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Baby names

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Original poster

Slightly(!) preposterous foreign names

69 replies

InmaculadaConcepcion · 18/01/2010 15:00

...this is inspired by my own MN nn.

Inmaculada Concepcion

is a bona fide name here in Spain (although it's rare to find anyone under fifty with it). We've caused a mixture of horror and hilarity among our Spanish friends by telling them we're going to call our daughter IC...

Another good one is:

Purificacion

And you get the male/female combos of:

Jose-Maria
Maria-Jose

(a friend with the latter name insists she's called "Mary Jo")

as you also get

Jean-Marie

in France.

Anyone got any more to add?

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Original poster
InmaculadaConcepcion · 19/01/2010 08:46

Thanks to those who came to my defence - and extra helpings of apologies to those who thought I was being mean-spirited in any way.

I find other cultures fascinating, including their choice of names and I don't mean to denigrate them. Indeed, it was my own Spanish friends' (amused) observations about some of these names that got us talking about it in the first place.

Perhaps I should have titled the thread "slightly preposterous - to Anglo ears, anyway" - or indeed, not used the word preposterous at all.

If nothing else, I guess it made for a lively discussion and it's taught me an important lesson about treading more carefully when it comes to people's sensitivities about such things.

I love Evidence as a name, btw!!

OP posts:
gosssipgirl · 19/01/2010 07:21

I know ppl with the following names which are all a bit

Tango (as in the drink)
Angel
Queenie
Elfie

frakkinaround · 19/01/2010 07:09

I pity any child inflicted with my maiden name, or any of the maiden names for at least 3 generations, but I actually think it's a really nice idea.

There are plenty of British people choosing place names for children as well so I don't see why it's something out of the ordinary. Some places just have nice names!

MadamDeathstare · 19/01/2010 02:14

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helenwombat · 19/01/2010 00:18

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InTheSoup · 18/01/2010 22:33

Eh? My DH is Turkish and we have had many conversations merrily comparing names that seem outlandish in each other's respective languages. Sorry if anyone is offended, but really, It Is Not A Big Deal.

pooexplosions · 18/01/2010 22:28

I'm pretty sure the point of MN is not keeping our opinions to ourselves, parochial or otherwise.

racist and xenophobic my arse, go and find some real nastyness to complain about.

Prettybetty · 18/01/2010 22:14

The thing that has really annoyed me was the term

PREPOSTEROUS

you live in Spain so I assume you should be aware of the catholic traditions and meanings of names.

FYI- preposterous means this: completely contrary to nature, reason, or common sense; absurd; senseless; utterly foolish: a preposterous tale.

Why is Inmaculada preposterous?
Why were you thinking of calling your daughter a PREPOSTEROUS name?

frakkinaround · 18/01/2010 22:14

Out of interest what are US naming traditions? Not so I can mock, just curious. I love finding out about other traditions for naming children.

crankytwanky · 18/01/2010 22:13
Hmm
MadamDeathstare · 18/01/2010 22:07

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mathanxiety · 18/01/2010 22:02

It's not even an anglophone perspective, though -- for example, Irish naming customs are very similar to the general Catholic naming customs of much of Catholic Europe, and Ireland is an English-speaking country in the main.

BouncingTurtle · 18/01/2010 21:17

I am half Spanish. I have a cousin Inmaculada (we call her Inma for short), my Dad has cousins Jose and Jesus and Pilar.

Oh and my middle name is Maria, which is the Spanish form of Mary, which is a very Irish middle name - my mother is of Irish Catholic origin.

I am very offended by the OP.

Keep your parochial opinions to yourself please.

MmeLindt · 18/01/2010 21:01

This thread is not racist. It is a discussion about foreign names that are normal in their own countries that sound strange for English speakers.

I lived in Germany for many years and there were names that made me laugh. Just as there are names in UK that make me

frakkinaround · 18/01/2010 20:57

I'm glad to see at least someone agrees with me that we shouldn't be mocking the naming traditions of other countries otherwise my poor unborn (not even conceived as far as I know) DS is in for a really hard time with Marie as a middle name.

I wouldn't go as far as racist though. Ignorant, yes. Xenophobic, maybe. Racist, no.

Original poster
InmaculadaConcepcion · 18/01/2010 20:52

Apologies to anyone who thinks the thread is racist or indeed xenophobic - it's not meant to be either and I don't consider myself to be either.

I appreciate that in different cultures and traditions certain types of name are seen as entirely normal, whereas seen from an anglophone perspective they are more surprising and can raise a smile or two.

Nothing more seriously meant than that, I assure you - but apologies if I've offended anyone, that certainly wasn't the intention.

OP posts:
Prettybetty · 18/01/2010 20:49

Mathanxiety your last comment is spot on!

To the OP - grow up!

pickupthismess · 18/01/2010 20:42

I had an a friend in Australia called 'Bank'.

MadamDeathstare · 18/01/2010 20:34

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mrsruffallo · 18/01/2010 20:29

This thread is racist

MadamDeathstare · 18/01/2010 20:26

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mathanxiety · 18/01/2010 20:07

A lot of the names are not even that unusual if you were aware of traditions of people with different religions even in the UK. There are lots of Catholic men with Mary as their middle name in Ireland and probably in the UK, maybe more in days gone by than now, but I have close male relatives near my age all with this mn. Plenty of Irish people have first names or middle names like Consuela, Dolores, Assumpta, Carmel -- anywhere there's a strong Marian tradition you'll find these names (that is, all over the Mediterranean, South America and even North America, Phillippines, France, Portugal, Spain, Portugal, parts of Germany, Poland).

At best this thread is an indicator of parochialism and lack of exposure to other cultures and traditions.

sowhatitsonlysnow · 18/01/2010 19:56

Nikita - boy

MadamDeathstare · 18/01/2010 19:54

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mathanxiety · 18/01/2010 19:47

That's . Actually worth two, so again.

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