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HelpRe: Using a name from another culture as an American
in reply to a message by Olwen
(I am a white American, for context on my opinions.)
It depends on what culture it is and its relation in the history of American (and British, given the Anglo specification) colonization. If it's a culture which has a history of being colonized and/or oppressed by America/U.K. then I find it uncomfortable and distasteful, as if you're further commodifying that culture. Even if those of that culture you've met don't find it offensive (and how likely are they to actually be honest and start that confrontation?) and you think it's okay, I think it's important to consider that *your child* might grow to find it offensive or uncomfortable.
Other regions and continents, however, should probably be avoided. The exception would be if you were naming the baby after someone important who you want to honor, like a lifelong friend, a surrogate relative, or a doctor who delivered the baby and saved the mother in a difficult birth. Obviously there is no hard and fast rule.
It depends on what culture it is and its relation in the history of American (and British, given the Anglo specification) colonization. If it's a culture which has a history of being colonized and/or oppressed by America/U.K. then I find it uncomfortable and distasteful, as if you're further commodifying that culture. Even if those of that culture you've met don't find it offensive (and how likely are they to actually be honest and start that confrontation?) and you think it's okay, I think it's important to consider that *your child* might grow to find it offensive or uncomfortable.
Other regions and continents, however, should probably be avoided. The exception would be if you were naming the baby after someone important who you want to honor, like a lifelong friend, a surrogate relative, or a doctor who delivered the baby and saved the mother in a difficult birth. Obviously there is no hard and fast rule.
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