My little girls name is [name]Matilda[/name] and I consider this to be a pretty international name (top 20 in Australia, Chile and [name]Sweden[/name]) and widely familiar. I’m trying to compose a list of other ‘international’ names (though I guess I’m not even completely clear on what I consider to be international myself other than a name that translates in many languages and is recognised widely… Though admittedly my idea of international names is probably quite Eurocentric!! )… Some I thought of are:
[name]Matilda[/name], [name]Elizabeth[/name], [name]Victoria[/name], [name]Maria[/name], [name]Emma[/name], [name]Sarah[/name] etc.
Names that are popular (in different variations) and pronounceable in most countries.
We are kind of an international family, my husband is from NZ, Im American, My daughter was born in Australia and this baby will be born in [name]Canada[/name]. We’ve also lived in [name]Ireland[/name]! So I’d say [name]Zara[/name] for sure, [name]Eva[/name] and [name]Evie[/name], [name]Gemma[/name], [name]Sienna[/name], [name]Imogen[/name], [name]Willow[/name], [name]Ivy[/name], [name]Indigo[/name] “[name]Indie[/name]” and [name]Tahlia[/name] I heard more often when we lived in Aus. My niece (in Australia) is also [name]Matilda[/name]!
In Europe, the Americas and Australia/NZ, names that are international are usually well used Biblical names ([name]Mary[/name], [name]John[/name], [name]Luke[/name], [name]Elizabeth[/name]) and classics ([name]Catherine[/name], [name]William[/name], [name]Lucy[/name], [name]Alexander[/name]).
In [name]Asian[/name] countries, however, international names tend to be able to translate well into the syllabries/characters. In Japan, the name [name]Alexander[/name] would be written in [name]Roman[/name] characters as Arekusanderu (prn Aw-rek-oo-sawn-deh-ru). [name]Lucy[/name] becomes Ruushi, [name]Catherine[/name] becomes Kaseren (prn Caw-seh-ren)… But other names translate very well, such as [name]Emma[/name] (Written as Emaa) [name]Zoe[/name] (Zoi) [name]Aidan[/name] (Eiden) [name]Mason[/name] (Meisen) and [name]Henry[/name] ([name]Henri[/name]). If you plan on frequenting [name]Asian[/name] countries, it would be a good idea to learn the sounds in the languages if you want an truly international name.
As beautiful as names like [name]Sienna[/name], [name]Ivy[/name], [name]Tahlia[/name] etc. are, I would hardly call them international. International names, to me, are names that are used in most countries or can be converted (like [name]Elizabeth[/name] becomes [name]Yelizaveta[/name] in the Slavic countries, [name]Elisabetta[/name] or [name]Isabella[/name] in Italian, Ilīšaba in Arabic, [name]Isabelle[/name] or [name]Elisabeth[/name] in French etc.) As a PP said, biblical, basic names that you can find in most countries. They’re undoubtedly common and well-used in English speaking countries, but I doubt you’ll be able to find a lot of them here in Scandinavia (with the exception of [name]Eva[/name] and [name]Matilda[/name], and perhaps [name]Zara[/name] because it’s a variant of [name]Sarah[/name], which are very international names [name]IMO[/name] :)).
Depends whether you’re more interested in translations or sounds.
[name]Elizabeth[/name] for example translates across many languages but doesn’t always continue a strong sound connection. You have to sort of know that [name]Elisheva[/name] is [name]Elizabeth[/name] is [name]Isabella[/name] is [name]Liese[/name].
[name]Reina[/name], or [name]Nina[/name] or [name]Zara[/name] changes meaning depending on language but sounds largely the same across multiple ones. I’d be tempted to count them as well, it’s not drawing off the same tradition but if introduced in more than one nation its “oh, yes, that name!” To me that’s at least as relevant as the translations of Yohanan/[name]John[/name]/[name]Sean[/name]/[name]Eoin[/name]/[name]Zane[/name]?
So I guess it depends what you’re trying to do, find translations or find “easy sounds.”
