Why do so many people object to...

[Skyrg]

giving children names from an ethnic origin which they don't belong to? Genuinely curious here, I've never seen a problem with it, since we're gradually becoming a more and more connected world.
Plus, many names we consider English now have other origins, often French. Is that not considered an issue?

Sorry if this has been posted before, couldn't see it, and have noticed this one coming up a lot in the 'rules' thread and on others.

It depends on the origin of the name. Our proximity to Europe means it's inevitable that the majority of the most popular names near have origins in other countries.

But sometimes it just doesn't seem right. I know a little girl called Priya and as far as I can tell there are absolutely no Indian roots in her family. Beautiful name but it just seems a little weird.

It's personal choice of course CaptainNancy :) (Agree Malachi is a great name though! :o)

I wonder if there are any "atheist names" which religious people try to avoid?

I don't think there are 'atheist names' but I bet a lot of religious people only go for biblical names (that's a broad generalisation ofc!)

Because it is poncey.

Why on earth is it poncey?

Darwin or Dawkin!

Blunter way of what people said above - sounds like you are trying far too hard to have a name that is interesting if you appropriate one from a culture to which you have no links.

I always think of Sarah as a Jewish name, although many would consider it the archetypal English rose.

I honestly think live and let live with names. Everyone has the right to name their children as they see fit. Providing it isn't completely off the wall.

Ah, see that's interesting. Names that are from one culture or another but might not been seen as such by the majority of people.

Even mroe interesting, names that might be seen as belonging to a particular culture if you are in England but not seen that way in America (or any other pair of countries/locations/cultures).

I don't think trying too hard is necessarily poncey (after all, if you don't 'try' with your precious child's name what will you try with?), making up spellings is 'trying too hard' and that tends to be considered pretty 'common' and/or chavvy.

Plus some traditional English names can be seen as poncey..

And if I met a Soleil (believe was suggested earlier) and a Lyynzey I know which parents I'd think were trying harder..

Plus there are some surprising names which are actually not as old fashioned and traditional as people think - Wendy for example, which only really became popular after Barrie used it in Peter Pan.

My name is French (it's blody awful though and wouldn't wish it on anyone) There are no french in my family.

DS has a not too popular biblcal name.
DD has an Italian variant of a name (not common here)

unless its really out of the ordinary I can't see how it would be a problem.

marialuisa - Can you please tell me the name that you refer to? I would love to know.

This is a really interesting question...I have often tried to work out why it might be a problem to use a name from another culture etc.

I suppose the risk is of being/sounding pretentious, but I'm not sure how you would quantify that.

one of my kids has an old fashioned, unusual name which I used partly because it was unusual these days, and I didn't want him to have a 'usual' name, which probably does make me pretentious...the other one has a name you only hear much in the older generations but it is very common. This too is probably a bit pretentious.

I agree about the origins of a name being important, to an extent, and the associations you might have with it - therefore naming a child after someone in a film, or a book, or a family member or someone IRL you have always admired is something I approve of. It makes you feel like the name is 'theirs' and increases your sense that they belong to you and you alone, and that they are marked out by having this name. It puts your baby on a pedestal, for you and perhaps your family, which is how it should be.

I think that sense of belonging is really vital. The idea that your baby is unique and special. not just one of many other babies born in the same area at the same time. But other people might put their child on that same pedestal by using a very popular name.

It depends on your values and what you want to see in your baby which is why naming a child is such a random thing and so variable with tastes and ideals.

I saw Ds's name as a sort of spidery thing...it was the solidity of the 'old' name, but there were roots, like a spider's legs, stretching out in all directions tying it to family and friends and teachers I loved and actors I loved...it wasn't just 'him' in isolation. It was what became, in my mind, a Good Name. So I gave it to him.

I would have struggled to just pick something out of a name book without any real connection to anything.

I don't see aproblem giving a name of another culture is you like it. I think it is a good idea to find out the origins of the name but I don't know why people would object.

Many common names now are from another country anyway but have become so popular people don't think of them as foreign any more.

My mum's Irish and my dad's Scottish and yet my sister has a Swahili name. It was because my mum saw a film during her pregnancy about women empowering themselves in South Africa and the woman it was about had this name. She wanted my sister to grow up with this kind of ambition and strength and so it seemed appropriate. To me it seems far nicer to have a name that means something to you than just any name that dozens of other kids at school will also have.

I have a white British friend whose older sister has a Japanese name. When her mum was pregnant with her, apparently she dreamed the name and thought it sounded nice so decided to use it. She found out later that it was actually a name in Japanese culture.

Wendy didn't just 'become popular' after J.M Barrie 'used it' He made it up completely.

Calling an English child Soleil is ridiculous. It just is. It is laughable.

Flighttattendant, some interesting points! I don't think it's pretentious wanting a child to have an unusual name, they are unique and you want a name to reflect that. I hated being one of several in my class, and I think that's one of the things that would make me like the idea of a name from another ethnic origin.

Saoirse, I think that's a nice story :) That's the kind of thing I mean, an unrelated name being given to a child because of the meaning. Why is that not considered acceptable?

Daisy, Wendy had been used before. In America, I believe, although I doubt Barrie knew.
So, the name existed before he used it and therefore was not invented by him, but rather popularised it.

And WHY is it laughable and ridiculous?

I don't think that is correct Skyrg - I believe Wendy originated in England - most people thinking Barrie made it up although there may have been instances of it being used as a boys name earlier on. I have to disagree about it originating in America.

Why is Soleil laughable for a child? Because it isn't a name. I can only imagine that someone would call a child Soleil to try to show originality and imagination. There are many occasions to be creative in the raising of your children. The naming of those children is not one of them. If you name a child Soleil you are naming them for you not for them and do you think they will thank you for calling them Soleil or some other equally ludicrous name?

Why would you feel the need to express yourself creatively through your choice of baby name? It really doesn't show you as being unique and interesting. I think a lot of people will agree that it is incredibly naff.

www.wendy.com/wendyweb/history.html
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendy

These links would disagree with you.

'Why would you feel the need to express yourself creatively through your choice of baby name?' The point I, and several people, have made here is that it isn't about expressing yourself, it's about expressing your child and their family and also to a certain extent your hopes for them. If I want my child to be bilingual, why can't I reflect that in the name? (Yes, they may not become bilingual, but that could apply to any names. A traditional Edward may become a rock star, a hippy River or Thorn may become a President, a girly Liliana may become a tomboy, etc.)

As for Soleil, why isn't it a name?
Interestingly, I just found a site which claimed it's not much used as a first name in France, and is mainly used as such in English speaking countries. So technically more acceptable in England than France.

Actually this is better..
From Census (www.familysearch.org/eng/Search/frameset_search.asp) :

Census - 1880 US Census

1. Wendy GRAM - 1880 United States Census / Ohio

Wife Gender: Female Birth: OH Matches: Census/1880 US Census - 1

It certainly seems to have been used first in America for females, and Barrie was certainly not the first to use it.

Anything is a name. Anything people want to use. We should respect that at least publicly, while possibly some of us are sniggering behind our hands.

A child is usually very special to its parent therefore the name that parent chooses will usually be one they like, and consider appropriate.

I think in parts of Africa names are extremely inventive, graphic and demonstrative. I like that.

I think also what usually inspires the comedy value in certain naming situations is not the name itself but the aspirational intention of the parents. ie a family with no literary knowledge calling a child something very obscure from a book they had never read, thinking it meant something else.

It is an interesting one. My sister's children both have Indian first names as her DH is British of Indian heritage and therefore they all have an Indian surname. She wanted the first names to match the surname. (My family is white British - bit of Scots mixed in)

Another couple I know, she is British Sri Lankan, he is white British, they've decided on Sri Lankan first names to combine with English surnames to reflect both cultures.

My DH is of Danish heritage (LONG time ago!) but still has the differently spelt surname, we've chosen names which are easily spelt and pronounced in English, but have Scandinavian associations. Any of the above examples might be seen as trying too hard, but equally it's just applying careful thought to our children's names.

Comtessa that sounds really interesting. I agree it is a question of balance.