Is this baby name ethnically neutral?

[BrinaEds]

Afternoon All,

Our little one has finally arrived but we are stuck on a name for her and would love your thoughts on this one

Out of curiosity, what ethnicity comes to mind when you hear the name Ayana / Ayanna.

• White
• Black
• Mixed
• Asian
• Ethnically neutral
• if other please specify

xXx

Asian - India specifically.

Arabic

I've taught a lot of children and university students and I wouldn't be able to guess the ethnicity of Ayana. I'd be roughly guessing not white English, but then again she could be.

@BrinaEds It would be pronounced Ay-yaa-nuh

With that pronunciation I'd definitely say black (American/Caribbean) name.

Never heard of it

It sounds very ''made up'' like in an old fashioned romantic novel.

Middle East

I'm black and I would automatically think white. Kinda up there with ariadne, Ariana etc.

Only because some of you haven't heard of it before doesn't mean it's made up

Exactly. sound v ignorant saying that. That name has been around forever.

I have a white polish friend called anya

Definitely female and of Arabic heritage. My daughter’s friend is Ayaana.

I would probably think Asian and Muslim but wouldn’t be surprised to discover it was any other ethnicity.

I love it. Which pronunciation Ay-ar-na / Ay-an-nah / eye-ar-na / eye-an-nuh

All are pretty - would think maybe white or Asian

I agree with this

I'd assume this

No assumptions about a baby Ayanna, but I know an Ayanna in real life (anecdotal: sample of one!) who is (US) American and black. Her parents are from Ethiopia and apparently the name is traditional there. Her family are Coptic Christian, not Muslim.

For what it's worth, there's currently a lead character in Law & Order: Organized Crime called Sgt. Ayanna Bell; she's black/African-American.

Purely an impression, but the double n (Ayanna) feels more African/American/Caribbean to me, while Ayana perhaps feels more Indian/South Asian.

I have a friend with this name and she's mixed white European/Chinese, so that's what I'd immediately think of, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was used in other cultures too.

If you’re looking for an ethnically neutral name have you considered Maya?

I'd assume Arabic

The people I know with this name are from the Caribbean/have Caribbean heritage so I might assume any Black background that draws on names from Islam, or maybe a Muslim from another background. However, it's pretty and seems like the sort of name that would travel well so I don't think I'd be overly surprised by a white non-Muslim having this name.

I know a very similar sounding name of a child who has an English mum and Albanian dad. The childs just a little white girl. It wouldn't automatically make me think of anything though if I heard it.

Ayanna is also a Swahili name.

I would also say ethnically mixed as it is used in various languages. Lovely name.

Not white.