Page 2 | Safiya - girl name

Elambert83 · 2021-04-02T18:04:57+00:00

Hi I am liking the name Safiya (pronounced Sah-fee-ya. What are peoples thoughts?

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SirSamuelVimes · 04/04/2021 14:23

I really like it. Taught two or three and they were all lovely girls.

cerealgamechanger · 04/04/2021 14:19

In a knot*

cerealgamechanger · 04/04/2021 14:16

My goodness, to the pearl clutchers twisting themselves in a know worrying she'll be mistaken for a Muslim- so what?! Muslims are people too and they're a diverse enough religious group for names not being an issues- they wouldn't accuse you of cultural appropriation. Imagine someone having an issue with a name associated with Jews (e.g. Rachel) and using 'people will think she's Jewish' as a warning not use the name. Ridiculous.

Use the name OP, it's lovely.

canwetalk · 04/04/2021 14:00

@Elambert83 I totally understand where you’re coming from! I love the fact that we live in such a diverse, multi-cultural society. I just see Safiya as a name tied more to the Muslim religion than the Arabian culture, which is fine if you don’t mind the association to that religion. From what I’ve heard, a lot of converted Muslims retain their English surnames, so Safiya with an English surname may be seen as a daughter of converted Muslim parents. Just trying to put all the possibilities out there! It’s a beautiful name though and if you love it and don’t mind the associations to a particular religion, I say go for it!
I just read about the story behind Safiya in Islam on Wikipedia, it says something along the lines that her Jewish tribe was conquered by the Muslim followers of the prophet and she was taken to become his wife after that. It seems like quite a religious name to me!
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safiyya_bint_Huyayy

Original poster

Elambert83 · 04/04/2021 13:37

I am really confused right now. She will be Safiya Karen Lambert and will be fairly pale and white.

Its an interesting debate to have but I'd like to think that we live in a multi-cultural, integrated society and that will be the casr even more so by the time she will be asked those types of questions.

OP posts:

canwetalk · 04/04/2021 12:38

People do ask those things, especially when your DD will be a bit older and at Uni. When I was at uni I was friends with a Hindu, Indian girl whose surname was Shah and she had a very secular first name, she had a lot of interest from Muslim boys who would eventually ask if she is Muslim or Pakistani, and we would find it funny because it would happen so often with her. Names do hint at your family’s beliefs, cultural origins etc 99% of the time.

chilliplant634 · 04/04/2021 12:10

To be fair, she will probably have a very English sounding last name. So won't necessarily be assumed to be muslim? I am a muslim with a non traditional muslim name which is a bit English sounding. I remember when I was young everyone would make a fuss and try and pronounce it differently, more in line with a similar more "muslim-sounding" name. Now over 20 years later my name has become very popular and common in the muslim community.

Things change. Perceptions change. I'm sure there was a time when names like zara and aliya were considered too "foreign" or "muslim" sounding. It is simply not the case anymore is it?

MeadowHay · 04/04/2021 12:03

@canwetalk

Everyone will assume that your DD is Muslim, which might get very annoying for her during her lifetime to keep correcting people saying “no I’m not Muslim, no my parents are not Arab”. I wouldn’t personally want my child to go through that. I still think Safiya is quite a strong, statement Muslim name. There are other names that are more international now like Zara, Alia, Leila. A lot of Muslim girls are also called Sophia so it’s very international. I have a lot of Muslim friends who wouldn’t mind Safiya though, but they are very non-religious.

When in life are people asked "are you Muslim?" or "are your parents Arab?"

I don't think anyone has ever asked me either of those things (Muslim, uncommon Muslim name, parents are not Arab). I agree people are likely to make assumptions but it's not like everywhere you go people will be straight away asking you your religion and whether you're of Arab descent

canwetalk · 04/04/2021 11:51

Everyone will assume that your DD is Muslim, which might get very annoying for her during her lifetime to keep correcting people saying “no I’m not Muslim, no my parents are not Arab”. I wouldn’t personally want my child to go through that. I still think Safiya is quite a strong, statement Muslim name. There are other names that are more international now like Zara, Alia, Leila. A lot of Muslim girls are also called Sophia so it’s very international. I have a lot of Muslim friends who wouldn’t mind Safiya though, but they are very non-religious.

Fourstonesmash · 04/04/2021 00:18

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Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Luckyelephant1 · 04/04/2021 00:14

It's lovely but doesn't go with Karen IMO sorry. Then again middle names are rarely used or even known of by anyone that isn't immediate family so if it means a lot then go for it.

bonfireheart · 03/04/2021 22:21

As a Muslim, I will echo what other Muslim posters have said above - lovely name, go for it:)

HappyWipings · 03/04/2021 22:10

I like it. Makes me think of Safiya Nygaard , the youtuber that others have mentioned.

Her father is Danish and her Mother is Indian I believe.

Time2b33 · 03/04/2021 22:06

There was a famous lady who gave birth recently who called her daughter Saphaia. Not sure how it's pronounced 😳 but could be a non-Muslim alternative?

Ijustlikedthename · 03/04/2021 20:29

Lovely!

Souther · 03/04/2021 16:20

@Elambert83

I wouldn't have Sophia as I have 2 nieces called Sophie. I might be being stupid but I don't get what the problem is with using other culture names. I will bear it in mind but surely the objections have to be backed up with more than that...

I have no objections to you using it at all. It would just seem weird because it's a very very muslim name. For me personally I associate it with elderly ladies. Similarly to other cultures names go in and out of fashion. So most of the people I know with this name are over 50.

Souther · 03/04/2021 15:13

It's a muslim name. So she might regularly be mistaken for being a muslim

Soubriquet · 03/04/2021 15:10

People use names like Rachel when they aren’t Jewish

Safiya is a pretty name. I like it

Thought it was pronounced like Sapphire to begin with though

MeadowHay · 03/04/2021 14:57

Also for additional context, in Islamic history Safiya was the name of one of Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him)'s wives, and she was Jewish, not Muslim anyway.

MeadowHay · 03/04/2021 14:56

@Elambert83

I didn't want to cause problems, I simply like the name. Having read up now I don't believe that its cultural appropriation either. Names come from all over the world and from different cultures so unsure why its so sensitive to people regarding muslim names. It is not a name of Allah etc to ensure that it was not a sacred god etc as id understand that.

I like names also of Greek, Norse, Japanese origin etc.

I wouldn't worry OP, a few Muslims (including me) have responded to your thread and none of us accused you of cultural appropriation. One PP mentioned the 'assimiliation' of names - how would a name become 'assimilated' in the first place if people didn't use it?! I think it's absolutely fine. In my life I've met a few people with Arabic/traditionally Muslim names who were not Muslim, sometimes this is because one parent was from a Muslim background but this was often the NRP that they had little if any relationship with, or sometimes their parents just liked the name. It's not super unusual and I've never known a Muslim to be bothered about it. In fact personally I quite like it as it means me/friends/family etc if our names become more popular we are 'othered' less by them.

Original poster

Elambert83 · 03/04/2021 14:47

I didn't want to cause problems, I simply like the name. Having read up now I don't believe that its cultural appropriation either.
Names come from all over the world and from different cultures so unsure why its so sensitive to people regarding muslim names. It is not a name of Allah etc to ensure that it was not a sacred god etc as id understand that.

I like names also of Greek, Norse, Japanese origin etc.

OP posts:

daisypond · 03/04/2021 13:08

@miltonj

It's gorgeous! Definitely use it. Sounds lovely with Karen too. It's absolutely not cultural appropriation, other posters are seriously over thinking it. I wouldn't assume anything of the child's heritage. I would put it on my list for if I have another daughter but it's way too similar to my existing daughter name.. shame!

It’s not “absolutely not cultural appropriation”. It could be. You’re under-thinking it. It just needs more thought. I’m not sure either way on this one.

PandaFluff · 03/04/2021 12:51

@Flittingaboutagain

Look up "can a baby name be cultural appropriation?" OP if you would like to see the more nuanced aspects of naming a baby outside of your culture.

I've had a Google. Thanks I hadn't thought of this before so am glad I have.

miltonj · 03/04/2021 12:34

It's gorgeous! Definitely use it. Sounds lovely with Karen too. It's absolutely not cultural appropriation, other posters are seriously over thinking it. I wouldn't assume anything of the child's heritage. I would put it on my list for if I have another daughter but it's way too similar to my existing daughter name.. shame!

Watercoloursky · 03/04/2021 12:26

It's very pretty! I'd initially assumed it was a different spelling of 'Sapphire' when I read the thread title, and would have pronounced it that way - but that's my ignorance of the name's origins, very interesting now that I know more!