Cultural appropriation ?

[lovelychops]

I'm confused about this. There's someone I know of who has recently given their child an Arabic name. They are both white British with no connections to the name through family etc but have decided to use a common Muslim name.
Was wondering what people thought about this ? It's a gorgeous name but don't know if it's appropriate ?
Obviously they are free to name their child as they see fit, that's a given. But my question is - is it appropriate ? I've been reading a lot about cultural appropriation lately and it's got me wondering... I'd be interested to hear people's thoughts

(I can't say the name it's very outing)

It's a bit

My name is the name of a native American tribe. I have no American heritage. Parents are daft sometimes.

Honestly it’s hard to say without knowing the name. As so many common ‘English’ Names are often from other countries anyway🤷🏻‍♀️Sometimes they are the same other times they are given an Anglican twist to it. Sorry I appreciate that doesn’t answer your question!

It’s not something I would do, but then it’s not really that different to parents using Gaelic/welsh names for their children when they have no connections. In many instances, the Arabic names are probably easier to pronounce and more familiar than a lot of Celtic ones.

Is it any different to Florence, Sienna, Roman, Amelie, Ines, Anaïs?

There really an awful lot of Savannahs and Dakotas whose parents have never been to either.

^ are not really

I take your point Tatiana - perhaps it's the same as the popularity of Irish names with no connection etc ? It's a funny one isn't ? I suppose you could argue that if we're becoming more multi cultural as a society then perhaps this will be more common ?

I say it's fine if it doesn't seem too incongruous. It's a matter of taste (and thus obviously subjective) but not a matter of morality as far as I can tell. Culture potentially belongs to everyone, even though not everyone will suit every name.

It is fine, Princess Anne named her daughter Zara (an Arabic name). The only time I would raise an eyebrow is if it was an overtly religious name for someone not of that religion, so unless it is Mohammed I think it works.

Why not? As a PP said, it's hard to find purely 'English' names...would you say the same about babies named Marie, Peter, Cain or Isabel?

It is fine, Princess Anne named her daughter Zara (an Arabic name).

^this.

DD has a name which is Arabic in origin but it suits her and works well with the surname. Most people love it. We have one elderly aunt who's not a fan and I think that's just because she's never heard it before. Names cross borders just like we do.

Is it any different to Florence, Sienna, Roman, Amelie, Ines, Anaïs? There really an awful lot of Savannahs and Dakotas whose parents have never been to either.

I'd argue that quite a lot of those are also inappropriate names for white British children born to white British parents. However, balance of power is an important factor in cultural appropriation. Cultural appropriation at its worst involves those in a more powerful and privileged culture taking elements from a weaker/oppressed culture. Giving non-native American children native American names is a good example of that. White British families giving their children Indian names is another. Or names of colonised places, such as India itself.

Calling a girl Florence is a bit different because (a) we never colonised Italy, and (b) both are white European nations with a similar global status.

Alot of names have different cultural usages, in my opinion there's nothing wrong with it you will find names to be of Hebrew origin however some users aren't of Jewish faith and same with Arabic and Christian.

I know someone who named their daughter a common British name with a yooneeque spelling "because it's a meaningful word for us in the language of the country in which she was conceived, spelled like that".
Except it isn't, at least not pronounced like it is in English.
With Arabic names, I agree it's a bit off. If you are Arabic speaking and called Noor you'll spend your life with everyone saying how hard it is to spell and where are you REALLY from.
If you're White British people will say how trendy. The very definition of CA.

I think it's fine, my daughter has a scandi name, her cousin has a german name and there are Pakistani and Bangladeshi kids at her school with what I would consider to be British names. I think it's more specifically religious names that may seem off as opposed to cultural - and even then, unless it's mohammed or jesus, or something equally as prominent, I don't see it as issue.

Layla's an Arabic name, but I'd hasten a guess that many people would not realise that.

In other words, it's fine.

If you pick a name from another culture chances are it will be a bit outdated.

It's fine. People have been influenced by other cultures for centuries, whether in clothes, garden plants, music, religion, names etc. I don't see that as "cultural appropriation", if that even exists.

Don’t see the problem tbh. I’m Welsh and have an Ancient Greek name. My DP is also Welsh and has a Biblical Hebrew name as do many of my peers. My mam’s name is Danish in origin. A name is that person’s name no matter the origins. As long as you like the name it doesn’t matter.
Good on your friends for picking a name they like for that reason only. Cultural crossover is a good thing imo

Bit on the fence with this one..I love all sorts of names from all sorts of cultures..but I am mindful of my own culture when naming the kids. Weirdly my first born does have a name which is not our culture, but only the spelling which makes it different (eg Zara is essentially Sarah or Sara isn't it?). But I wouldn't name my kid Dietrich as we have no associations with Germany and I am not sure there is an English equivalent, so a bit too weird.

Was going to say though it's very common from East Asian immigrants to an English speaking country to take on an English name. It sounds a bit weird to be taking to a Florence Wu but at least it's recognisable to residents of the host country!

My children have cultural names Greek French German and Irish.

DH is Scottish/British and I am Danish.

Hence to us using names like that meant we were embracing their European heritage.

Plain English and Plain Danish names do not tend to work in the other language. We wanted names that could be pronounced the same way in both languages. So we went further out than just the close.

I have not regretted it and mine are all teens early 20s I still think they have beautiful names.

It very much depends on the name. Zara is so similar to Sara/Sarah it doesn't sound weird. Calling a white kid Mohammed IS weird. I guess it depends where on that spectrum it falls.

Leila is Arabic isn't it? But quite common now. My kids have a biblical name (Hebrew I suppose but very common in the Uk) , an Irish name (grandmother Irish), and a Welsh name (I studied in Wales ☺).

cultural appropriation is a croc of shit. People picked a nice name they like for THEIR CHILD, not their pet.

I think it’s fine. Most names are from other cultures. Mine is a French variant of an Anglicised Hebrew name! At what point do names become truly indigenous anyway? Tudor? Anglo Saxon? Celtic?