What do you think of Enzo for non Italian baby?

[Eleta]

Back again with yet another boy's name I find girls names much easier and have narrowed them down to 3 but so far the only name my husband and I both like is Harry, which is fine but another family member has this name ( doesn't mean I can't use it, it's my Grandad, but family will find it strange and think I have named baby after him) Also dd1 and dd2 have friends called Harry. Again I don't have big problem with popular names, but it would be nice to have something slightly more unusual but not weird.

Enzo just popped into my head today as dh used to know one and we both liked it but.....it is very Italian and neither of us have a claim on that heritage so is it ok to pinch the name?

Just made me think that alot of the names we use today aren't of English origin even ones we think of as being very popular names. Louis for example is fairly widespread in the UK now. SO can I have it?

[minouminou]

It's great
does it fit with surname?

[Mavornia]

I don't think it works if you don't have some Italian connection (love of pasta might swing it..)

What about these:

Ezra
Luca
Dante

[IAmNotHere]

I hear Enzo, I think Ferrari.

[MaryAnnSingleton]

Have it if you like it ! I do see what you mean though - both that lots of names we use aren't neccessarily of English origin but they sort of become assimilated iyswim.. ds's name for example,strictly speaking is Greek, but it's accepted widely as a name used by English boys....whereas Enzo is definitely I talian and I might feel a bit of a fraud using it ( though I am an eighth Italian, so could stretch it, just about)

[TheFallenMadonna]

All about the surname in this case I reckon.

[ChopsTheDuck]

ditto IAmNotHere

Harry is nice, let them think what they want.

[Brangelina]

Enzo is an old man's name in Italy. all the ones I know are at the very least over 40. It's actually an abbreviation for Lorenzo/Vincenzo etc., but most of the current crop of Lorenzos tend to abbreviated to Lory, or so it seems.

I'm only talking about Norther Italy of course, down south there might be more as ther are more people called Vincenzo.

[Bucharest]

I think a foreign name which is still foreign (unlike Louis/Francesca etc which have become international) can't be used unless you have some connection. It just seems naff (sorry!)
It's a bit of an old-fashioned grandad type name anyway....(and would be short for Vincenzo or Lorenzo)

[Bucharest]

Snap Brangelina!
Nope, I'm in Puglia, and it's still old man down here LOL.

[Brangelina]

Where's a nice place to holiday in Puglia that's not as far as Salento? I was thinking of Gargano maybe. It has to be cheap unfortunately, so campsite with bungalow type stuff. Can you think of somewhere nice and not horribly overpopulated in august? I know, I'm asking a lot

[MrsMattie]

It's just so Italian.

He'll spend the rest of his life saying 'No, I'm not actually Italian but...'

[BettySpaghetti]

If you were Italian it would work if a shortened version of one of the names already mentioned.

Otherwise I'm afraid it sounds like the name of one of the Muppets or characters from Sesame Street

[Bucharest]

Brangelina- I want to live on the gargano but dp says no!
You're sure to find beach-bunglalow type accomodation there, we stayed with a friend, but i noticed lots of camping/bungalow type places....Peschici is my favourite, Vieste a bit livelier....
T'will be full of germans in August....

{sorry, OP}xx

[Eleta]

I understand everyones point about using foregn names and part of me agrees hence my hesitation about using this BUT... going back to names such as Louis, someone had to start using them here in order for it to become an excepted name in England. So were the first few Louis's naff?

Also why can't we use names from other countries? Do they belong to them?

And lastly I don't think there is anything wrong with it being an old man name after all, all the English 'old man' names have been revived over the last few years.

(Hope I don't sound argumentative, I am just interested in what everyone thinks and enjoying the opportunity of talking myself into/out of using it.

[Eleta]

oh and with regards to Ferrari, I think that's why dh likes it. He owns one in his fantasy world.

[nooka]

Way too Muppets for me

[spicemonster]

I know two Lucas and they're both from Italian families. I think Enzo will be hard-pressed to explain his name when he gets older because it is so Italian. There are lots of names that are of non-English origin which aren't specifically associated with a particular country IMO

[CantSleepWontSleep]

I love Lorenzo, shortened to Enzo if you like, but would hesitate to use it myself because it's a bit too Italian.

[SoupDragon]

If you like a name, use it. IMO the only time the origin/lack of connection with that origin matter is when it's a difficult spelling.

[SoupDragon]

"I think Enzo will be hard-pressed to explain his name when he gets older" why do you think he'd need to explain it in any other way than "my parents liked it"?

[castille]

Enzo is popular in France at the moment, as are lots of other boys' names ending in o.

[Mung]

I love that name and really wanted it for second child. It was a DD in the end, but I think I had made the decision that Enzo just seemed too odd for us, as we had no Italian connection. I think Enzo and think Ferrari (or Chris Evan's dog...I think its called Enzo), but that is just cool.
Hatrick is right about Luca being used a lot these days and it seems more accepted than Enzo.
With regards to explaining the name...well, you dont really need to, do you? No one asks me to explain my name to them nor do they ask me to explain DS's which is not run of the mill. My parent's liked it is an excellent reason, in fact the only one.