India?

[greyjeanie]

Comment on this shortlist and please say which name you prefer and why:

India
Isla
Juliet (NN, Jules)
Maya (May-a not My-a)
Olivia

Asking for lovely SIL who’s feeling too poorly to come onto MN/online.

[DramaAlpaca]

India - no, it's the name of a country not a person
Isla - lovely, but very popular
Juliet - lovely and not popular - this would be my choice
Maya - not for me, and too many pronuncation issues. That spelling is the name of an ancient South American tribe
Olivia - lovely, but very popular

[pallisers]

Juliet. lovely name

[GrumpyHoonMain]

India is okay if your sil or her partner aren’t Indian. But my fav on the list is olivia.

[greyjeanie]

@GrumpyHoonMain

SIL’s DH, so BIL is half Indian. He’s never been there though and feels slightly disconnected from his ancestory so they thought it would be a nice connection

[GrumpyHoonMain]

Probably better to consider an Indian name rather than the name of the country, if he wants a connection to his ancestry.

[greyjeanie]

@GrumpyHoonMain

Yes, perhaps.

I’m struggling to see why you think it’s okay for white/non indian babies to be called India but not if they have a minor connection to the country

[Expressedways]

Juliet is lovely, that would be my top choice.

Olivia and Isla are quite nice but very popular, Olivia especially but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Just my personal preference but I really dislike Maya and India.

[Janaih]

love India, that would be my first choice.

like all the others apart from Isla, too vowel-ey for my liking.

your sil should also consider how they sound with surname

[Boireannachlaidir]

Juliet

[GrumpyHoonMain]

For a few reasons:

1. It’s a bit cringey like when Americans call their kids England because they’re half-English.
   
2. India is the colonial name for the area between Aghanistan and Bangladesh which has been retained because there’s been a struggle to identify a better name that typifies the diverse nature of the country (a lot of Indian cities have been renamed for the same reason).

[MashedSpud]

Olivia or Isla.

I don’t like India as a name. I’m not a fan on place names being used as names for people.

[BlueEyedFloozy]

My favourite is India - I know a few and think it's a cool but not weird name. It's one of the few place names that work on people.

I like Isla and Juliet but really dislike "Jules".

Not keen on Maya (particularly chosen pronunciation) or Olivia.

[MillicentMartha]

I quite like India. I think it’s fine for someone with some Indian heritage but an Indian name might be better. Someone with Scottish heritage called Scott would seem a little strange. Callum or Angus etc might work better, no?

Isla is very Scottish, not sure.
Juliet is lovely.
I like Maya, pronounced as you you suggest, but there would be mispronunciations if that might bother your SIL.
Olivia is a nice name, but has been the top name for quite a few years.

[hippy1952]

My 14 year old granddaughter is called India! She has beautiful long blond hair and lovely long legs! Everybody always comments on what a cool name India is!

[ChikiTIKI]

What about Anita 😍

[pikapikachu]

I think that India isn't a cool name with someone with a Indian ancestory. It's like when people from other countries pick names that are UK place names like Harlow without knowing what Harlow is like. I think that there are some pretty Indian names that work in English too. I know an Indian girl called Maya pronounced Ma-ya rather than May-a. I don't know if Indian people would use both pronunciations.

Juliet is pretty but not the nicknames Jules imo. I like Olivia and Isla but they are very popular.

[Kanga83]

I don't like any of them apart from Olivia. It's popular but nice. Olive and Ophelia as similar alternatives.

[Ellmau]

Juliet is lovely.

[JonnyPocketRocket]

Juliet is lovely. I think India is also fine for someone with Indian heritage. The baby will only be 1/4 Indian so probably won't look immediately identifiable as Indian (I say that as a fellow 1/4 Indian person).
The Hindi word for India is 'Bharat' and I've met 2 Indian men with that name so it's obviously not totally unheard of in that culture to be named after your "own" country.

[BubblesBuddy]

India Hicks is the Granddaughter of Earl Mountbatten. She’s not Indian and it’s now normal to use this name. Use it if you wish without any concerns.

Juliet is quite old fashioned but ok. Don’t like Jules much. It’s unisex - Oliver and Holland. Olivia and Isla are used quite a lot. Maya is an ancient civilisation. Nothing wrong with using that as a name. It’s May-a and it’s certainly used as a name. Combine it with one or more of the others?

[Eloisedublin123]

India is beautiful

[MrsGilly1]

Indie x

[Dino44]

India is my favourite. Olivia is also very pretty but obviously much more popular.

Isla and Maya I just don’t like, too many hyphenated versions around here Isla-May etc.

Juliet is old fashioned to my ears. If that’s you’re favourite I prefer Juliette spelling.

[VenusClapTrap]

Love India. Very elegant.

[HeadlessGummyBears]

Love both Juliet and India but in their shoes, I’d probably have India as the middle name and have Juliet as the more traditional first name.