Different names?

seven6five · June 2016

I love the beauty of Russian names but we are in no way Russian. Do I go for it with something like Zahara or Zaire or do I just not go there and find something more the American norm? Like Nicole or Adam?

I guess my question is, is it too different?

babyiheke · June 2016

Go for it! Those names aren't too foreign.

Bringmemylongswordho · June 2016

Ennnhhhhhh, I personally wouldn't.

Muscatmommyof4 · June 2016

I think Zahara is beautiful! I think those options are different but not wtf... One of my kids has a Hawaiin name and between my DH and I we are Hispanic, Native American, Greek, German and a few others... I'm a fan of different.

TinyAlligator · June 2016

I mean as long as they're not made up names or made up spellings I wouldn't side eye it.

jenesiso · June 2016

Zahara and Zaire sound African to me. But hey, to each his own. Whatever you don't mind calling them for the next 18 years lol

HotSauceSwagBag · June 2016

I don't mind "different" but I'm not a big fan of using names from ethnicities/cultures different from your own. I also don't think people would think "Russian" when they hear those names but rather "Africa" and tbh that's kinda worse.

That said, one of my guilty pleasure names is Katrinka, sounds kinda Russian, no idea if it actually is or the person I heard it from just made it up. Our last name is Polish so at least it would still be eastern European/similar language. But, still guilty pleasure name we're not actually going to use.

ETA turns out it's German so I was way off lol.

Bringmemylongswordho · June 2016

FWIW, because I am that nerd, neither Zahara or Zaire are Russian in origin. Zahara is Hebrew, and Zaire appears to have been more or less created by Voltaire, for a play of the same name. It is believed he was influenced by Zarah.

babyiheke · June 2016

I don't understand the issue here. @HotSauceSwagBag how is it worst if the name sounds african? Please do explain. ...

fiscally3 · June 2016

I'm not a fan of picking names from not yours or DHs culture. Obviously it happens, but I just have a couple friends who complain when their parents did that to them, because of the assumption people make (like for example: a friend who was raised Hindu, named Christine, who constantly had to explain she's not Christian.)

googoomom · June 2016

I like the names. I say go for what you like, nothing wrong with being different.

Katemr1146 · June 2016

I don't see why naming your child something that comes from a different culture is wrong in any way shape or form. Most names originate from somewhere...
If you dig it. Go for it.

Muscatmommyof4 · June 2016

Katemr1146 said:

I don't see why naming your child something that comes from a different culture is wrong in any way shape or form. Most names originate from somewhere...
If you dig it. Go for it.

I agree 100%! I'm all about diversity between my DH and I we are at least 7 different races and both of us were raised with a different culture. So when It came to naming our children we picked what we liked and it happened that 2 of our names (DS#1 and DD#2) had different spellings so that's were I would chose the spelling that was linked to one of our family Origin but the other 2 (DD#1 and DS#2 still in the making) have names that are Hawaiian and African origin. I think not choosing a name because it's from a different culture is a little races!

seven6five · June 2016

I also really like Katerina and Natasha. I have no clue for a boy though. Girls names I just can't seem to narrow down.

Knottie1458416769 · June 2016

If you search back far enough, you might find one of your ancestors was from that ethnicity/region! I think between my husband's family and mine, we have 'roots' in half of the world that we know about, going back maybe 500 years. In any event, I started flipping baby name websites and made a list of choices so far, but not out if consideration for the family tree - more like ooo that sounds great, nope knew a kid in school with that name I didn't like etc etc

Bringmemylongswordho · June 2016

FWIW, while I and my husband have somewhat mixed backgrounds, we are predominantly whitw, white passing (except myself to other white people surprisingly ) and as such would not pick a name from a background that wasn’t similar to our own out of respect to that culture and ethnicity.

Sometimes the most respect comes from leaving well enough alone.

juliehollz13 · June 2016

Just FYI, I'm Russian and neither of those names are typical Russian names. At all.

Personally, I am not a fan of naming children a name that is too outside of your culture. There are plenty of Russian names that are Russian in heritage but wouldn't be too odd on an American child: Alexander/Alexandra, Anastasia etc., Idk why, but it really does irk me when I meet a "Tatiana" from Louisiana who is in no shape or form linked to anything remotely Russian. I just think it's a little weird.

HotSauceSwagBag · June 2016

babyiheke said:

I don't understand the issue here. @HotSauceSwagBag how is it worst if the name sounds african? Please do explain. ...

Cultural appropriation being worse when it's an oppressed culture and one that obviously isn't your own (general your). I probably could have worded that better, so I apologize for that- I didn't mean it makes them bad names. In any case, it's not African (or Russian) anyway but I'd imagine a lot of people would probably assume it is. When I hear Zaire, I think Republic of Congo, not Voltaire.

rebekahrathe · June 2016

I think those are both beautiful names! We named our daughter Rowan and everyone asks if we are Irish, we aren't! We just loved the name. People have so many options but at the end of the day this is your child so you should pick a name that you love, not everyone else

rella89 · June 2016

I love foreign names personally! Im white and my husband is mexican and we named our third son Nikolai Ivan. I see nothing wrong with it.

whaat · June 2016

HotSauceSwagBag said:

babyiheke said:

I don't understand the issue here. @HotSauceSwagBag how is it worst if the name sounds african? Please do explain. ...

Cultural appropriation being worse when it's an oppressed culture and one that obviously isn't your own (general your). I probably could have worded that better, so I apologize for that- I didn't mean it makes them bad names. In any case, it's not African (or Russian) anyway but I'd imagine a lot of people would probably assume it is. When I hear Zaire, I think Republic of Congo, not Voltaire.

Yes. It's hard to put it into words but this sounds like more of the same 'white people trying to sound "exotic"' thing that always makes me uncomfortable. Like Khloe Kardashian wearing a bindi.

forevertired · June 2016

I'm a fan of "normal" names myself, but everyone has their own opinions and preferences. If you want to know if people will judge because the name doesn't fit your appearance, some probably will. With that being said, it's just as possible that people will judge "normal" names too. Ultimately, it's your kid that is going to have to live with it. Try to put yourself in their future shoes, and think about how it will grow with them.

sjacobs871 · June 2016

As a teacher who has seen all the trendy names over the past 13 yrs, I lean towards different without being weird. I love ethnic names and my favorite Russian girl name is Katia.

dreamcatch-her · June 2016

I agree with the cultural and religious appropriation stance on this. If you're going to use a name that is popular in someone's religion that isn't your own, you better be prepared to explain to people the importance of the name. I see this so often with people naming their kids after prophets and religious figures, and their child doesn't even know the meaning of the beautiful name they're carrying. Idk if Zahara is pronounced like Zahra (who is the daughter of the prophet Mohammed in the Islamic religion) but if it's the same name, please be informed of the origin so you can teach your child the importance of their name for others

I personally think they're both beautiful names.

juliehollz13 · June 2016

sjacobs871 said:

As a teacher who has seen all the trendy names over the past 13 yrs, I lean towards different without being weird. I love ethnic names and my favorite Russian girl name is Katia.

@sjacobs871 not trying to start anything or be mean, but this is exactly why I don't like my culture's names being thrown around willy nilly. Katia is NOT a "Russian girl name" in and of itself. It is a nickname for Yekaterina or Katerina. Also, in Russian culture we do not name kids by their nicknames, children are always given the full version of their name. If you are naming a child after a different culture than your own, please please please do your research so you're at least respecting the culture your're taking the name from. It's just like people I meet named "Sasha". Sasha is not a name in and of itself. It's a nn for Alexander or Alexandra. Same with Tanya's. Tanya is short for Tatiana. Oh boy I'm on a roll now. Proceed while I sip my hate-o-rade.

manabearursa · June 2016

I am from a small southern town, so we blew our whole families minds with an Irish name no one had ever heard of. Technically, one set of my great grandparents were irish and scottish imigrants, so it is my heritage, but not my culture. Our last name is Scottish too, so I felt like it flowed. So, I don't think it's weird to choose a name from another culture.

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