do you feel pressure to name your child an ethnic specific name?

Question

Does the Smith(assuming the smiths are of european decent) feel comfortable naming their kid Ashanti (african) or the rodriguez family(latino) feel comfortable naming their kid Seoung Li (asian) i dont have kids but i always wondered if parents with a child on the way consider the ethic orgin of the name they choose or do they just choose a name they like. im not talking about John Smith naming his daughter laquetisha shaqueeta or LaTasha Jenkins naming her daughter Suzie Lynn, thats NOT what i am talking about . im talking about lets say the Smith family was planning on naming their son John Micheal Smith, jr, but instead name their son Juan Miguel (which is john michael in spanish) Smith. Would that be ok to you? (in case you are wondering i dont care what your name name is name your kid whatever you want becuase their name should not dictate the life they live.... just a question i was wondering......................

tgibbyson, i agree with you, partially, not on the fact that they wouldnt like the sound of it. some names become so mainstream that the etnic origin means nothing. i dont know where you live, but i bet you if you took every jennifer in a 50 mile radius, they all wouldn't look Welsh if you know what i mean ,lol(i'm definetly not welsh,lol)

Answer 1

i say parents should name their kids what they like but also be mindful that it is a name that children will have to live with for their whole life so don't go crazy and ensure that they go thru a lifetime of teasing!!
my mother is from korea and her name is norma jean. not exactly an asian name. i think sometimes names tied to ethnic roots can be a wonderful thing but sometimes it can overshadow the child a little bit.

Answer 2

We didn't - we're Ukrainian, but didn't choose a specifically ethnic name for our child. It's unusual, but more meaningful - in the same 'family' of languages.
Unfortunately, I think a lot of parents - moms especially it seems - are just trying too hard to choose names that are SO different in spelling or meaning, so their child will stand out, be special, etc. - instead of them realizing that it is the child him or herself who will be special because of who he or she is, not by what he or she is named.
But it would be odd if we gave our child an African based name, or a Latin one - because it would just be really odd with our Ukrainian surname.
Then again, in my brother-in-law's sister's family - she's Ukrainian, married an East Indian, the children were raised with both cultures, attend a Ukrainian church, did Ukrainian cultural things and both have beautiful East Indian first names.
So it depends upon circumstances, too....

Answer 3

I think people tend to stick to names that reflect their own cultures because they want to honor their own ethnic traditions. Many names that are popular in the African-American community, for example, are based on African words, while names that Latinos tend to name their children mean something in Spanish. However, I have met several black children with Latin-inspired names, and it seems to me that a whole lot of people, black or white, like to name their kids French-sounding names, like Simone or Antoine or whatnot.

Answer 4

I think most people name the child what they like - and most for instance Europeans are not going to choose the Spanish name because it doesn't sound right to them. If they like it, that's their decision - although it does happen, it is rare. No, I feel like most parents feel the freedom to name their child what they want. I know I did!

Answer 5

I wasn't pressured at all. I'm Lithuanian, and I've always wanted to have children who have Lithuanian names, b/c my heritage was always something I'm proud of. My parents were born in Lithuania, and my siblings and I have the European names.

My hubby is Lithuanian as well, though he wasn't raised speaking the language.

It's personal preference. Sure, maybe some names are more difficult to pronounce, but that's okay. :)

Answer 6

i'm white, my husband is Mexican. we've one woman, Hannah Elise, which sounds very white for being a million/2 hispanic and one boy, which of direction, sticking with cultural, has his daddy's call, Roberto, and his center call is my maiden call, Henry, yet in Spanish, Enrique. So our daughter has an extremely white call, and our son thoroughly hispanic. i assume it basically relies upon on which way you prefer to pass. i've got not heard any "unusual" mixtures, yet i'm particular there are some accessible!

Answer 7

I don't think it matters what you name your child. I have a daughter named Sariah (Suh Rye yuh). She is white and I have been told it is an african type name. I can't imagine her having any other name. It is totally ok.