Amara for a girl?

[sholu]

Me and my partner love the name Amara as it means eternal but we are not from the heritage of the name. I'm just wondering if you all think it an ok name for us to use or if it's odd to use a name that's not our heritage 😊 I hope I worded this ok coz I wasn't sure how to!

Amara was number 1 for our first DD, I absolutely love it!
My partner wasn't 100% sold on it so it's her middle name instead

I personally do not like it, because it means ‘she who is bitter’ in Italian. But probably not an issue if you don’t live in Italy or in a country with a Latinate language.

I know a beautiful 10 year old Amara - it has the ring of an international name rather than a specific heritage, so appropriate for anyone I'd say.

It's along the lines of Mara, Anya, Lena, Tara, Lara, Mia, fits in anywhere!

The meaning (bitter) would put me off.

I've taught three Amaara/h's. They were all Muslim. So yes, if I saw the name written down I'd make a cultural assumption. Of course that's no real issue, but since that's behind your question, I'd say that yes, it's an unusual name for a white English non-Muslim child.

My friend's white English 14 yr old daughter is an Amara so I've never even considered the heritage of the name. If you like the name, use it!

I know a woman mid-30s with that name. She is English but may well have Italian or middle Eastern heritage, now you mention it, but it's never crossed my mind before. To me, it's an unusual but normal name and I wouldn't have guessed the root - would've thought of amour - love.

It's not a name I would use without having heritage.

Names are funny in that some cross cultures and boarders and become normalised enough to use regardless - Anita, Sofia, Amelie.... whereas others remain off limits and strange without the cultural background, and there doesn't seem to be an exact science or rule to it.

I'm curious, what exactly is the heritage of this name, to your understanding? Because websites say different things e.g. Greek, Igbo, Sanskrit, Thai, Galician. I'd assume this is a case of a name that has multiple origins and so is used in various cultures, not just one.

I always thought it was an Arabic name, I guess that's because we are taking the meaning behind it from that. I didn't realise it had many differed origins

I prefer Amira.

It’s quite nice, it has a very international sound so it will probably get adopted over, so I’d go for it if you want

Tamara is similar

I see. Interesting that when I was searching for the name, Arabic was not mentioned. In any case, Amara is a multicultural name that isn't specific to one group or religion. I think you could use it without any issues.

I know of a Limara and it’s often remarked upon as a beautiful name.

I love the sound of Amara

The "male" equivalent, amaro, is used in Italian for bitter or an aperitif.

I can't imagine that would really ever be an issue!

i think it’s a pretty name and wouldn’t think it being anything else than international.

if you like it, go for it 👍

There’s also the similar sounding Spanish name Amaia/Amaya.

I think Amara is lovely and I wouldn’t assume any particular ethnicity, like the current usage of the name Aisha doesn’t necessarily suggest a particular ethnicity. It’s just a lovely name with lots of history.

Amara means ‘bitter’ in Italian, but for example Dolores is just the word for ‘pains’ in Spanish and it’s a pretty common European name. I wouldn’t worry about it.

I live in Italy so can't get beyond it being the word for bitter. Sorry.

I love it. Also like Amaya. Sounds similar