Arabic names for white child

Exactly, so this supports my main point that the connoataion and culture of a name need to be considered alongside whether it 'sounds nice' and occurs in a work of literature.
a name is not 'just a name' as a p poster claimed. It comes with a whole set of associations , which parents should consider before foistering them on their child.
How on esrth will her teachers, let alone a child learn to spell Scheherazade?
Okay, it can be shortened to Sherry but some people might find that pretty laughable.
What if she's teetotal? I guess some people will think she's called Sherry becsuse she can't stop drinking it! 🤣
It's a ridiculous conversation.

@SixtySomething , So your criterion of accepability for an unusual name is that its a main character in a well known work of literature.... Not at all.
Some of those names are established names that are underused.

Some of them suggest that the parents are diehard fans of the piece of literature, and are not established as names in the UK.

Some of those characters are unsavoury and the association would not be acceptable for a child.

So your criterion of accepability for an unusual name is that its a main character in a well known work of literature....

I asked Chat GBT to suggest some unusal names occuring in well-known works of literature. Here's it's top ten suggestions. I take it, from what you say, that you would also be in favour of these?

1. Slartibartfast (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams)

1. Zaphod Beeblebrox (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams)

1. Ignatius J. Reilly (A Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole

1. Uriah Heep (David Copperfield, Charles Dickens

1. Mr. M’Choakumchild (Hard Times, Charles Dickens)

1. Oedipa Maas (The Crying of Lot 49, Thomas Pynchon)

1. Tyrone Slothrop (Gravity’s Rainbow, Thomas Pynchon)

1. Meursault (The Stranger, Albert Camus)

1. Kilgore Trout (appears in multiple Kurt Vonnegut novels)

1. Humbert Humbert (Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov)

which of these is your favourite? 🤣

@SixtySomething , it's your attitude towards the name.
Imagine spelling that out over the phone to someone dyslexic (no offence to dyslexics intended). It's one letter longer than Christopher.
Why would anyone do this to their child?
and so on.

it's a name from a well-known story. I used the word ignorant because you seemed to express disbelief that someone would want to use a name that was strange to you.

You came across as xenophobic, and that is why I used the words blinkered and ignorant.

I think you're right, and it's a fabulous name.

I also know a couple of Scheherazades and I would think that’s a fairly well-known name anyway given that it’s the name of the main character in a major work of literature.

@MumChp , originally, yes, but most have an English version.
David or Rachel are both used in Israel and Britain, as are others.
Something like William is English even though it's from German.

Our children have Hebrew names as first name followed by a Scandinavian name.
Most think the Hebrew names are English.
Lots of common English names are from around the world.
I have seen Arabic names in their year group without a connecting to a Middle East country.

@Needmorelego , are you like this in real life?

You were not familiar with the name and didn't know how to say it. It's a popular name in the Pakistani-heritage community. Therefore, if I saw the name, I'd expect the girl to be of that heritage. In pretty much the same way as I'd expect a Matilda to be white. I might not always be right, but chances are, I would be.

@DuchessOfNarcissex but not all Arabic names are Islamic names.
Safiya apparently is more of an Islamic name but these days - does it matter?

@Needmorelego , About 96% of Pakistanis are Muslim. Many of the first names given in Pakistan are of Arabic origin.

@hybak, shocking isn't it. Parents have been culturally appropriating it for about 1800 years.

if anyone was to judge or expect to see a certain looking person based on the name it would be grown adults. And of course youd then write them off anyway as Rather Unimportant Odd Person.

Reminds me of the time someone said my sons name is a "black name"....WTAF

Better tell all the white 'Toms' they're appropriating Syrian Aramaic culture then.

Sorry if I misunderstood but I thought you were saying if you met someone called Safiya you might think they were of Pakistani decent.
But people are saying Safiya is an Arabic name.
Arabic/Pakistani/Muslim doesn't mean the same thing.

@Needmorelego , I didn't say it was.

Pakistani isn't Arabic though.

So, if someone doesn't agree with you, then they are 'blinkered and ignorant'.
Is this how you speak to people in real life?
Or is it because my user name introduces myself as an older person? I find a lot of this instant condescension. It's quite funny really.

In fact, it's quite 'blinkered and ignorant'. 😂

I'd think Muslim. I live in a multi-cultural area and the spelling suggests it's an Arabic name, and I'd be expecting it to be a Pakistani- or ME-heritage girl.

@DuchessOfNarcissex oh !
Anyway... I still wouldn't automatically think "Arabic" if I heard the name.
I'd probably just think "oh that's a pretty name".

@Needmorelego , it's Saff-ee-a.

Oh !
I didn't know that.
They sound similar if said out loud.
Or is Safiya "Saff-ee-ya" ?
Because then my Safiya/Sapphire thought doesn't work.
Ooops.

@Needmorelego , Safiya and Sapphire are not pronounced the same.

Oh dear, @SixtySomething , you do come across as being blinkered and ignorant.
It's a beautiful name.

@SixtySomething the names the OP likes aren't exclusively Arabic though.
So why would someone assume she is from an Arabic background?
Edit: Safiya does have Arabic origins but if I heard the name rather than seeing it written down I would probably spell it Sapphire.

Ok fair enough but a cat isn't a person.