Why do so many people object to...

It's an interesting question op. I just knew I wanted a quite old fashioned British name but with hind sight I'm not sure there is a particular reason why, that said dds name is a fairly common name across Europe albeit with different spelling.

DD's name is used in a variety of European countries but is rare in the UK and we have no links to the countries it's popular in. DH and i both have Welsh roots and whilst it's a word in Welsh it's not used as a name. Nobody has suggested it's odd that we used it or ever much commented on it but there are several frequently used girls'names that sound like it so maybe it's more to do with nmaes from other cultures sounding "weird" to British ears?

i think it depends. I know Irish Reubens, and I know an Olwen, but Abdul or Momoko would be a bit beyond those I believe... that's just my opinion.

I wouldn't. Names are about origins and identity, and I believe should hold significance for the parents. But then, I'm a bit tied by wanting my DCs to have names of the same origin as all the DSCs...

But each to their own. Really, I think it just requires an understanding of the meaning and heritage of the name. For example, don't call your non-Muslim girl Aisha if you're not willing to learn about Mohammed's youngest wife and what she represents for Muslims...

I suppose it's similar with 'made up' name - but only a few centuries ago 'Edward' was made up and now it's a traditional name. I suppose it depends upon, as morganlebuffay says, how long ago the names were adopted and if they sound like they 'fit' in with our view of 'national' names - but like you say, that's changing all the time.

Having said that, I wouldn't pick anything knowingly Welsh/Italian/Spanish/Asian/Scandinavian because I am none of those and I fear that it would be strange given the names I've already picked for my other children and/or that my child would spend his/her life explaining that no, there was no connection. It is a bit daft, though. But then you have to narrow the choice down somehow, dont you?

I have no objection...but my DM thinks you should only call a baby Astrid if it's blonde, or Jasmine if it's dark.

I do think it's nice if you can find a little bit of heritage that connects to the babies name, but if not, never mind. There is no Scottish or Russian blood in my DC (although there is just about everything else) and they have Scottish and Russian middles names, just because I liked them.

I wonder too, I was slated (a little) for suggesting Soleil as I am not French.
Why not just use Sun they said? Because it sounds like a boy I said.
So many popular names are not English in origin - Flora, Freya, Chloe, Phoebe, Ella, I could go on for hours. No one got around to answering that point.

I have this rule but when I stop to think about it I realise that my name is French, with no family connection.

Well, I suppose names are identity markers, and as such many people think that if a name is going to point towards a certain ethnicity/nationality, it might as well be the child's own. e.g. if I was proud of my Welsh roots I might be especially inclined towards the names that my Welsh family/ancestors might have had, on the other side of the coin I might not go for Alejandro or Ahmed as the child would spend his life explaining that no, he wasn't Spanish/Asian, his mum just liked the sound of the name.

True of course that many names we consider as English have other origins (although depending on how back they were adopted, they may have developed a uniquely English form). I suppose some names fit better into English than others?