Active discussions

Help protect children from gaming harms.

Take our survey

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

Naming a child from a country you have no links with

62 replies

TripTheLightFanjotastic · 01/12/2014 20:53

So in the running are Douglas if a boy and Ingrid if a girl, but both myself and DH are English. There are no Scottish links and no Scandinavian links, we just like the names.

Would this be a bit weird? It doesn't help our surname sort of sounds a little Scottish.

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Set a reminder
New posts on this thread. Refresh page
CruCru · 13/12/2014 14:19

I think both are fine as everyone in the UK would know how to spell and pronounce them. I'm not so keen on Irish names that are pronounced very differently from how they are written.

WolfMoon · 11/12/2014 01:31

I was given an Italian name by very much English parents - and went on to marry an Italian man. We now have DT girls with Italian names Grin

IgnoreMeEveryOtherReindeerDoes · 10/12/2014 12:07

My DS has a welsh name, we have now Welsh ties.

I had a uncle called Douglas and he was very northern. Love the name Ingrid btw and wouldn't even question the origin

InanimateCarbonRod · 10/12/2014 12:00

My DD has a native name from the South Pacific. I've never been and have no connections. I just liked it!

FishCanFly · 10/12/2014 11:59

Why not? We live in a multicultural society. People can name their kids as Lord of the Rings characters these days if they want to

Starlightbright1 · 09/12/2014 20:41

My DS has a welsh name I am English with no Welsh connection. I just loved the name

LadyintheRadiator · 09/12/2014 20:37

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

DrSeuss · 09/12/2014 20:24

Technically, my children's names are Hebrew. We're not Jewish.
My name is Greek, I am not.

BlueStarsAtNight · 09/12/2014 20:17

I like them both, and I def wouldn't hesitate with Douglas, but Ingrid I do kind of see what you mean, I would wonder if you had Scandinavia connections.

It's weird because I love Greta but feel like I can't use it for the same reason, but I wouldn't have that problem with Heidi! It's definitely a personal perception thing.

Aisa · 09/12/2014 18:33

I think both of them are gorgeous and no one would think twice about either. Something foreign that other English speakers would have to think for a while before knowing how to pronounce would be odd if there were no connection, but Douglas and Ingrid are fine.

AWombWithoutAFoof · 09/12/2014 18:03

My dream name for my hypothetical second DD is Målin. Even though the nearest I've been to Sweden is Ikea.

SwedishEdith · 09/12/2014 00:04

I've never met an Ingrid but I'd think of it as similar to Heidi or Greta - both really mainstream now.

Riverland · 08/12/2014 23:30

Sorry, what I meant to say was that I rather thought your children would regularly be asked the cultural connection re. the origin of their names.

But reading this thread I think I am wrong!

Riverland · 08/12/2014 23:29

If I meet an Ingrid I assume she's Scandi and will ask the connection. If I meet a Douglas I assume there's a Scots connection.

I must be old fashioned. I find it odd to use those names if you have no connection to them culturally.

Hakluyt · 08/12/2014 23:24

I know a Douglas and an Ingrid- both very firmly English.

Arven · 08/12/2014 23:22

Depends .... irish welsh scottish i wouldnt even think to wonder

I had Paloma and Bruno on my lists. Lots of French names i love. Arnaud eg

But for me, a japanese or arabic name would have been really inappropriate.

anothernumberone · 07/12/2014 01:52

I called my middle child a Hawaiian name and we are Irish no link to Hawaii what so ever but we loved the name. I would go with your heart.

saintsandpoets · 07/12/2014 01:43

Mrsfrumble, the Soren I know is German! Names are fluid imo, providing they can be written in your native script and make sense, go for it.

ToffeeCaramel · 06/12/2014 11:57

I think Douglas and Ingrid would be fine. Do you like the shortened versions of Doug and Dougie too?

NotMyChashkaChai · 05/12/2014 23:03

I love both names. my parental great grandfather was Douglas and was as English as you come with no Scottish connections. likewise we have a few ingrids on my mother's side - but we do have scandi links there. based on my background I wouldn't assume Douglas = Scottish. I might slightly expect ingrid to be of scandi background but wouldn't be surprised to find an English ingrid and certainly wouldn't think why are her parents using that name if they arent scandi?! fwiw, dd has a greek name (albeit one which is common in Germany where dh is from) and we aren't Greek!

mathanxiety · 05/12/2014 18:26

I think it is more the name itself than people's perception of it. Some names have been around for a long time and have become part of the general culture. Perceptions have therefore changed. Maybe four hundred years ago Douglas or Ingrid would have seemed 'Scottish'. Not any more. Names like Struan or Murdo otoh are relative newcomers and would seem more Scottish imo.

And I think surnames also make people have a perception of a name. Douglas Baker would seem quite English to me whereas Douglas McLeod would make me wonder if he was Scottish.

Original poster
Tripthelightfanjotastic · 05/12/2014 07:40

Thanks for the replies. I understand that names and naming trends evolve through time and will continue to do so.

For me the question was more of if you saw the name Douglas on paper, would you assume that person to be Scottish, likewise for Ingrid. (Not about limiting myself to English names only.) From what it sounds the answer is no, but other names it would be yes, and I guess that is very dependent on peoples perception of a name!

OP posts:
SurfsUp1 · 05/12/2014 04:33

We'd have trouble here in Australia if we had to only use Australian names.
I can't really think of any other than Aboriginal names and very few of us are Aboriginal!

Mrsfrumble · 04/12/2014 22:14

I know a little Soren who is half Thai and half Jewish American. I thought the combination was pretty cool when I met him!

I also know an Eduardo who's parents are both as English as can be. They just preferred it Edward and made no apologies or excuses, so Eduardo he is.

Ingrid and Douglas are both lovely.

Alexaa · 04/12/2014 21:59

I don't think it's weird. DS2 is called Ephraim. DH is actually half Israeli but it has never occurred to me that it could be weird, especially as DS looks far from Israeli-Jewish with his blonde hair and green eyes.