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Baby names

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

Original poster

What name would you love to use but you feel you can't because it's from another culture?

108 replies

Wavyheaded · 25/10/2019 23:03

Just for fun... I'm not even close to having a kid but love thinking about names.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Serafina (my all time favourite name!) but I'm not of Mediterranean or French descent and so it would be weird to use it - unless I marry a French man.

I also love Ettyenne, another French name (I think), it's just so elegant.

What do you wish you could use?

OP posts:
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RuffleCrow · 26/10/2019 13:02

I don't get this: plenty of kids from 'other cultures' called things like James and Sarah. If you like the name, go for it. Your child will be a citizen of the world. And france is hardly 'another culture' anyway! They're basically like us but they speak french and drive on the right Grin. If you're anything like me you'll have ancestry from other european nations a few generations back anyway.

NonUrinatInVentum · 26/10/2019 12:58

I'm Irish, DH is Italian and our DD's name, Aaria, is a traditional Maori name. We chose it because it's beautiful, neither of us have ever been to New Zealand nor have any connections.

RolytheRhino · 26/10/2019 12:45

Giovanna

BethanyGilbert · 26/10/2019 12:43

Yusef and Yara (which I liked for years before GOT was on TV but got a pasting on here for suggesting it)

emwithme · 26/10/2019 11:06

Priya
Florian

DuploRelatedInjury · 26/10/2019 09:49

Ariadne (me) and Saoirse (more DH) No connection to Greece. Technically some Irish blood through one of my grandparents but not enough to justify Saoirse!

hazandduck · 26/10/2019 09:36

I love the name India and always have (so much so I named one of our kittens it when we were kids and she is still going 20 years later..)

I have really noticed people in real life and on here say you should only use it if you have links to India or at least have visited. Which I definitely haven’t! And I couldn’t use it until the dear old cat dies any way lol. I just think it’s pretty.

Serafina is beautiful and only reminds me of His Dark Materials (the witch wasn’t she?) I would totally use it if I were you :)

Mimishimi · 26/10/2019 09:34

I'm a Miriam. Throws everyone off (I'm Irish but dark featured) and have had some really nasty stuff said over the years. I wish my dad had stuck with Mary to be honest.

TheLovelyOtherDinosaur · 26/10/2019 09:31

It seems such a shame you feel a favourite name is off limits because of this.
Who gives a stuff?! Live life, be adventurous! After all this is how you’d want your child to be!
We’ve given our son a French name just because we love it, neither of us are remotely French!! People either comment on how lovely it is or not at all. Be brave (it’s really not that brave!!). There are so many names used worldwide now and everyone has such different tastes that you have to just go with what you love!!

HettyStThomas · 26/10/2019 09:24

I taught a lovely Priya years ago and have always liked the name since.

Poppyfields21 · 26/10/2019 09:22

Hamish but we aren’t Scottish so it got vetoed

NC4this123 · 26/10/2019 09:20

Vogue!

TheCanterburyWhales · 26/10/2019 09:19

A lot of these have entered mainstream UK naming so I wouldn't worry other than checking you've not called your child the Latvian equivalent of Adolf or Engelbert.
I often see Italian names on these threads which no Italian has been called for about 90 years for example.

LiveatCityHall · 26/10/2019 09:16

OP serafina is the name of one of the characters in the His Dark Materials trilogy. You could always say it came from there? It's a lovely name and I'd never heard of it until I read these books.

winniesanderson · 26/10/2019 08:19

Aoife, Caoimhe, Saoirse, Aisling, Aoibhe

Blair, Ceit, Eilidh

I am very much not Irish or Scottish but love some of the names. Two of them were on the list for both of my dc. But each time it felt wrong to use them.

missmouse101 · 26/10/2019 08:19

Malachy
Amira

Hundredacrewoods · 26/10/2019 08:17

Noor

Crystal87 · 26/10/2019 08:11

Farah

SallyLovesCheese · 26/10/2019 08:10

Toluwanimi. I love African names like that, taught a girl with this name once and she was Tolu for short. Beautiful.

Chocolateandcarbs · 26/10/2019 08:07

Amelie

forkfun · 26/10/2019 08:07

Navid (nah-veed) Always loved that name but zero connection to its origin.

WeeDangerousSpike · 26/10/2019 08:06

Julita pronounced you-lee-ta.

Ohyesiam · 26/10/2019 08:06

Catia, Reuben and Saskia

Scarybennet · 26/10/2019 08:04

You can use these names. There's no law saying you must have a link to the country of origin.

smemorata · 26/10/2019 08:03

My children all have Italian names which I love. I also love but wouldn't use (and probably don't pronounce properly) a lot of Irish names.