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I like your combos. They are lovely. I think it's perfectly fine to use names from other cultures. It's a way to show your appreciation I think.

I think so. The most important thing is that the parents love the name.

I'm not a fan of Shane, and I'm not sure as to what I think of Nathaniel and Violet together... there is something which doesn't quite gel and I'm not sure what. However, Nathaniel's a nice enough name and I love Violet Francesca an insane amount. I think it's utterly gorgeous.

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Funny thing is, I was thinking about Francesca the other day. I can't stand Frances or Fran... Francine? Icky. But I like the Francesca-style versions of the name, and of them Francesca is the most classic and the most immediately identifiable in an Anglophone society. I really think it's acceptable to use it. I mean, I think certain names which sound a bit too out there and exotic - for example, very ethnic sounding African, Asian, Indian names on a transparently Anglo-British child with no links to the country would be a little odd - need careful thinking and reasoning, but names which aren't too difficult to understand, say or spell are fine in my eyes. I'm pretty sure there are plenty of non-Italian Francesca's out there and I think it's perfectly okay to use.

I don't like Francesca is particularly ethnic sounding, so I think it's fine. Francesca has been relatively popular in the UK and America for a while, and is often seen on non-Italian people so it's not so strongly tied to Italy any more.

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However there are often names which I think are very ethnic sounding - names which are rarely seen outside of their culture such as Juan, Friedrich, Francois etc. I would be surprised to see these names on someone who wasn't Spanish, German or French (respectively)

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Basically, it depends on the name and how often it is seen in or out of the original ethnicity.

Nathaniel & Violet are 2 names really really like so I think it is a great twinset. The combos flow nicely and Nathaniel & Violet both have an old fashioned yet current feel to them.

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Some names I feel are too ethnic to use if you are not that ethnicity. I don't think Francesca is one of them.

I like both names, and it's fine! I have not an oz. of French in me and I have a French name- and it wasn't used for honoring anyone in the family. :)

Well, you said Francesca is honoring so the fact that you're not Italian shouldn't be a problem at all. As long as the name isn't extremely stereotyped (Francesca is not) and recognizable/pronounceable in your home country I say go for it.

Nathaniel and Violet are lovely.

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As for your question I think it's perfectly fine for you to use Francesca, it's commonly used by non-Italians anyway because it's a beautiful name (I know two myself, neither are Italian). One of my new name crushes is Mariella but I think I would still use it despite not being Italian.

I definitely love Nathaniel and Violet!

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And for your question, I think its okay if you really like it. I like Valentina, Dmitri, Desta, Niamh, Siri and Ilana. I'm not from any of those origins but I still like the names well enough to think about using them.

Even though I think it is a little odd to use an Italian name if you're not at all Italian, it's becoming totally common. Personally I think Violet Frances is better.