having cross cultural name crisis, please help!

I like Laith a lot
ds is at school with one ( who happens to be über bright as well as being a year young)

Laith = Lion
Skander = Alexander
Harris = Friend

Or so the internet says.

See this thread too.

Maybe if you could agree on a family name from your DH's family, it would mean more to you and be more understandable, as a choice, to your parents? Assuming you like his family and feel reasonable close to them...

We were in a slightly similar situation, except there is no enmity between my country and dh's. For first child we did a compromise: chose a name from my culture but which could easily be adapted into an English shortened form. Dd used the shortened form outside the home and with her English grandparens until she got to Junior school and then started using the foreign form as being more grown-up: her English relatives still use the shortened form. We use the official form when we speak to her in Swedish and the shortened form when we speak to her in English.

When ds was born I was feeling quite emotional about my own culture so chose a very foreign name. Grandparents being unable to pronounce it were offered a nickname based on the meaning of his name. Noone outside the family has ever struggled with it, though; his mates are fine with his exotic name. Again, dh and I use the form that goes with the particular language we are speaking at the time.

Not too sure about this one name/one identity lark. Our dcs are bicultural and they know it. Bilingual too. Not a problem and even if it was, it wouldn't make a difference, because that's who they are.

But I can sympathise with you and your dh: dh and I felt quite vulnerable when we sat down to talk about names and it first occurred to us that "one of us is going to have a foreign baby". Hasn't been anywhere as scary in practice, you grow into these things. But I was afraid that my children would grown into strangers.

Kamran/Cameron
Rayyan/Ryan
Danyal/Daniel
Ali
Adam
Aden/Aidan

Lots of names starting Sam too.

Does anyone like the name Basil? lol

Am from v similar mixed background myself (own name as displayed here is actually unisex!) Suggestions based on my family include Samir (he shortens to Sam), Nazar (nn Naz), Jacob (can be pronounced Yakub) and Zaid. I'm assuming you know the sex btw.. I think it is important to honour cultural heritage, but only to the extent that you both feel comfortable with. Try not to base this on other people's ideas. Good luck xx

I really like Samir, called Sam (I have a Sam and he's great ) and Rafi is quite nice too.

Congratulations, by the way!

I know an Issam, known as Sam. Or you could have Idris, which sounds Welsh and is at least familiar to most people, but as apparently also a prophet.

How about:

Amin
Aaron/Aryn
Emir
Faris
Jericho (Jerry)
Kadin/Kaydn/Kaeden/Kaiden
Kale
Lais
Tariq

gabriel ?

Jed? Ferran?

Ashar
Abraham/ Ibrahim
Aslan
Anan
Hari
Ismail
Elyas/ Ilyas
Omar
Omri
Pir
Salem
Ramzy /Ramsay
Tony
Malek/ Malik
Barak
Rabi
Jareh
Jaspar/ Caspar
Yacoub/ Jacob
Jordan
Rafiq
Daoud/ David

Ismael?

I think I know where you're coming from. We wanted to reflect both halves of our ds's identity - and I also felt strongly that asDh's surname clearly flagged the Arabic heritage, I wasn't being unreasonable in wanting a first name that indicated the other side of dc's heritage. We went for Noah / Nuh in the end. Noah is on the birth certificate along with a definitively Arabic middle name. Now expecting dd and have to admit that although she will have an Arabic middle name, we've abandoned the whole crossover first name idea and are going for a European one that we both love. Perhaps not everyone will be pleased but such is life.....

Ooh, Zain is good too. It sounds very cool in English.

Kamal
Jamal
Jamil

My son, UK/Arabic mix, is Adam.
We also liked Zain, Zaki and Sammi.

Good luck with your choice!

Yusuf and Rafi are gorgeous!

I would cease all discussion of names with anyone beynd you and DH immediately! It is your decision, no one else's, and time and time again on MN people are grappling with pressure and negative reactions from parents and ILs. Just tel them you will choose something you both like and it will be a lovely surprise for everyone when they meet the baby. Once they have a baby to coo over, the name an any imagined slights or priorities will be forgotten. If they have any sense whatsoever.

My DP comes from a completely differnt racial, national, religious and cultural background to me, and we did manage to find something that sounded great to both of us. In your position, I think I would be quite open to your DH's pov - your baby will grow up here, be a UK child - it's natural that he wants some continuation with his home country. Britain is so multi-cultural these days, as long as you choose something that you like the sound of and is pronouncable here, I wouldn't worry.

I know a Sami and a Kenan.

Oh yes my friend has a Zakariyya, has had a few people spell it Zachariah though and people tend to pronounce it eyeah rather than the arabic eeah

I know a couple of British Rafi's, one is Raphael, the other just Rafi.

I like it and even if it's not completely British it is at least easy to pronounce/spell for Brits.

Xavier is nice too, ds was almost Xavier