To not understand how this is cultural appropriation?

[NewUsername18382828]

Namechanged for this.
DH and I decided to give DD (who is now 6) a name which is originally from another country. Neither of us have relatives or any connection there, we just liked the name. There is an English variant of the name but we didn't like the sound of it as much so went with the one we liked most. Didn't think it would be a problem, a name is a name.

Well anyway, a mum of a girl in DD's class at school was born in that country. She heard me call DD at the gates and started talking to me about her name. She was asking what our ties were to the country, and so on. When I said there weren't any and we just liked the name, she muttered something about cultural appropriation and left with her child. Fast forward another couple of weeks and I've just been informed by another parent that she's been badmouthing us, saying we shouldn't use a foreign name when we have no ties to the country, it's cultural appropriation.

AIBU to have no clue how this is cultural appropriation? I always thought a name was just a name.

Jean-Baptiste I think would raise questions as to whether the family were French.

It may raise the question.

To which you would answer ‘no’.

End of conversation. Everyone cracks on with their lives.

f someone with no connection with Judaism called their child Shulamit

Shulamit is lovely.

Is it the feminine form of Solomon?

I lived in an area with one of the largest jewish populations outside of Israel, and I never heard it (though most weren't Orthodox Jews which may make a difference)

Firstly what the hell does it have to do with her??? She's from that country but she doesn't own the damn country. Keep your child's name exactly what hat you want. It's what you like that matters. Honestly some people are just damn weird and rude x

I think it's a touch pretentious I'm afraid. I'm Welsh, but as a non-Welsh speaker I thought it would be daft to choose a Welsh name. Cultural appropriation is a massive stretch though.

I don’t necessarily think it is cultural appropriation. An exception would perhaps be a name which had huge religious significance or eg a name which was culturally only ever given in some circs eg always meant something like ‘beloved wished for daughter of our esteemed leader’ (thinking religious tie here as well). Can’t think of any English (Anglo) name of equivalent cultural preciousness but partly because we have exported Anglo names worldwide through our own religious/cultural imposition.

Who decreed/s which names belong to which country/culture?
I didn’t know it was law.

Who decreed/s which names belong to which country/culture?

Here lies the fundamental problem with the concept of CA.

That was sarcasm, by the way.

I think it depends where the name comes from.

If your kids name is Amelie or Mercedes that’s probably OK, if it’s Yael or Kwame I’d agree with the cultural appropriation thing.

It’s adding insult to injury to already persecuted/disadvantaged people. Like it’s not enough that the majority has deprived them of land/freedom/money/whatever, their culture is now no longer theirs to claim ownership over either.

We honestly can’t say unless we know what the name is

But if it's a very unusual name for a British child, that could be identifying.

I can understand why OP prefers not to reveal it.

Kevin is very big in France. They associate it with Kevin Costner and have no idea it is Irish.

There was also the French footballer Steed Malbranque, named after the Patrick Macnee character in Chapeau melon et bottes de cuir as they had it.

The best Cultural Appropriation cry wolf is probably the black student who complained about Arnold Wesker's Roots.

It makes a difference if it's a white person taking a name that's typically been viewed negatively because of its association with particular race

What about a non white person using a name from another race or culture that is not their own but that may have had negative associations in the past? Its that ok? Does 'cultural appropriation' only apply to white people?

Ps both my kids have bible (Old Testament) names, how does that work, they are not Jewish

You can definitely make an argument that Christianity in its entirety is appropriated from Judaism. Obviously it's complicated, but I certainly know Jewish people who feel that way, and who are upset when the Hebrew Bible is called the Old Testament, and so on. Those feelings are made all the stronger by the fact that Christianity is, in most Western countries at least, the dominant religion, while Judaism is a small minority.

Westernised versions of Hebrew names from the Bible are so common that most of us don't even notice half of them: Elizabeth, Sarah, Samuel and so on. I think it would be hard to say that using those names now is cultural appropriation. However, I do think that deliberately using more traditional Jewish spellings or names can be. For instance, Susanna is an Anglicised version of the Hebrew word Shoshanna. To call your daughter Shoshanna could, in some contexts, definitely be cultural appropriation. To call her Susanna almost certainly isn't. To call your son Moshe or Shlomo, probably is, and to be honest, to call him Moses or Solomon might well be, too.

I do find it very weird to chose a name that has very strong religious connotations when you have no link with that religion, and even reject it. It's not rude or inappropriate, it just makes it sounds like the parents are ignorant and didn't even realise there was a religious element.

Chose the name you want, as long as it's not a difficult name for you child to have, it's nobody's business.

Does 'cultural appropriation' only apply to white people?

Not always, but usually yes, because of the power dynamics. White people have much more often invaded and subjugated other nations, and much less often been the ones oppressed. So yes, white people are much more likely to be guilty of cultural appropriation. Deal with it.

This cultural appropriation bullshit gets on my nerves to be honest. Didn't a chef get accused of that for creating a non English dish. When I buy an Indian sauce and rice from the shop is this cultural appropriation?!

I don't think anyone can claim to 'own' a name. Usually names have origins in several cultures anyway. I'm Muslim and have seen plenty of non-muslims with Muslim names like Jasmine, Nadine, Jamila, Rihanna, Amaya, Haytham, Idris. That mum is being ridiculous.

I'm on the fence. I'm half Spanish and really loved the name Miguel but I had to think about it logically when I had my ds because
1.) ds would only be a quarter
2.) ds probably wouldn't speak Spanish as I can't fluently and we have little contact with my dads side
3.) there are loads of genuine Spanish kids in the area and they would think he was one of them only to find he was actually just a British kid with meat and two veg parents
4.) we are in an area with a very thick local accent which makes the name sound awful so 'Meeeee Geeeewwwlll' is how it would be pronounced (by me too as I'm a local girl)
In the end we named him Tommy as it was much simpler and it is his cultural identity!

On the other hand when my mum taught in a local secondary school in the late nineties and nearly all the black British kids were being called Kieran, Shaun, Conor, Cormac, Sinead etc. So it's not just a white British thing. I am open to a lot of things being culturally appropriated but maybe a name is just a name in some cases.

@bridgetreilly bollocks!

This cultural appropriation malarkey is going too far and it only seems to be Caucasian people accused of it.

My children have names that come from another culture (there is a connection there but few people would know it/guess it). Like you I like the names. I can't think that, unless it was a colonised country, there should be any issue. As others have said there are plenty Chloes or Amelies around and no-one cares so why should they care about a less used name.

@Redheadwonder agree

My two daughters have two totally traditionally Welsh names. They're seventh generation New Zealanders. But both of our families originated heavily from Wales (with very Welsh surnames for both mothers).

They're dying to go to Wales where people might actually be able to pronounce their names. Really good scrabble scores though!

OP this thread is pointless if you don’t provide the name (I’ve just scrolled through all 7 pages looking for it). As PPs have said, whether or not it’s cultural appropriation depends completely on the cultures and the power difference.

I must complain about CA when I go to my local Persian restaurant and see Haggis on the menu on Burns night (for some reason they do).

I think Scotlans top trumps Persia in the ’who has been invaded and subjugated the most ‘stakes. Although haggis... isn’t that originally Indian ?