American names. . . on Americans?

[janiejones5446]

"American" is often thrown around as a pejorative on this board for surname-names (not by everyone, of course). Though, I'm curious -- do you dislike these sorts of names on Americans as much as you dislike them on Brits?

I thought of this when I was reminded that the current US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has a son who goes by Hunter (Hunter is actually his middle name, which was his mother's maiden name, but he seems to go by it exclusively).

@user1477391263

I think the surnames thing is partly about signalling ethnic identity (northern European/white/WASPs). You don't often see people adopting surnames that suggest other types of heritage! "Feminine-sounding" names ending in "a" are common among both Hispanic families (Sofia, Carmila etc.) and African American families (Aliya, Kayla etc.), and I think at the subconscious level, some white families need the need to sound very "different" from this. Not criticizing, everyone has the right to their own group identity. Just commenting.

A friend of mine worked on the US summer camp a few years back and had to coach girls' sports. The list of names was basically an endless string of Paige, Harper, McKinley, Saylor etc..... As my friend said plaintively to me, "Doesn't anyone in America call their daughters names like Elizabeth or Lucy any more?"

In my opinion the surname thing has several back stories.

One was signalling background - many families did this in the UK too. giving an aristocratic surname from the mother as a first or middle name to the children. Fitzwilliam Darcy anyone?

So people like the cabots and lowells in boston, for example would put in first or second names either in tribute to or to show connection with these important families. just like was done in the UK. George Gordon Byron anyone?

Then there was the natual desire in a nation of immigrants to keep a connection with all the families that were behind them after immigration.

But of course there is an ethnic and even racist aspect to all this too
(not helped by people plaintively asking if no-one calls their daughters names like Elizabeth or Lucy anymore). Names signal something in a multi-cultural society - like the UK, for example. Are most girls called Elizabeth or Lucy in the UK these days?

@TinyMetalBirds

The DDs went to American schools and their friends all had names that would be unremarkable in the U.K: Katherine, Sophia (lots of these!), Jessica, Nicola, Anna, Sonia, Brianna, Karen, Meredith

I would see Brianna and Meredith as being American names - I don’t know any British people called either, and I definitely associate them with the US.

Isn't Meredith Welsh in origin?

For the record the majority of Americans under the age of 15 are non-white. So you are likely to find a lot more Spanish names or names that can be pronounced in Spanish in a school classroom these days.

As for naming after cities “they’ve never been to” A) how do you know they’ve never been and B) there’s a Chelsea in NYC and a Bristol in Connecticut.

But of course there is an ethnic and even racist aspect to all this too
(not helped by people plaintively asking if no-one calls their daughters names like Elizabeth or Lucy anymore).

Indeed. Why would a child whose mum is Mexican or dad is Indian be called Elizabeth or Lucy.

I think the surnames thing is partly about signalling ethnic identity (northern European/white/WASPs). You don't often see people adopting surnames that suggest other types of heritage! "Feminine-sounding" names ending in "a" are common among both Hispanic families (Sofia, Carmila etc.) and African American families (Aliya, Kayla etc.), and I think at the subconscious level, some white families need the need to sound very "different" from this. Not criticizing, everyone has the right to their own group identity. Just commenting

I don't really agree with this. It doesn't really ring true from my observations.

Hispanic families tend to give children Spanish names, and also Anglo names that are slightly unfashionable (Nicole, Melanie, Amy, Dylan and Kevin..) In the case of girls, the Spanish-language names tend to end with an A, though there are names like Aracely, Jazleen, Jazmin, Guadalupe, Daisy, and Monserrat that are popular but don't fit this pattern. By the same token, Sophia, Olivia, Emilia/Amelia, Ava, Mia, Emma, Isabella, are top ten names for girls in general, not confined to Hispanic baby girls by any means, though European-origin parents tend to avoid names like Yaritza, Lizbet, or Yajaira that are easily identified as Hispanic.

Across the board - including boys with obvious Eastern European family names (mainly Polish where I am) - boys are getting the surnamey names in the MC area where I live, with the exception of Hispanic and some Jewish boys (there are several strands of Jewish culture though, and this is reflected in names). Caucasian (of all stripes) and African American boys named Mason, Carter, Sawyer, Sterling, Jackson, Harrison, Archer, Spencer, Davis, Meyer, Miller, etc, abound, along with more traditional names from both Judeo-Christian and Islamic heritage. It's a huge change from a generation ago when a name like Jackson was most unusual.

Many girls rejoice in names like Kinsley, McKenna, Skylar, Paisley, Everly/Everleigh, Avery, and Brooklyn, but older names like Grace, Emily, Abigail, Elizabeth, Chloe, and all the A-ending names are still there in big numbers. Then there are newer 'old' names reflecting the trend for granny chic in the UK - Evelyn, Vivian, Charlotte, Cora and Nora are all hot where I am. I suspect this is the Downton effect.

There are some racial divides: Octavia tends to be an African American choice rather than Caucasian.

Back when my DCs were born (1990s to early 2000s) names were very traditional - Margaret, Kathryn, Anna, Natalie, Caroline, Ellen, Claire, Hannah, and dozens of Emilys, with the odd Meredith, Hailey, or Taylor. Boys were Michael, Michael, Michael, Thomas, John, Ryan, Michael (twas the heyday of the Bulls)..