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As the country I call my home, I like this quote from James Baldwin's Notes from a Native Son: "I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually."

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As a name, though? No no no no no. I do not get the idea of naming a child after a continent, be it America, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia - nope nope nope nope nope.

For a country and a continent name, I like it. It sounds big and grand and has a lot going on, which is fitting for a place name.

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Africa and America are my favorite continent names. As a name, Europe is a tad on the ugly side. Arctica would have sounded better than Antarctica. Asia sounds sweet, but it feels vague (perhaps that isn't the right word) or generically pretty. It reminds me of names like Alicia and Ada and doesn't really stand out soundwise to me.

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On a person, America makes me think of the child of first generation immigrants. America Ferrera is a famous bearer. It sounds hopeful and adventurous in the style of Indiana Jones. I like it, but it isn't my style.

No. It's jingoistic.

in terms of country names as given names it's not the worst. The main problem with locational names is it is a consistent and ever-evolving cultural landscape and you take the risk of the place doing something politically very unpopular and growing distasteful. Look at Russia these days. Cities are less of a risk in terms of regional names (usually). If I had a gun to my head and had to pick a country name I'd probably go with India but even then some consider it teetering on possible cultural appropriation if you aren't of Indian heritage. idk. It's an in-depth topic for sure which is why I tend to avoid the names with complex possible interpretations because it leaves more room for negative ones. If I met a little girl named America I would assume that she was of a starchily conservative and Baptist Christian background and her parents were gun welding, forest tramping, hill folks. That's not inherently a bad thing but that is the image that comes to mind. I can almost here the "m'rica" jokes a mile away.

As a given name? Not really. But I warmed up to it since I first heard it on a person. Liberty is acceptable but America always seemed a bit tacky to me. I’d probably pair it with America Liv.

This message was edited 8/3/2022, 4:05 PM

It’s too patriotic. I’d argue it’s worse than Liberty. At the very least, almost everyone values liberty. Not everyone likes America. It’s just a name with a lot of weight to it is all.
Amy is definitely better.

Not really, but I kind of like Amrika. And Emrik.

This message was edited 8/3/2022, 3:30 PM

Too closely associated with the country!

Not really. Prefer Amy or Merica.