically come off as being arbitrary?
What about names that are that are popular in the English speaking world, but are actually foreign names?
[name]Isabel[/name], [name]Eva[/name], [name]Mia[/name], [name]Sofia[/name], and [name]Gabriella[/name] are all Spanish or Italian names that are incredibly popular in the U.S. amongst people who are not necessarily of Spanish or Italian heritage.
I personally still think of these as Spanish and Italian names, but I’m curious if others stop thinking of foreign names as foreign once they’ve crossed a certain popularity threshold. When is a foreign name no longer a foreign name?
Definitely. I’ve always loved French names since taking French in middle & high school. I chose the name [name]Quentin[/name] for my son, which is used in French speaking countries, but also works well in [name]America[/name].
fay - Your reply made me think of some related questions in general, so I don’t want to make you think that I’m speaking specifically to you, just people in general. Although I would love to hear what you think. : )
What about names that have the same root name or meaning from either Latin, Greek, Hebrew or other languages, but have so many international variations? [name]Do[/name] variations come across as having different meaning although they are essentially all the same name?
I feel that sometimes the difference between [name]Elizabeth[/name] and [name]Isabel[/name] or [name]Michael[/name] and [name]Michele[/name] boils down to just sound and flow or even personality perceptions (an [name]Isabel[/name] is far different from an [name]Elizabeth[/name] to me), since the two versions share the same meaning.
I’m curious what other people might think if I name my child a foreign variant name that doesn’t seem to have a connection to our heritage/surname on paper instead of the version that matched more linguistically. Would it automatically come off as being arbitrary?
What about names that are that are popular in the English speaking world, but are actually foreign names?
[name]Isabel[/name], [name]Eva[/name], [name]Mia[/name], [name]Sofia[/name], and [name]Gabriella[/name] are all Spanish or Italian names that are incredibly popular in the U.S. amongst people who are not necessarily of Spanish or Italian heritage.
I personally still think of these as Spanish and Italian names, but I’m curious if others stop thinking of foreign names as foreign once they’ve crossed a certain popularity threshold. When is a foreign name no longer a foreign name?[/quote]
You’re right of course about names like [name]Isabel[/name] and [name]Danielle[/name] being "foreign"names. And to me the foreign cutoff can be arbitrary. I think as someone who is European-American whose family has been in the USA for ages I would choose a name that has roots in American culture. Hebrew names from the Bible are part of general American culture, as are many Greek, [name]German[/name], French and other European names.
Another example, a boy named [name]Mateo[/name] born to non-hispanic parents is kind of weird to me. As a nn for [name]Matthew[/name] that can be kind of cool.
On the flip-side I see lots of people on here wanting to honor their “Irish, etc… heritage.” I’m kind of skeptical of some of those posts, because if you don’t speak the language and just have an immigrant ancestor you’ve never met you probably don’t have much “heritage.” But for all I know they could have a mother and father born in [name]Ireland[/name].
I’m an American who is three-fourths Italian. But my last name is [name]German[/name] (I’m one-fourth [name]German[/name]).
I have an obsession with Italian names. Some Italian names that I love, like [name]Gloria[/name] and [name]Eugenia[/name], do work in English as well. But others don’t go very well. My maternal grandmother’s name, [name]Vincenza[/name], has no English equivalent, so she had to go by her middle name (I think her MN is [name]Gina[/name]).
As for boys, I would just use the English form. I’d be willing to use something like [name]Leonard[/name] (for [name]Leonardo[/name]), [name]Alfred[/name] (for [name]Alfredo[/name]), or [name]Gilbert[/name] (for [name]Gilberto[/name]). (I have a liking for old-fashioned boys’ names!)
But how would you ever know if it’s not part of their nationality?
I’m half hispanic, and my siblings and I all have Spanish names and grew up speaking Spanish. But I married a white guy. Our kids will have an English surname, but we both would like to use Spanish names that we both love. I plan on raising them to speak both Spanish and English.
Before reading this thread, I never even thought that anyone would care or even think about why we would choose a Spanish name. A Spanish name is barely even ‘foreign’ anymore these days (I guess it depends on where you are).
But it bothers me to think that people will think that my kid’s name doesn’t ‘match’ his nationality, ethnicity, or cultural heritage. [name]How[/name] does anyone know what matches or not if they’re an outsider anyway?
I guess that’s my main issue about the opposite camp on this subject. Who’s going to know that you’re not actually half Italian or Irish or spent most of your life studying Japanese art or Russian literature? Isn’t judging whether it’s ‘right’ to name a kid a foreign name without knowing the parents’ reasons to choose it a little suspect?
I have no problem with people using names that are outside their culture. I do think there is a limit to it though. I don’t think names that have religious significance should be used by someone outside that culuture just because they liked the sound. I guess I think people should just do their research. I’m all in favor of using names from different backgrounds but there is a limit to how much cultural appropriation I’m comfortable with.
I think it is fine to use foreign names that are outside your own ethnicity, as long as the name suits the child. [name]Do[/name] you really think that every [name]Caitlin[/name] and [name]Aidan[/name] out there are Irish? I some how doubt it. I really dont see a problem with it. Me and my partner are both [name]German[/name] and we plan to name our first son [name]Andreas[/name] after his grandpa. I really dont think we will continue the [name]German[/name] theme on to the rest of our children, but we might.
[name]Every[/name] name has a history and often comes from a root that is different than the country it is most commonly used in ([name]Andreas[/name] is a Greek name by origin). If we only used the names that we had “claim” to by birth it would be a very hard and tedious task to name a child.
I think that when using foreign names, you need to be careful if pronunciation issues will make the child’s life more difficult.
For example, here in [name]Ireland[/name], everybody will look at names like [name]Caoimhe[/name], [name]Aoibhe[/name] and [name]Roisin[/name] and know that they are pronounced “Keev-a”, “E-va” and “[name]Ro[/name]-sheen”, but even as close to [name]Ireland[/name] as [name]England[/name], many people would struggle to pronounce them and it would lead to a lot of confusion.
As for me, I wouldn’t use a foreign name for my child unless it had a really special significance to me. Although, the line as to what’s “foreign” and what is not is very very blurred.
But how would you ever know if it’s not part of their nationality?
I’m half hispanic, and my siblings and I all have Spanish names and grew up speaking Spanish. But I married a white guy. Our kids will have an English surname, but we both would like to use Spanish names that we both love. I plan on raising them to speak both Spanish and English.
Before reading this thread, I never even thought that anyone would care or even think about why we would choose a Spanish name. A Spanish name is barely even ‘foreign’ anymore these days (I guess it depends on where you are).
But it bothers me to think that people will think that my kid’s name doesn’t ‘match’ his nationality, ethnicity, or cultural heritage. [name]How[/name] does anyone know what matches or not if they’re an outsider anyway?
I guess that’s my main issue about the opposite camp on this subject. Who’s going to know that you’re not actually half Italian or Irish or spent most of your life studying Japanese art or Russian literature? Isn’t judging whether it’s ‘right’ to name a kid a foreign name without knowing the parents’ reasons to choose it a little suspect?[/quote]
I totally agree. I think if you love a name and it speaks to you, it shouldn’t matter where its origins come from.
I don’t see anything wrong with using a name from another country…my big issue is with pronunciation. If it’s not intuitive how to say it, then it might bear a second look…or if you decide to use it, know that you and your child will have to educate people on how to pronounce/spell it.
I think using a foreign name is perfectly fine in the world we live in today. [name]Just[/name] make sure to check its meaning in its original language so if the child ever visits the original country they don’t find out they’ve been named something really strange.
Our own [name]Pamela[/name] [name]Redmond[/name] Satran is guilty of violating this rule; I remember her telling a story about when her family was living in the British Isles and she mentioned that in [name]Britain[/name] and [name]Ireland[/name] [name]Rory[/name] is considered strictly a boy’s name. They thought she was really weird for using it on a girl (and it was intentional; after all she looked in the boy’s section of her name book that she had at the time for her daughter’s name). Although this certainly isn’t the worst example of a name that can be seen as weird internationally, I thought I’d mention it.