What about all those American girls names that sound like boys names, place names or surnames?

The Halloween I've seen since I've been here (5 years) is VERY different from how we celebrate in the States. You don't have to dress up as something scary - I think I was a cheerleader for about 3 years running as a kid!

I think Brit culture is infiltrating the states more than you realize. Currently there is A LOT of American TV that has been directly pinched from the UK - and lots of my American friends seem to be using British expletetives too! Yes, it does tend to get Americanized (ie, the TV shows are usually not direct imports, but American adaptations) but the point I was making was that the same is true for the other direction. Things that are taken from the States do have a British spin on them as well.

Sorry Jester, I didn't notice you mentioned guising already. Yes, as you say, we had to do something. We weren't ready for that our first Halloween in Scotland.

I think expat is v funny actually.

I'm Irish and I was the one who mentioned guising. We used to do that when I was little. In one generation it's been entirely replaced by the same Hallowe'en celebrated (if that's the right word) in America. Trick or treat wasn't what we were doing. We had to perform. Sing, dance, tell a joke! Plus, we could dress up as anything, not just something scary.

Centuries ago British customs went to the states, but now I think the flow is pretty much one way (coming towards us!). I don't know how any aspect of British culture has made a big enough impact on an American aspect of life to change the way they used to do things to our way of doing things.

I don't want to be accused of being anti-American. I like America, I like Americans (the ones I know) but I think this one-way flow is like osmosis. One way culture flow.

NObody's fault but an inevitable consequence of the US movie industry exporting movies and tv shows so on. The fact that their population is 5 times the size of ours is a factor too!

I think the habit of dressing up on 31st October and going around your neighbours is called "guising" and it isn't originally American. It's Scottish. Only you have to actually do something more than bang on the door and threaten to flour bomb the place. They expect you to come in and entertain them.

"Trick or treat" is America pinching a British custom, not the other way round.

Ugh! The exchange between Expat and Saltire is exactly what I'm talking about! I'm not surprised you've gotten the backs up of people on Babycenter, Expat. To be honest, I'd rather be blissfully "ignorant" and unknowing of the intricacies of Scottish names than be subject to your belittling! The people you speak of are not being malicious in their ignorance, they're just a bit naive - and I don't see how that deserves such ridicule.

My family is Italian-American with very strong ties to its history and heritage and lots of Italian customs in place. And, yes, if you go to Italy you will see lots of them carried out there as well. Cultures get diluted when people immigrate and all sorts of things, including names become adapted. What is so wrong with that!?!?!?

And as for whoever mentioned Halloween - the thing about American traditions/customs that get brought over here - they get diluted just as much as those headed in the opposite direction. So I'm not sure it's so much of an Americanization of the culture over here as an amalgamation or even Britishization (is that a word?!?! ) of imported American culture.

I love the name Wendy.

influenced our culture then - fucking hell!

No he didn't.

I think a fair few people were already aware of Cressida thanks to er, Chaucer, amongst others.

Oh don't be so pedantic - he introduced them into our culture - that's what i meant.

Wendy was invented by J M Barrie.

Shakespeare didn't "give" us the names Cressida, Octavia and Beatrice.

Cressida is Greek
Octavia is Roman (Latin)
Beatrice is Italian

I'd have been like, 'Scotch?! Well, of course you're not scotch, you dozy bam, how can a person be a blended whisky?! FFS.'

Hoe could you be half Irish if you don't have an Irish parent? Am confused.

My Mum's maiden name was Kennedy but most of our ancestors (from both my parents) seemed to hail from Wales.

Go figure .

Did they read it on behindthename.com?!

I think that crappy website has a lot to answer for!!!

lol at what part of Scotland ah yoo fae? to an American! v.funny.

I'm as bad though. I reckon I'm related to Barack Obama. His maternal grandmother's name was a sur name, and his maternal grandmother's family originate from the same county in Ireland as some of my family who still have this sur name. I've outed myself now. do you think I'll be asked to the white house on christmas day???

I do that. My friend in America has a maiden name of Kennedy. So of course she says she's Scottish. So We had a conversation like this
Her "I'm scotch(her words not mine) you know"
Me (after biting back remark saying well actually scotch is whisky) "where were you born"
Her "texas"
Me "well you're not scottish then, where were your aprents born"
Her "texas and colorado, how am I not scotch, my name is kennedy, its a clan name"

Oh, well, of course a real Scottish person wouldn't know what they were talking about.

DH gets Americans saying, 'Oh, you're Scottish, I am, too.' And he's always like, 'Are you? Where fae? I've no' heard an accent like that.'

Well she told me in an email so I could snigger away! I did say to her, "Oh,I've never heard of that being Scottish" and she replied "of course it is"

Oh, FGS, Salty. How did you keep a straight face?

lol expat - I'd love to meet you, you tell it like it is and I like that!.
The kayleigh one is ismilar to one which a n american friend of an american friend has called her daughter because "its so Scottish".
You will love this. She has called her daughter Aylee

And Kayleigh. Yes, it's so Scottish. Yep, it's erm, is misspelling of the term used for a party.

Eejit.

The other hysterical one is Jolie. Oh, yes, that's so . . . naff.

'Saltire, true, when I was on the name boards on babycenter and I offered up my genuinely gaelic suggestions they were roundly mocked. I was told 'Lorcan' sounded like Vulcan. But yet, Finley was ok for a girl!! And Rory! I wouldn't have said anything but comments like "we're calling our daughter Rory because we're Irish" made me feel the need to put forward a British (well, geographically speaking) perspective.

Names that would be 'new' and fresh in the US such as Diarmuid, Tadhg, Oisin, Clodagh, Orla etc... they don't fit the McIrish template. Aidan, Keegan, Logan etc..
'

Oh, yeah.

I got on a few of those sites adn told them a) you're only Irish if you are born in Ireland b) you're only half-Irish if you have an Irish parent c) no Irish person would name their daughter Rory or Scottish persno name their daughter Findlay because it's a boy's name.

And got hounded off.

Of course, it probably didn't help that I told them what ignorant eejits they were being .

Blimey - this thread has all got a bit heavy!

it's just pure cultural difference that's all. Names that are considered perfectly fine in America are, often, considered tacky and downmarket here. Popular middle class choices in the Uk are considered 'poncey' in America.

The fat that once country is about 400 years older than the other is rather significant I think - the fact we have a monarchy is significant. Tradationally - right up until the 50s infact- many families named one of their offspring after the reigning Monarch. Shakespeare gave us Cressida, Octavia and Beatrice. These names are familiar and 'normal' to most of us.

when immigrants arrived in America they became known as the place they were from: Preston, Liverpool, Ireland etc. The whole surname thing is much more 'normal' to them. II cringe when I hear the name of Lynette's kids on Desperate Housewives (!) but we're from different cultures.