What do you think of Jugurtha?

[Bumbleconfusus]

What do you think of Jugurtha as a boy's name? It's listed on Mumsnet's Baby Name Finder.

This isn't really what do you think, I just wanted to say how annoyed I am at someone putting comments on the name Jugurtha like they have. I can't believe someone put nick name as 'piss face'. Does anyone know how I can report this to MNHQ so they can remove this remark which I think is completely unacceptable!

In my country, Peesefays was a great warrior who led our people to safety in the Great Unfortunate Bloodshed. We don't take kindly to people bandying it about willy nilly.

Helen - so it's Bumble who's the troll?

speedy: how do you know the poster would still have written that comment? There are, unfortunately, sad people who take any opportunity they can get away with to attack ethnic groups they dont like. N Africans generally get a very bad press in the UK.

Speedy: no, it wasn't Bumble

It was a particularly unpleasant troll - who seems to have taken revenge on the BNF when we banned him.

Am still working my way through his "additions"...

Because they've said nothing about ethnicity. The comment was purely about the name itself, not its ethnic background. There's no suggestion at all that it's an anti-North Africans comment, so I think it's fallacious to read between the lines and come up with racism.

Helen - oh, I see. Sad, sad man.

You cannot always separate ethnicity and culture, speedy, that's why is was racist

I would say IMO name is fine to use if child has some African heritage, but would steer clear (and may seem strange) if not.

Huh? What's separating ethnicity and culture got to do with it? The man (the troll) is an ape. We've established that already. But what in his words actually says that his comment is racist? Nothing. The comment just says 'I am a moron and I hate this name'. That's it.

For all you know he may have even skipped over the bit that says the name is North African (I did, so why not he?) - most likely he just saw the name in a list, hated it and decided to write something moronic about it. If you see that as racist I think you're relying too much on your imagination to fill in the gaps.

speedy, no one is debating whether the person who wrote it is a troll. Taking the piss out of a name associated African heritage can be seen as racist as is attacking a particular ethnic group. You are doing some thinking for this troll, so who is filling in the gaps?!

Actually, I remember Jugurtha from my Classics degree.

Rather a cool name, I think - not immediately euphonious to a Western ear, maybe, but strong-sounding. I like it.

Speedy, this is one of the names that you give a child that says "I am Berber." It is a culturally significant name. I dont give a toss what this troll knows, the FACT is that he attacked Berber culture with his nasty comments.
By your logic, I can rubbish any important aspect of somebody else's culture, and then claim ignorance, and it wouldnt count as racism.

So what if a non-Brit takes the mick out of the name 'Gavin'? Is that racist against white English culture?

here it is spelled with a Y, and some Berber music too

There isnt really an equivalent name in English.
Possibly Alfred (the Great), or Elizabeth, but they are not really the same.

In Alsace, it would be Löic, and in Bavaria, Alois. Those particular names from those places.

Not really because Gavin is associated with Welsh and Scottish culture. It's beside the point...if someone takes the piss because of a cultural or ethnic choice of name and that reason alone, then yes it's racist

And yes, if you rubbished Löic or Alois, you would be being racist against those areas, because those names belong exclusively to those places.

Rofl! Clearly I have a lot to learn about the origins of some British names!

I can see that we're just not going to agree on this. There is no evidence to suggest that the moronic troll's comment was anything more than moronic. In order to see it as a racist comment you've had to add the assumption that he views North African cultures in a perjorative way, but none of us knows whether this is true, so the racism exists only in your perception, not in his words.

I also vehemently disagree that a piss-take of a name is automatically equivalent to a piss-take of the culture that that name originates in. You need more evidence of ethnicity-related malicious intent, and that is simply non-existent in the troll's comments. From time to time I discover names which I think are hilarious - some from the cultures which I've grown up in, and some not. It is absurd to suggest that I'm being racist against any of those cultures because I take the piss out of some of their names.

Firstly, thank you MNHQ, I am extremely grateful.

Secondly, I don't object to people having opinions on the name, but I do thoroughly object to the nn bit which I am surprised and about how MNers on this thread seem to not only find completely acceptable but also funny. The nn suggested had no relation to the name, and was done to be cruel/disrespectful.

If we ever have a DS (God-willing) then we intend to call him Jugurtha (I like Massininsa too but DH already has many many close cousins with the name so it might end up confusing).

Thankfully we can't legislate against someone finding something funny.

"if you rubbished Löic or Alois, you would be being racist against those areas, because those names belong exclusively to those places."
You really can't claim that any name belongs exclusively to any place, and you especially can't claim this in regard to Loic or Alois. The argument that rubbishing a name = racism I disagree with completely. I think Speedy is right that you need some malicious intent, and enough knowledge of the associations of any particular name, in order to be racist.

Bumble, it is a beautiful name, and I hope you will have the chance to use it.

math, If I stood up, for instance, in a comedy program in Germany, and rubbished the name Alois, it would be understood as an attack on Bavarians. But dont let facts get in the way of your opinion.

nightbynight - thank you