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HelpRe: Question about names and cultures
in reply to a message by RegalAmethyst
Let me start by giving a bit of background. I'm American. My mom is German. My grandmother is German. I have pretty strong German ties and most of my family still lives there. I also have strong Swiss ties on my dad's side, but not as much as the German, as I have no living relatives in Switzerland.
Anyway, I don't really find it weird if non-Germans use German names mostly because you might think someone is non-German and not really know. For example, most people that I know assume that all Germans have blond hair and blue eyes. Most of my German family have brown hair and a few have red, and the eye color is about half brown and half blue. So someone probably would look at my family and not know that they're German. I don't have any preconceptions about a Hildegard or a Sven having to be blond with blue eyes, so I don't find it odd if I meet a redhead with either of those names. I guess because of that, my preconceptions about other cultures and their names has kind of lessened too. In fact, I met a non-Irish Niamh recently and my only reaction was that I love the name, not that it didn't fit. I hope this all makes sense.
Edited for a typo.
Anyway, I don't really find it weird if non-Germans use German names mostly because you might think someone is non-German and not really know. For example, most people that I know assume that all Germans have blond hair and blue eyes. Most of my German family have brown hair and a few have red, and the eye color is about half brown and half blue. So someone probably would look at my family and not know that they're German. I don't have any preconceptions about a Hildegard or a Sven having to be blond with blue eyes, so I don't find it odd if I meet a redhead with either of those names. I guess because of that, my preconceptions about other cultures and their names has kind of lessened too. In fact, I met a non-Irish Niamh recently and my only reaction was that I love the name, not that it didn't fit. I hope this all makes sense.
Edited for a typo.
This message was edited 7/15/2011, 6:33 PM
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