Wondering about this since I read a post on Nameberry where someone claims Christians are appropriating names from the Old Testament as it exclusively belongs to the Jews (which as a Christian left me shocked).
But that brings me to my question when do you consider using a name to be cultural appropriation? When is someone part enough of a culture to use their names? And what is important when using names from a different culture?
Interested to hear your opinions!
I think as long as a name will not cause offense it is fine to use.
Copy and pasting this from another post where I said my view cause it hasn’t changed and I worded surprisingly well considering it’s me 
When it comes to cultural appropriation my general rule is “if the name comes from a culture (which you are not apart of) which currently faces or has a long past of discrimination and cultural erasure, then it’s best to leave it to that culture”
That being said I definitely think there are many, many multicultural names, and when it comes down to those you have to use your own judgment in deciding whether it’s ok for you to use
By definition, cultural appropriation is “the inappropriate or unacknowledged adoption of an element or elements of one culture or identity by members of another culture or identity”. Emphasis on inappropriate or unacknowledged.
If a name is significant to that culture/identity, then using it without sharing that culture/identity might be inappropriate. For instance, I could see a name like Muhammad being inappropriate when used for a non-Muslim, since it’s the name of the prophet who started the Muslim religion and an important name to those of the Muslim faith. (As a side note, I’m not Muslim and don’t actually know if it would be considered inappropriate - I’m just assuming, so apologies if I’m wrong).
As for “unacknowledged adoption”, I’m going to speak a little bit from experience here. I’m Greek, and I grew up with some family friends who are Hellenistic Pagans - AKA who worship the Greek pantheon. It made me realize that for a lot of people Greek myth isn’t just stories. I consider it cultural appropriation when people use names from Greek myth without being aware of the myth they’re based on, or gender-bending them or messing with the spelling. Because at that point you’re ignoring the origin of the name and just using it because it sounds cool. If you like Athena and you know about the goddess and the general stories around her, awesome, use it! Just be informed.
If you’re not doing either of these things - using a name that would be inappropriate for you to use, or using a name purely for aesthetics with no research - then you’re, by definition, not culturally appropriating. I hope that helped!
In Europe we view cultures as something that you should share as that’s how we all develop a better understanding of each other and grow clothed to one another. So unless a name is sacred, using a name from a different culture would be viewed as appreciation or neutrality towards that culture.
Also, perhaps because Western Europe isn’t as religious anymore, but we don’t tend to put someone’s religion as more important than someone else’s freedom to choose whatever name they want. As in, no one cares if choosing [name_f]Lilith[/name_f] or [name_m]Lucifer[/name_m] would upset a religious person.
These are my thoughts exactly 
I’m part Indigenous (side note: please, stop referring to Indigenous groups as “native american” - it’s not really considered a PC term anymore as a lot of people see it as America and Canada being their land originally and it having been stolen/taken unfairly from Indigenous people). and I wouldn’t take offense to someone using an Indigenous name for their child as long as they weren’t stripping the name of its original identity.
If you like Dakota just because “oh, it’s pretty”, that strips away all cultural significance of the name imo. However, if you learn the meaning of the name and can at least name the original language it came from, maybe knowing a little bit of history surrounding it, I have zero issues with it, personally.
I will also say though, that this is dependent on each person’s experiences/feelings and what I consider to be acceptable may not be for someone else, which is where it becomes hard to define appropriation vs. appreciation. I have been somewhat privileged in my experiences, but I know lots of other people who haven’t been as fortunate, and therefore, their thoughts on appropriation might be different from my own.
That’s why, in general, this definition is quite helpful to go by:
Hope this helps
(ETA for clarification)
I also think it’s important to note not everyone feels the same, because just because someone is a part of a community, doesn’t mean they speak for all of that community.
I’ve known a lot of people, and seen a lot of people online, who feel more strongly about cultural appropriation than some users on nameberry. I’ve heard the thing you specifically mentioned a lot, and while it may have offended you at first glance, it’s important to listen and understand whenever you can.
When it comes to a topic like this (or most topics, honestly), you can’t really use one opinion (or one sites majority opinion) to make up your mind on how you feel about it. I think it’s never a bad thing getting more input, opinions, and feelings, and you should look other places for it as well.
not saying I don’t agree with the general opinion on nameberry, I usually agree with a lot of users, but that’s not necessarily the important thing here. When educating yourself on something, you should always seek information as many places as you can. Sometimes you wont hear things you want to hear, and that’s okay. It comes with the territory of growing as a person, unlearning things that maybe are difficult to sometimes, and evolving your opinions and views on certain things as you learn more.
I also wanted to add that while this is obviously an important conversation, this site discusses it often, so it may help to search through previous topics and read discussions on those. I’d also like to note that I’d be careful with mentioning anything that could start a religious discussion or argument, as that’s mostly against the rules here.
I have a migraine, so hopefully this all made enough sense!!
This 
All of their reply is super great and makes really good points! The way I feel is gonna be different from what others feel, and that’s okay! This is a topic that’s very fluid from person to person and when it comes down to it it’s up to you to decide your feelings on it 
Posting just to thank all of you berries for these insightful, respectful, and generous replies! So so great to read. Thank you so much. I know I speak on behalf of several when I say, I so appreciate all of this helpful reading. 
I determine it on a case by case basis. Often, I don’t find it offensive, just puzzling - if you’re a WASP from the American Midwest, what’s the point of using, say, a Bengali name? It might sound pretty, but unless you’re invested in Bengali culture, you won’t have the same cultural context that makes the name appealing. As a rule of the thumb, I wouldn’t use a name if I didn’t know how it was perceived in its native land. Another forum had a user fawning over Bogumiła, calling it alluring and mysterious, which is, of course, his prerogative - but no Pole would call Bogumiła an alluring or mysterious! The cultural equivalent would be… Idk. [name_f]Debra[/name_f].
One thing that confuses me about this topic is, how does one know if someone has “done their research” about a name, if they are choosing a name because it was their grandma’s name, if they married into a culture, if they…whatever? A lot of assumptions seem to fly around about this topic. If someone sees a [name_u]Dakota[/name_u], a [name_f]Dinah[/name_f], a [name_f]Jezebel[/name_f], a [name_f]Lilith[/name_f], is the worst assumed?
So, my own personal take is, if it’s a family name, or you’ve married into the culture, then you have a tie to that culture/name. Again though, it’s down to each person’s experience with cultural appropriation, and what I think is appropriate may not be to someone else.
I also want to add on that different tribes have such different cultures! I have bio family who are Tsistsistas / S. Cheyenne and for them, there are traditional rules around being given a Cheyenne name. They aren’t freely taken.
That said as I was transculturally adopted and do not know much about Southern Cheyenne culture firsthand so I could be speaking out of turn. 
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As for my own opinion as a multicultural person, it depends on the specific culture. Judaism and Christianity are not closed religions, it’d be hard to tell if someone belonged to them or not. I’m not Jewish so all I can say is I thought most of the popular names were Hebrew haha. In any case I don’t think you’re going to be accused of anything for naming your kid Michael.
Do your research on the traditions and significance of the culture. Grouping all cultures together isn’t really fair so there’s no right answer. I am culturally latino and our cultures are so…intertwined and diverse that it’s hard to separate. I don’t have a problem with using any of the names common in our (many) cultures but I do think there’s a certain privilege that comes with being able to use a name associated with POC without facing any of the discrimination POC do for their names.
…And just to add, don’t think it was intentional, but there was some anti-latino commentary in the original threads! No hate because clearly this person cares about culture, but just to be aware.
Hi! I just wanted to point out that Judaism is a closed practice and has always been so and comparing it to Christianity is inaccurate.
Hey! What I mean is that it is totally possible to convert to Judaism. There are steps to doing so, it’s not considered impossible to start practicing Judaism if you weren’t born into it or aren’t ethnically Jewish. Whereas I consider closed religions to be religions you cannot convert to, maybe that’s a wrong way to use the term though!
I guess this is a reaction to what I posted the other day. I’ll elaborate and say that I don’t particularly have a problem with non-Jews using Sarah or Joshua (though yes they are from out culture which yes is a closed practice) but using names that have yet to be absorbed by non-Jewish society such as Yael, Hadassah, and Noam which are distinctly and solely Jewish, I do not find appropriate for non-Jews to use. Hope this makes sense. (I also don’t think researching a name and understanding where it comes from, necessarily makes it more acceptable for you to use).
Some of the reasons for this are at least in the case of Jewish names:
We have been persecuted for having Jewish/Hebrew names and have been forced to change them in many societies.
Names are part of our identity. If I see someone with a distinctly Jewish name, it’s like automatically making a connection. For many of us, identifying other Jews in public spaces is a safety measure we subconsciously take.
Our names are deeply tied to our history and culture which has remained sacred for thousands of years.
Yes I think that’s the wrong term. While you can convert it’s a long process and many rituals etc cannot be done until one has started or even completed the process. We’re also very anti-proselytization. We call Judaism a closed practice because of this.
Ah, that’s an interesting perspective! I’m no longer religious but I thought of it as not closed but not super open either. Thanks for sharing.
It does make me wonder where things stand for people who left religion.
Definitely this. Also, different cultures have different views on others using their names - some are closed practices, some are open to sharing, so it’s difficult to generalise. For example, I often see non-Buddhist people stating that the name Bodhi is for-a-fact, 100% offensive to Buddhists and shouldn’t be used. My boyfriend and his family are Buddhist, and while they obviously don’t speak for the whole religion as we’ve said, I have asked many of them about this name and they all could not fathom why it would be offensive. Bodhi is not used as a name by Buddhists, so it did strike a few of them as odd, but not offensive. In fact several people said it would be a positive thing to call a child that, because it might encourage the child to learn more about Buddhism and the meaning behind their name 
Absolutely! Each tribe has it’s own practices - I was just speaking from my own personal experiences.