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

I doubt if you'll find many people in Harlow using the name as their children would be known as 'ar-lo' half the time .

I'm not ashamed - if that comment was directed at me - I have no interest in baby names because I don't need any myself

I was thinking about my family names last night and only one of them - my brother's - could be said to be English in origin (and probably isn't if we really looked into it). All the other names are taken from other countries/cultures/historical or mythical figures.

why are so many people so ashamed to have a chat about names? that is one very curious piece of snootery that I've only come across on mumsnet!!

I'm still trying to figure out how I ended up on a baby name thread, I have it on hide FGS

oh dear podrick, should have known better than to jump in! Will have to examine this thread later when children are asleep (sounds interesting)...

Oh wow - you win on a technicality

"And not a lot of British folk aren't terribly knowledgeable on US geography either."

Yup. That is what I said.

No, it wasn't the geographical comment, it was the statement: '... A high number of US citizens do not even know what country London is in fgs....'

Really?

It would be a very different statement if this was backed up by objective evidence.

And not a lot of British folk aren't terribly knowledgeable on US geography either.

Someone asked me yesterday, 'Is California in Los Angeles?' . Most British people I've met are familiar with Los Angeles, New York or maybe Las Vegas.

But not sure I'd make a huge sweeping statement...

Yawn. This is turning into an America/n bashing thread. It went downhill once someone felt the need to refer to some vague statistic about a vague number of Americans not knowing where London is. Yawn. I am off too.

lol at bettany, you have walked into an international politics debate not a babyname thread !

Britain is the underdog and I don't know anyone who thinks otherwise?!!!

i endorse Pepa's comments

Haven't time to read the whole thread, but has anyone mentioned McKenzie (JK Rowling lo) or Carey, as in Richard Gere's wife (which I love)?

hmmm?

HOw is stating that America is five times the size of GB saying that Americans are stupid???

I think it's a question of being the smaller of the two nations. NOT being the underdog! Britain doesn't see itself as the underdog I don't think.

ALso, because of movies and tv programmes, we are immersed in American culture. We know what trainers are and we know what sneakers are, and so on, we know that they pronounce Route Rowt instead of root. But I don't think they have the exposure to 'our cultures and traditions in the same way.

So, the flow of culture is pretty much one way.

I don't think Americans are stupid or have bad taste.

Anti-Americanism isn't a mumsnet or british thing is a global thing....one half the world aspires to being American while the other half is quite verbal about being anti all things American.

The really interesting thing is that most Americans living in the US are quite oblivious to the whole thing because seriously it does not matter to them they are the worlds dominent culteral and economic power(even given the current situation)they have no clue about the whole american bashing thing!

And for the record I am not American but have worked extensvely there, I'm actually a Brit living in Canada.....and trust me when it comes to being Anti-American the UK ain't got nothing on Canada!

Oh whatever - another 'how-stupid-are-Americans' thread...

I'm off.

chaya

" American names are "oppressing" UK names "

You mock this statement. HOWEVER, if a celtic name such as Brynn or Rory or Finley is adopted in significant numbers for girls in the US, then in a short length of time, the name would be considered unusable for boys here.

It's not a tragedy, it's not oppression, it's the inevitable consequence of a nation of 280 million people influencing and shaping the accepted norms of a country with a fifth of the population (not sure of the exact figures there).

What becomes normal in America becomes acceptable here. I used to go guising and dress up as anything on the 31st October when I was a child. I'd ask for nuts or apples and I'd have to do a dance or sing a song or tell a joke or saying something in gaelic before the nuts and apples were handed over. The customs have been swallowed up by the Imported american version of Hallowe'en. This isn't the fault of random or collective Americans. It's the way the World works. It's sad, but it's commerce really. That's what it comes down to. Markets to tap. People to flog ghost and vampire masks to!

Well I always htought Bryn was a boy's name.
What annoys me is when names such as Cameron (which incidentally is a Scottish surname)are changed so they become Camron,Kamron,Kamryn,Cameryn.FFS

ilovemydogandMrObama - my comment was shorthand for saying that UK citizens all know what country New York is in.

And yes, going back in time, the good jokes were at the expense of the empire...we have all moved on.

I knew a girl actually named America

Um, last time I checked NY was still in the US, thereby doesn't have its own citizens

Try America is calling the shots politically for the rest of the world and funnily enough the rest of the world like to have a laugh at America's expense every so often

Well, I've just had a look on the Bryn/Elijah thread and it appears our colonial cousins are under the mistaken impression that Bryn is a girls' name. Rather ill-becoming of top dog nation to be so disrespectful of other cultures IMO. (Before any Yanks tell me the British were as bad, the Welsh never oppressed anyone, and you should know better in 2009.)

And I love how the poster has framed the UK as the underdog and America as the oppressor. Hello, Colonialism?