[name_m]Hi[/name_m] there!
Still don’t know the gender of our little Bub, but it seems girls’ names might be harder for us to agree upon. I LOVE the name [name_f]Veda[/name_f], pronounced vey-duh. For some reason I strongly prefer [name_f]Veda[/name_f] over [name_f]Vada[/name_f]. I’m not totally opposed to [name_f]Vera[/name_f] but don’t like it nearly as much as [name_f]Veda[/name_f].
First of all, I would love some unbiased opinions on the name [name_f]Veda[/name_f]. [name_f]My[/name_f] dad said it reminds him of Velveeta cheese dip, and most other family members acted confused by it. [name_f]My[/name_f] mom says she thinks it’s cute, but can’t tell if she’s saying that to appease me or if she genuinely likes it.
Some potential combos for it I have are:
[name_f]Veda[/name_f] [name_f]Ingrid[/name_f]
[name_f]Veda[/name_f] [name_f]Rosalind[/name_f]
[name_f]Veda[/name_f] [name_f]Fae[/name_f]
[name_f]Veda[/name_f] Evageline
[name_f]Veda[/name_f] [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f]
[name_f]Veda[/name_f] [name_f]Felicity[/name_f]
[name_f]Veda[/name_f] [name_f]Ottilie[/name_f]
[name_f]Veda[/name_f] [name_f]Odette[/name_f]
[name_f]Veda[/name_f] [name_f]Delphine[/name_f]
…among many others. It’s a pretty long list I need to narrow down.
[name_f]My[/name_f] other concern aside from family giving mixed reactions to it, I know people think it would be insensitive to use [name_f]Veda[/name_f] as a baby name because it has a Sanskrit origin and the Vedas are Hindu texts. That’s the only history I can find on the name and the main critique I’ve heard of it, but I believe the name was used in the US in the 1800’s/early 1900’s so maybe there is another source of it to? Either way, do you think it would be considered “cultural appropriation” to use the name? If not, what are your thoughts on the name? Yes, no, maybe so? What vibe to imagine for a little girl/grown woman named [name_f]Veda[/name_f].
I don’t know the history of [name_f]Veda[/name_f] so I can’t speak on the cultural appropriate aspect, but maybe you would like [name_f]Vela[/name_f] or [name_f]Vera[/name_f]?
But in general, I wouldn’t tell your family what name you are picking as someone will always have a negative opinion. When she’s born, they will love her and therefore her name
Coming from a culture that is often appropriated, I would strongly urge you not to use the name [name_f]Veda[/name_f]. Most often, people consider appropriation to be at its worst when a profit is made from the theft of another culture or part of a culture. With a name…that’s hard to prove. However, when it comes to religious words and names, then yes, I believe if it’s not full appropriation, it’s certainly insensitive and I would never want to hurt other people because of what I named my child (not to mention how awkward it is for a child).
All that said, [name_f]Vada[/name_f] and [name_f]Vayda[/name_f] are both potential options. I personally like your combos for [name_f]Vada[/name_f]/Vayda [name_f]Felicity[/name_f] and [name_f]Vada[/name_f]/Vayda [name_f]Ottilie[/name_f]. However, I do have to tell you that it reminds me of Vader - Darth Vader.
I know someone called [name_u]Vida[/name_u] with the same pronunciation. At least I’ve heard people call her vay-duh and vI-duh and she happily answers to both. Could this work for you?
Oh my gosh, we call my dad Vader jokingly because it’s the [name_m]Dutch[/name_m] word for father and he is Belgian and also as a play on words for Darth Vader because he’s an intense guy. I never noticed the similarities between the names and Darth Vader until now. That’s a good point. Thanks for the input on the cultural aspect, as well. I’ve heard it had cultural routes, but I also thought in the US it was just a variant of [name_f]Vada[/name_f] or [name_f]Theda[/name_f].
I wouldn’t worry about cheese dip-esque comments–I think family members will adjust to pretty much any name once it’s attached to a child they love. This name definitely gives me pause from a cultural appropriation perspective though, particularly because the Vedas are sacred texts. I wouldn’t use it personally, I’m sorry.
Vera is on the list… just much further down on the list.
Yeah, the night we announced we were pregnant family asked if we had any names in mind yet and I made the mistake of spilling some without thinking first. Should not have done that!
Thanks for the input. I had heard that [name_f]Veda[/name_f] had Hindu origins, but I also thought that it had been used for a very long time in the US as a variant of [name_f]Vada[/name_f] and [name_f]Theda[/name_f], so thought maybe the name here wasn’t seen as cultural appropriation. Based on the comments it seems to be! Thank you for sharing.
Veda was used in the US in the 1910s and up. I can see this in the social security records. It wasn’t super popular but there were enough to record. I wouldn’t worry about “cultural appropriation”.
I think it’s pretty, though I do prefer the [name_f]Vada[/name_f] spelling, personally. [name_f]Veda[/name_f] [name_f]Rosalind[/name_f] and [name_f]Veda[/name_f] [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f] are lovely. I don’t see why it would be cultural appropriation if you’re using it with the American history in mind. [name_f]Tara[/name_f] and [name_f]Maya[/name_f] are Hindu and Buddhist goddess names, but they’re also Western names with completely different origins.
I’m gonna post a really unpopular opinion and say if you were using the [name_f]Veda[/name_f] spelling to refer to the original Hindu texts, then it would be inappropriate.
However that spelling has been used for years in the US with no relation to the texts (in fact I’ve met several older ladies with this name that I’m positive have no relation at all to the Hindu texts) so I wouldn’t call it cultural appropriation. Different cultures can and often do come up with similar or identical sounding names and words, and how can you say one culture deserves to use more than the other?
With that being said because I know of these texts, personally I would go with [name_f]Vada[/name_f] spelling, just to avoid having any negative reactions to my child’s name. I wouldn’t to force my child into political debate, or set them up to have any negative response to their name, just because of my opinion. But I wouldn’t hold it against anyone for using it either.
[name_f]Veda[/name_f] is beautiful and perfectly useable! Defiantly use it if you love it! [name_m]Don[/name_m]'t let you’re relatives dictate what you want to name her, their opinion doesn’t matter. I don’t ever think it’s a good idea to talk about the name with family until you’re 100% certain it’s the name, for whatever reason especially older family members think it’s okay to criticize and put their opinion in.
I mean, if you’re chosing the name because you like the sound and the way the spelling looks, I don’t see it as appropriation, you’re choosing because you think it’s beautiful.
I personally think it isn’t a good idea if you aren’t Hindu. The Vedas are an integral part of Hindu culture and it comes off as disrespectful when someone who isn’t a part of that religion uses it.
There are some names that we’re best off loving without using and I think this name falls into that category.
There are plenty of other names that won’t bring up the question of cultural appropriation or cheese spread (hahah) and I think those should hold your focus going forward.
Just looked up [name_f]Theda[/name_f] and saw it has a beautiful meaning. And I see you also like [name_f]Vera[/name_f] which is a beautiful choice.
Clearly this is a controversial enough name, so you probably shouldn’t use it. If only one or two people were saying that it would be appropriation, then it’d be different. But almost everyone is saying it.
Using [name_f]Veda[/name_f] could lead to problems for them later in life. I would use [name_f]Vada[/name_f] instead. If you don’t want to use [name_f]Vada[/name_f] for the spelling, then maybe it’s best to just pass on it all together.
That’s a good point. Thanks for the input on the cultural aspect, as well. I’ve heard it had cultural routes, but I also thought in the US it was just a variant of [name_f]Vada[/name_f] or [name_f]Theda[/name_f].