Re: Thinking about some names
in reply to a message by Lael
Just for the record (because I think you might be thinking this), I don't dislike the names BECAUSE they are Latin, I just generally don't prefer the Latin forms of names to the other forms. I especially think it's somewhat odd when someone who doesn't have Latino or Spanish heritage uses a name like Mateo, and it gives me the impression that they are only inspired to do so because of the tall, dark and handsome gentlemen they see portrayed on soap operas with names like Mateo or Antonio.
Replies
Oh, okay. Taken together with the repetition of French versions being prettier it gave the impression you had some sort of cultural thing going on.
That said, I simply don't LIKE Matthew. I knew some bad ones and I find the name bland and boring. I like the sound of Mateo. I wrote Mateo because, as I said, I got it from the Spanish list, but I prefer Matteo, which is Italian, and my grandfather was off-the-boat Italian.
Although I agree it seems somewhat odd for someone without the heritage to use certain names in some situations (how much more could I qualify that?), I don't have an overall problem. The naming pool gets a little shallow otherwise and there are some great names or variants of names from other cultures. Further, I try not to prescribe motive to other people's naming habits. They might have a good reason for using a name of a different ethnicity, and even if they don't and just like the sound, so what? I might look oddly at the very Irish family naming their daughter Svetlanka but I wouldn't think twice about it, really.
That said, I simply don't LIKE Matthew. I knew some bad ones and I find the name bland and boring. I like the sound of Mateo. I wrote Mateo because, as I said, I got it from the Spanish list, but I prefer Matteo, which is Italian, and my grandfather was off-the-boat Italian.
Although I agree it seems somewhat odd for someone without the heritage to use certain names in some situations (how much more could I qualify that?), I don't have an overall problem. The naming pool gets a little shallow otherwise and there are some great names or variants of names from other cultures. Further, I try not to prescribe motive to other people's naming habits. They might have a good reason for using a name of a different ethnicity, and even if they don't and just like the sound, so what? I might look oddly at the very Irish family naming their daughter Svetlanka but I wouldn't think twice about it, really.