Salem

[Rickandmortified100]

I met a little Salem yesterday and was surprised by how much it suited her and what a lovely name it seemed. If someone had posted on MN about the name I’d probably have been a bit pessimistic about the name due to the witch trials, but weirdly I really liked it. A quick Google shows me that it’s both a Hebrew and Arabic name meaning ‘peaceful, safe, complete, perfect’, and also a biblical name referring to Jerusalem. What do you think?

I think Salem is a nice sound but there's no denying the with trial association that most people will make. And her parent chose it because they're extremely religious? I'd wonder if their thinking was 'yay for the witch trials'

yikes.

Where do you live? Maybe that's relevant.

Objectively, I think it's a beautiful name with a great sound. I'm sure it would have been lovely in Puritan times. But with the baggage of the subsequent witch trials, it's absolutely awful. I'm struggling to think of many girls names that would have a worse association!

eVeRyThInG i DoNt lIkE iS eDgY

Are you trying to be down with the kids from ten years ago?

😂😂😂 the parents aren’t Puritans. Are there even Puritans around these days?? I don’t think people have described themselves as Puritans since like the 18th century 😂

I feel I should defend the family in specifying that 1) we aren’t in the UK 2) English isn’t their first language and they’re not from and English speaking country 3) They’re Christians and chose the name as it’s a biblical word used to refer to the city of Jerusalem. I can’t even say with any certainty that they’ve even heard of the witch trials, and can say with certainty that they haven’t heard of the movie.

I suppose asking this question on a British thread was a mistake as the witch trial association is too strong.

Calm down everyone. I’m not considering using it, I just thought it sounded interesting (viewing it from the religious perspective and not the witch trials perspective obviously 😂)

I have no idea what the Crucible is, but unless it was translated into the language of the country where we live then I doubt they’ve read it. And even if they have read it, the word ‘Salem’ won’t be ‘Salem’ in the book because place names aren’t translated directly and we also don’t even use the same characters so words are very, very different.

honestly even if the parents have heard of the trials and/or seen the movie, the name in the translated version of the movie won’t be ‘Salem’ but a totally different word, because of how the language is translated.

Haha this made me laugh 😂 I remember being a MySpace user back in like, 2005, and this way of typing had already long gone out of fashion even then!

MySpace? That takes me back!

How are you saying it?

In Arabic it wouldn't be pronounced Say-lem, as in the witch trials, it would be Saah-lem, also commonly spelled Salim.

Only if you're a cat:

You've come onto an English language website asking what people think about a name. People respond with answers about English language connections and you say you have no idea and the people concerned don't speak English or use the Latin alphabet anyway so the replies are irrelevant.

What was your point? Were you just hoping for a round of responses all saying yes, we agree with you?

Just to add, the Crucible is a very famous story / play and has been translated into other languages, including ones that don't use the Latin alphabet. And I'm sure you know that important place names from a country are often kept as they are in translation, especially since as you pointed out it's a Hebrew word to start with so it's been kept in English.

Well I did it for gcse it’s a classic text in England and presumably America too.

The Salem witch trials are famous/infamous around the world, no matter the country you live in. They have nothing to do with Britain. They took place in America. They are made even more famous and have more cultural resonance because of the famous play The Crucible by the American writer Arthur Miller.

Nope.

Great name for a cat, dog, horse but not for a child.

It will always be associated with witchcraft in a negative way.

😂😂😂 No, I’m clearly referring to the question in the comment that I quoted asking whether the parents had read the Crucible 😂😂😂

No, in our language both place and people names are not the same in the language. They are always translated. Translations are often not even direct.

Not clear at all, given that there are so many posts about the Salem witch trials on here, some referring to the Crucible and some independent of that. It's not limited to the American play.

Anyway most people don't agree with you about the name.
HTH.

When you say place names are translated I'm guessing you mean a new name is given? Since you can't actually translate most place names as they don't have a direct meaning. Would be interesting to know what language you're talking about but I don't suppose you will tell us.

I know one, but he pronounces it Sa-lem not Say-lem as in the witch trials, if that makes sense.

For example, Peppa Pig is very popular here but its

Hahahaha. I was obviously referring to the comment quoted 😂😂😂

There is a lovely little town in on the banks of the river Allen in central Scotland. It’s where Andy Murray went to school. It’s called Dunblane. Would you name a child after that?

Please do not call your child Salem. Maybe you have not looked into the associations much?

I’m not planning to name my child Salem. Did you read the thread? 😂

Guys this isn’t my kid. I heard the name through a friend and was vaguely interested in what Mumsnet thought. Why is everyone getting so arsey and acting like I personally came up with the name and am devastated that people don’t like it? I posted purely out of curiosity as I was surprised to heard the name and even more surprised that it suited the kid. I honestly couldn’t care less whether you love it or hate it! Was just wondering what others thought.

How does MN make even a baby names board bitchy? 😂😂😂

Salem's Lot.

Most terrifying programme ever.