Advice on picking names from a different culture

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I have identified a baby name I love and it seems to have a mix of origins. It’s traditionally a surname and it has mainly gaelic (my family are Irish) and Ghanian roots (me nor my partner have any Ghanian heritage).

After some research it seems its a much more popular name in Ghana than in Ireland, and the pronunciations differ. The name I fell in love with turns out to be the Ghanian version.

I know names are deeply personal and some names span a range of cultures and languages. I see Italian names like Luca and Matteo are now in the top 10 boys names in the UK.

But I am concerned I’m at risk of appropriating a culture that isn’t mine, even though I’m coming from a place of admiration and love for the name. What do you all think?

I think you’re thinking too much!
Use the name you want to.

As long as you like it, choose the name you like.

Depends on the name.

The name is Quaye. It’s pronounced ‘kway’ in the Ghanian instance and in the Gaelic instances it varies between ‘kway’, ‘kay’ and ‘key’

I don't believe in giving children names they will have to explain every time they give it for the next 85 years. Understandable if it's from your own culture- completely unreasonable if it's from an unrelated culture.

Also, there's no Q in Gaelic.

i can assure you this isn’t an Irish name. Irish orthography doesn’t have the letter ‘q’ at all, for one thing.

X-post!

Don't call your child Quaye please. Just don't. Poor little thing.

Q surnames in Ireland are anglicised versions of Irish names usually O' something. Quinn is O'Coinn as an example, meaning son of/descended from. You wouldn't therefore see these names as anything other than surnames in Irish context.
I don't know the origin of this name, never heard of it before so it's probably unusual by Irish standards (unlike Quinn, Quigley etc).
Basically I don't think it would be recognisable as an Irish name. So if you wanted to reflect Irish heritage it really would not do that. If you just like the name then fine. You may find it something that people find hard to pronounce and often ask her about origin which essentially is Ghanian... I guess it would for most people feel a bit odd

I think it’s an anglicised version of Kwei. There seems to be some sort of link with Gaelic but it’s Mac Aoidh (doesn’t appear to be linked at all, I know!)

Quaye?

No, that's just really awful.

He will be called Quaye-zee at school!

No, I wouldn't if you've no heritage there. It could cause issues in future.

As pp have said, there's no "q" in Gaelic. This is not an Irish name, and you're unlikely to meet another Irish person who would consider it as such.

Some people might read it as Key.

The Quay I know of is either American or Canadian, a woman, spelt Quay , is a fairly well renowned silversmith and lived and worked in a small rural / coastal village for decades with no one having an issue with the name!

Surely the Ghanaian version is Kwei, and for a boy?

There's no K in Irish either.

If it has any Irish or Scottish gaelic roots, it is an anglicised version of the original name. It's not a name I have ever heard, either with the q or the k.

I guess if you removed the M part of McAoidh (or Ma of MacAoidh) it would sound something like kwai or kwei.

There's no k in the Irish language either

I’d be astonished if there was a link between a Ghanaian name and an Irish one (I mean, that predates west Africans settling in Ireland, which is very recent).

Those kinds of invented name derivations just get randomly made up on US baby name websites.

I was assuming someone perceived a similarity between a west African name and the ‘Caoi’ sound that begins Irish names like Caoimhe and Caoilfhionn, which vary in pronunciation regionally from ‘kwee’ to ‘kway’ to ‘kee’ or ‘Kay’. But it’s obviously nonsense for anyone to suggest it’s a name with mixed Ghanaian and Irish roots!

Don't do it. Unless you're from Ghana.

Thanks everyone for your advice! I think for now I will have to admire the name from afar!

What other names did you have on your list? What are you looking for? There's always plenty of suggestions on here!

Wise choice, it's definitely a marmite name and not the nicest. So many more nicer names out there to choose from.

I met a little Sebastian and Philip the other day. Not your choice but because they weren't try hard names, they were refreshing if you see what I mean.

The thing is, it's not you that has to live with the name, or with the opinion that some will have that it has been appropriated from another culture. It's your son that will have to live with it. So I think I'd steer clear of any name that might cause offence, confusion or embarrassment, even if you think that cultural appropriation is a load of nonsense. Your child might have a different opinion.