What name would you love to use but you feel you can't because it's from another culture?

[Wavyheaded]

Just for fun... I'm not even close to having a kid but love thinking about names.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Serafina (my all time favourite name!) but I'm not of Mediterranean or French descent and so it would be weird to use it - unless I marry a French man.

I also love Ettyenne, another French name (I think), it's just so elegant.

What do you wish you could use?

I'm a Miriam. Throws everyone off (I'm Irish but dark featured) and have had some really nasty stuff said over the years. I wish my dad had stuck with Mary to be honest.

I love the name India and always have (so much so I named one of our kittens it when we were kids and she is still going 20 years later..)

I have really noticed people in real life and on here say you should only use it if you have links to India or at least have visited. Which I definitely haven’t! And I couldn’t use it until the dear old cat dies any way lol. I just think it’s pretty.

Serafina is beautiful and only reminds me of His Dark Materials (the witch wasn’t she?) I would totally use it if I were you :)

Ariadne (me) and Saoirse (more DH) No connection to Greece. Technically some Irish blood through one of my grandparents but not enough to justify Saoirse!

Priya
Florian

Yusef and Yara (which I liked for years before GOT was on TV but got a pasting on here for suggesting it)

Giovanna

I'm Irish, DH is Italian and our DD's name, Aaria, is a traditional Maori name. We chose it because it's beautiful, neither of us have ever been to New Zealand nor have any connections.

I don't get this: plenty of kids from 'other cultures' called things like James and Sarah. If you like the name, go for it. Your child will be a citizen of the world. And france is hardly 'another culture' anyway! They're basically like us but they speak french and drive on the right . If you're anything like me you'll have ancestry from other european nations a few generations back anyway.

I love Bebhinn. I had a friend in uni from Northen Ireland with this name and she pronounced it "beh-vinn" which I love. I think it's usually pronounced "bey-veen" but if I could I would use it the way she did. I love that it sounds kinda masculine and not a traditionally "girly" name but we have zero links to Ireland wouldn't feel right to use it!

I like a lot of old testament boys names e.g.

Caleb, Ezra, Elijah, Isaiah, Ezekiel

Committed atheist though

I also love Ettiene for a boy
I think I'd be more inclined to name a girl names associated with other nationalities for some reason..

Amadis has always been on my girls list and I like Lilou

Rafael & Matteo .. but my bambino’s have the worlds most British surname! Sound pretty daft together!

I like Noor but no cultural links and it doesn't go with my surname at all!

A bunch of Hawaiian names like Kaimana or Kaleo. Honestly though I’d use them anyway.

Taj ❤️

Rohan.

Ravi

I like Soren and Lakshmi - being blonde and blue eyed we look more Scandinavian than Asian but both would seem strange I think in England with very English backgrounds

@LiveatCityHall That's where I found the name too! Serafina Pekkala was the name of the witch. :)

In my research however, I found that Serafina is also a biblical name, the name of an angel, so that won't go down well in my culture as we are not from a bibical/christian culture. Oh well, I can still dream!

Maybe one day I will get a black cat and name her Serafina!

Indira

@posterRuffleCrow I'm Asian!

Mercedes
Bronwen
Angus
Siobhan
Pablo

^
Really love all these but couldn't bring myself to use them as we are English.

I love the idea that you can’t use Rohan because it’s elvish and you’re not.

Or actually it was the land of the Rohirrim, wasn’t it? Anyway, I’m sure Tolkien won’t mind if anyone wants to borrow it.