Do you think children are disadvantaged by having 'non English' names?

[splashy]

I was think of calling my daughter Talia, which I think is a really pretty name and works well in English, but is also a Jewish/Israeli name which would reflect her heritage.

However several people have told me that I should give her a more 'Anglicised' name, as otherwise this might disadvantage her in life. I feel a bit miffed by this, but of course wouldnt want her to have a name which might mean she has difficulties later on.

What are your opinions on this? Any personal experiences?

[differentID]

Not at all.

I know of 2 Talia's. One use is short for natalia, the other is not.

Nothing wrong with it. It's a very pretty name.

I think you are more disadvataged if the name is clearly made up or just a word that is not in common usage as a name or even if it's a "brand" name given as a first name.

[Beral]

There is some evidence to show that your friends are correct. Having said that I think that Talia is quite universal and doesn't sound 'forreign'.

[southeastastra]

of course not

[SherbetDibDab]

There is also evidence to show your friends are incorrect - see the book Freakonomics.

I also think Thalia/Talia is pretty mainstream these days anyway.

[ILoveDolly]

Although I am English, versions of my name are common all over the East. I have never had any feeling that my name disadvantaged me, in fact people often comment on it favourably. Having a slightly 'exotic' but non-kooky name makes you memorable, and sometimes that is an advantage!

[Lonnie]

My children have Greek French German and Irish names

I am Danish DH is English/Scottish

we have never had a issue and their heritage they will get from you and dh not from their name

[rachel234]

Of course not!

I would however, chose a name that is pronouncable in many languages, not just English. You never know where your children may study or work one day .

[slouchingtowardswaitrose]

I think children are disadvantaged by racists.

Talia is beautiful

[Lora69]

Agree, people with predjudices do have poorer/more negative perceptions of names they have not heard/are 'foriegn'. A sad fact of life im afraid, and the reason why I wouldnt personally choose an exotic name. Its fine if you are e.g African to have an African name, but I admit I find it odd if someone of different origin had a name popular in a different culture. Call me if you like, but a white Adeel or Mohammed just seems odd.. and a white Blessing would throw me at first if i saw her name written down before meeting her. that doesnt mean i would respond to her any differently personally, but say a racist employer saw the name on a CV.. im sorry but they could discriminate and that is so very wrong obviously but could happen yes. I think its a really tricky one, hence why I would avoid some, but not ALL names,, then again most names are international anyway, as is our society so its just the very narrow minded majority you need to worry about, and maybe they arent even worth the worry anyway? x

[muggglewump]

I think you mean, 'names that are not well known in the UK', rather than 'English names'.

My DD has an Irish name, she's as Scottish as they come, with an English Mum, and an Australian Dad she's never met!
Work that one out.

[Lora69]

oh my god, that should read minority!! hopefully its the minority anyway! i love both talia and natalie or natalia too, i guess you could have more nn potential from the longer ones. its better to be different than like everyone else- i would have a common name! i was a laura till i changed it to lora just stick with what feels right and ignore the racists, they are behind the times x

[Lora69]

god, im tired, that should have read 'i would hate' a common name!! bed!

[ShoshanaBlue]

Love Talia, I was always going to call my second child Talia (but stopped at one!)

[splashy]

i agree lora natalia is a really pretty name too, but it's too similar to my name for me to give to our daughter. also agree don't like names which are too common, wouldnt want my daughter to be one of many!

and thank you shosh, differentid and slouching who agree its a lovely name.

yes mugglewump maybe anglicised names would be a better term, i know many mainstream names have foreign origins (like my name)

[MumNWLondon]

Talia is a lovely name and anglicised enough. I also like Tal and Tali.

I think a good test is to write the name down and show to a number of people who are not jewish / israeli etc to check they can pronounce, clearly Talia is fine.

eg my sister's name is Tamar and assumption when people first heard it was that it was pronounced like the River Tamar (Tay-mar) when actually its pronouced Ta-mar. Another friend had trouble with Yael (Ya-el) when people say Yale. Or Gila, which is pronounced with a hard G as in goldfish, not like Gilian.

[scottishmummy]

good grief no.plenty scottsih/irish/celt names on go.dont have to pick a stiff upper lip ingerlish name at all

[BreastmilkDoesAFabLatte]

There has been research (based, I think, on applications to medical school) to show that those with "foreign" names can be discriminated against.

But equally, identity and culture matter. And I suspect that children given names which do not reveal their heritage suffer for it. (Although I can completely understand why many Jews have traditionally done so.)

Our DD has a "foreign" first name and English middle name. The only awkward moment so far has been at a class when she was given a name badge labelled Baby BreastmilkDoesAFabLatte, whilst everyone else was given badges with Ava and Alice and Grace and Harry.

Talia, I think, is lovely. My only concern would be people assuming she's Natalia.

[CuppaTeaJanice]

I think, as society is becoming more multicultural, one potential problem might be if the name is used by different genders in different cultures.

For example, I know somebody who called her son Nikita. She's East European and it's a boys name there, but here in the UK most people would assume a Nikita to be a girl.

Also some names might have different meanings in other cultures, eg. Pippa means 'wank' in Greece.

Neither of these problems apply to the name Talia though.

[bigstripeytiger]

I think that to some extent it may be the case that there might be some disadvantage to certain types of name, but I dont think that this would persist beyond the first contact with the person.

I dont think this would apply to Talia at all.

[Romilly70]

My name in RL is very "foreign", as I was born overseas to non-english parents, however it matches my appearance.

As a child, it was annoying to not "blend in" and I still get sick of having to spell my name over the phone.

However, the positive flip side is that it is great having a really unusual name, so you never need your surname, and in a way, I think it makes you more confident as you can't just blend in the crowd.

Based on my own experiences, now that i am pregnant with DS1, (who's father is white english) but we live in France, we have chosen a french name, so that he can blend in, but it is also unsual enough so that he can "stand out" if necessary...

FWIW, I think Talia is a beautiful name and is very appropriate given your daughter's heritage.

[gorionine]

I think Talia is a really pretty name.

All my Dcs have foreign names and they have not yet been teased for it or treated differently in school. I personally do not think it is a problem at all.

DD1 is starting High school in September I ' will see if things get different then.

Ffrom several other name thread I have read, I think it tends to be adults that comment on children names, not other children in contact with them. TBH I really do not care what the parents of my DCs friends think of my DCs names.

[staranise]

DD1 has a foreign name as she was born overseas (and we thought we'd be living there longer) - it's never occurred to me it might be a disadvantage! It's a PITA that I have to explain it/spell it out nearly every day, though it's actually quite a conservative, widespread name in that country.

TBH, there's so few children in her class with straightforward names that her name doesn't stand out at school. I think what is classed as unusual for our generation just won't apply any longer as her generation gets older, IYKWIM.

[Rhubarbgarden]

Thalia/Talia is a very pretty name.

Can't help chipping in on the foreign meaning thing. Years ago I worked in a small, obscure government department with the acronym PANDU. It's function was to get minority ethnic communities involved in government decision making. At one event that we organised, a gentleman of Indian descent let me know that 'pandoo' in Hindi means village idiot. Oh dear...

[SkiHorseWonAWean]

Talia is gorgeous and not too "out there" IMO.

I myself have a couple of Scottish gaelic names and I've worked in mainland europe for over 10 years. In one particularly racist country (which I shall not name) I found it very hard to get an interview - I turned up to one and was told by a shocked man "You're white? We thought... "

I do think people were/are thrown by my name - on the other hand - the English fare no better with it. At least Talia is pronounced as it's written!

[MmeLindt]

Our DC have "foreign" names - Scottish names but we live in mainland Europe so they are unusual here.

Both in Germany where they were born, and here in Switzerland we have only had compliments about their names. In fact, I would say that it is an advantage to have a slightly different name as it makes them more memorable to others.

Talia is a lovely name, and I would not have known that it was of Jewish/Israeli origin. I would simply think "pretty name" if I were to meet a child of that name.