Does ethnicity affect opinions of names?
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Does ethnicity affect opinions of names?
| Fri, 09-28-2007 - 10:15pm |
Just wondering what people thought about this... Would you have a different feeling or opinion about a name choice if you knew the ethnic background of the baby. For example, my children are half caucasian and half african american. So, they have darker skin. I have gotten comments, like, they shouldn't have names like Ben or Joe, because they are "supposed" to have something more out there. No one's exact words here, just my interpretation of what has actually been said... in a nutshell. I happen to like "different" names anyhow, but I wouldn't really think it should matter. Honest opinions would be appreciated. WDYT?? Thanks,
Wendy
Wendy

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You are completely right in that it shouldn't matter.
both my boys are half white and half black as well, and i feel the same as you, they should be able to have any name no matter what ethnic background. all though i will say that i do have an obsession with unique names, my oldest sons name is Isiah Mikal Lynn , even though it is a common name now for any race of boys, it has a differant spelling. my second sons name is Kyril Xavier ,and though it may sound like a "black name" it is actually Celtic. and i am 9 months pregnant with my daughter whose name will be Whisper , and that name was thought of by her father because it starts with a "W" as does his name. So even though names may be unique i don't think it matters of the childs ethnic background.
I agree that it shouldn't matter, but I think some people try too hard to give their kid an ethnic sounding name that is actually made up. My mother showed me the list of kids at her school recently, and you can pick out exactly which children are black, for instance. It's actually broken down more than that, though, because a majority of
Wendy
Wendy
Hi Wendy,
It's funny, I think about this stuff, too...as does DH. DH is Jewish and my parents are Christian. When we named Solomon my VERY Catholic grandmother was thrilled that we'd given him 'such a Christian name' whereas my SIL rolls her eyes that my kids 'both have SUCH Jewish names." Solomon is actually Hebrew and I honestly don't know the origin of Max.
Here's what I think: If a person has a name that is very obviously not of their background - little white kid named Mohammed or an Indian child named Seamus...I find it a little weird. But there are a LOT of names that fit children more generally (such as Shawn is not SO Irish because it's been "mainstreamed" for so long). I think if your kids have a mixed background you just have a larger pool to draw from!
But I don't think anyone "has" to choose names of a particular style! Frankly, I'm rather glad not everyone agrees with my taste - Max is not one of 2 or 3 in his class (or 4 or 5 like his father - Mike) and Solomon will probably NEVER have a kid in his class with his name! :o)
Siggy by the AMAZING Alicia at Momsquawk.com! Thanks!
How cute he came up with it all on his own! And cute he actually uses the colour name that's technically more accurate, LOL! Kids are so funny.
I might want to match the name with the ethnicity of the last name....
or not...LOL.
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