Etsuko

[Tubaluba]

or Emiko?

Sorry forgot to say. Prefer Emiko

I like Etsuko.

Suki could be a nickname?

Etsuko is lovely, and Suki is a great suggestion for a nn.

Prefer the sound of Emiko.

She didn't 'politely' emphasise anything, Sunshine.

And her OP didn't say 'Which name do you prefer the sound of?' All it said was 'Etsuko or Emiko?' If she wants specific types of answers, she needs to bother to write a more specific OP.

I clearly wasn't the only person who found her tone rude, either. Really, no stranger on the internet could give a toss what you call your child. If you can't be bothered posting an intelligible OP (e.g. 'I'm having a baby girl and I like Etsuko or Emiko; which do you prefer the sound of?'), then don't be short with people who make the effort to engage with you.

Oh, and my reason for asking wasn't about cultural appropriation. It's because I think a Japanese name sounds silly on a person who lives in England and looks 100% Caucasian.

Just like I wouldn't call my blue-eyed blonde-haired daughter Mi-Hyun or Changying.

I prefer Etsuko.

Emiko sounds more feminine IMO, if that makes a difference in your considerations (and it might not).

I prefer Etsuko if it's going to be used in the UK as I can see the other becoming 'Eskimo' in the playground.

If you don't give a toss Koala why keep coming back to attempt to derail the thread? You could simply have asked the OP to clarify her post if you were confused. As both names are not typical Caucasian names the OP's ethnicity is not relevant. She's clearly not asking if you think a Caucasian vs non caucasion name would sound silly on a Caucasian person living in The UK. She's asking which name you prefer. If she'd posted 'jack or James' you wouldn't have questioned it.
Do you actually have an opinion on either name or are you just on this thread to criticise?

No, I wouldn't have questioned Jack or James, because they're English names, and this is an English forum. I think that's pretty obvious.

People have plenty of criteria for liking or disliking names. One of mine happens to be whether the name seems incongruous with the child's heritage. You can disagree all you want, but I'm entitled to my opinion. And to post whenever I want to.

I don't think a baby name thread really gets 'derailed', so I wouldn't worry too much.

(And no, it's not some unwritten rule that if someone posts 'Candida or Fanny?', you are only allowed to answer one or the other. People say 'neither' all the time.)

I love Etsuko - it sounds lovely when I've said them both aloud.

English speakers struggle with the 'tsu' sound, and it would grate on me to hear the name pronounced with the emphasis on the second syllable (Et-SU-ko).

I must admit I'm not a huge fan of -ko names at all as I find them a bit old-fashioned. The newest dual heritage girls I know of are Aya and Aika. My fantasy names are Marimo and Chitose though, so I may not have the best taste :o

this is a UK forum conducted in the English language. it is not an English forum. the UK is made up of people from many different ethnicities and heritages who speak many different languages either as primary or secondary languages. if you wouldn't ask the heritage of a person considering jack or james then why ask the heritage of someone asking etsuko or ekimo when it's not what the OP was asking?

you see that shite with irish name threads as well for some reason. people have to prove they've a granny from galway or they've no right to use the name apparently

Same with Welsh names.

"What do you think of Seren?".

"Are you Welsh? Don't think you should use it if not."

Etsuko sounds like an old-lady name to me (Japanese-speaker/ex-Japan resident). I know lots of Emikos who are my age (40s).

Personally I would also find it a little odd if a child with no Japanese connections at all had a Japanese name if there was no other strong reason for it, but if you really want to go for one of those I'd choose Emiko, as at least it can be shortened to Emi, which is more modern and neutral sounding.

I also suspect that many English-speakers would mispronounce Etsuko with the emphasis on the middle syllable (Et-SOO-ko) which I don't think sounds nice.

I can see you have the same bee in your bonnet as the OP had.

I am not coming at it from a 'cultural
appropriation' angle. I couldn't care less if someone had a granny from Galway before they use Meabh.

As for 'it's not what the OP was asking', yes it was. She asked 'Etsuko or Emiko?' My answer (one or the other or neither) depends on whether her child has Japanese heritage or not. So I asked.

The analogy of 'James or John' is just silly. James and John are used all over the English-speaking world. Traditional Japanese names are not.

They're both pretty. As others have said, it depends if you're living in the UK or Japan as Etsuko will certainly not be pronounced with the right emphasis in the UK, so I'd go with Emiko just for that reason. If you're in Japan go with either, but if it is old-fashioned over there, maybe a rethink? Is it going to be like calling your LO Gladys or Ethel in the UK?!

Thanks Diaduit and Alis
I don't see how questioning the OP's heritage is relevant to whether you like the sound of the names or not.
Koala your response is very narrow-minded, this is an English language forum with a broad international base of posters. If you wouldn't question the ethnicity of an 'English' name post why question the ethnicity of a non-English name post? Names like Zachary, Elijah and Xavier are not traditional English names but are in common use in the UK. That's how baby name trends evolve. You're quite within your rights to dislike both names. However you're not entitled to judge the OP's right to use a name based on whether you think it is ethnically appropriate

Welsh and Irish names on an English or Australian child are not remotely the same. I don't know if people honestly think that, or they're being deliberately obtuse.

You can't tell by looking at me whether I have a Welsh mother, but you can certainly tell I don't have a Japanese mother.

Using a name from a culture with which you have zero connection looks silly to many people, even if they don't find it offensive.

So what is the correct pronunciation of both names? I prefer Etsuko, I think, as it reminds me of my perfume, Mitsouko!

Sunshine, I am not judging whether she's 'allowed' to use them.

I'm judging whether I think they'd sound good on her child.

Isn't that the point of the forum?

I'm not even going to answer accusations of narrow-mindedness, as that is just ridiculous.

My friends have an Australian father, Japanese mother, 3 daughters. They split their time between Australia and Japan. The children all go to japanese language school and are fluent. Their considerations when choosing names are completely different to those of someone who just happens to like 'Etsuko'.

Koala

I wasn't comparing it to what you were saying, as I think you made a valid point.

It just reminded me that some people (not you) on this board are very averse to names not of English culture. It does happen all the time as I described.

koala none of the name examples I gave are welsh or Irish. They are traditionally non-caucasion names - are they acceptable in your rule book? And to keep on point. I actually responded to your posts not just because they were judgemental but because you were unnecessarily aggressive and accused the OP of being rude when she simply tried to clarify that she was looking for opinions on the sound of the names, not judgements on whether they are suitable or not. However you've clearly expressed that you don't believe in you're derailing the thread, or being judgemental or rude, and it's not my job to educate you, so I'm going to bow out and hope the OP can get her thread back on track, despite your efforts.