Primaflora, I had a feeling this thread was about my (perhaps ill-advised) thread when I saw the title!
If the name you chose for your child wasn’t a nice, normal “whitebread” kind of name, then so be it. I’m just trying to see what other names might be considered odd. I’m not trying to be racist, despite what you may think.
I have no problem with cultural names being used for different ethnicities; hey, if you were Scottish and decided to name your kid something like Murtagh MacKenzie, I’d say more power to you!
There is absolutely nothing wrong with using names that haven’t been in general use for a fair bit of time, and despite what I said in my thread, those aren’t really funny names, per se. However, I only wished to point out that using the names seems to be a :Chinese immigrant" thing to do at times. That’s what I have noticed, and that’s what I meant, if it wasn’t clear enough. Of course, if it’s not that kind of thing to do, then I’ll let the subject alone.
As for why it might be bizarre for a mother from the Middle East to choose the name Osama for her child, it’s her decision to name the child as she sees fit, of course… but what of the associations with the name, especially nowadays? I’m not saying that she could have chosen a better name for her child, but these days, it seems like a rather strange choice.
Never mind my own assessment of whether I could choose a name for my child if I were transported to another country… I would certainly hope so! If I felt I couldn’t, I would say so, and admit that I needed help! Not to say that the parents of these kids needed help and didn’t ask for it, but some of the more bizarre names in that thread? Let’s just say that I have a feeling that the kids would have been named that certain name even if the parents did ask for help!
If you think that I’m racist, then so be it. But before you depart in high dudgeon, Primaflora, please notice that I am not denigrating East Indians for naming their kid Sukhdip (for example) when they live in Canada or the States (or anywhere else, for that matter), and not in India. However, if I seemed racist or something of the sort to you, then I would like to know how I could improve, so I can conform exactly to the excellent mold and specifications that you yourself obviously come from. :rolleyes:
Can you really say that you are more cultured and less “racist” than I am? You may very well be, and more power to you if you are. But I would suggest that you don’t try to examine my motives for me, thanks very much!
Duck Duck Goose, if you feel that that is the logical extension of my thought, then I admit it seems rather stark. However, I did not mean it that way. I admit that some names seem as if they belong to a certain ethnicity; for example, if a Caucasian named his kid Baljit Jones, it would sound a little jarring to the ear. (unless the kid had East Indian ancestry somehow) I’m not against weird-sounding names, and I invite people to use different ethnic names for their children… however, there’s something odd about a kid named (for example) Manraj Turnbull. (I remember a kid named Ayako Turnbull, but I figured she had Japanese ancestry somewhere)
Of course, parents are free to pick and choose names for their children irregardless of ethnicity and whether it sounds “nice” or “euphonious”; but sometimes the choices they make jsut happen to stagger me. That’s essentially why I started the thread. I’m sorry you happen to disagree with me about this, but there’s nothing I can do to ameliorate the problem.
cazzle, I admit that some of what I said may have been poorly phrased, but it’s there now… and i apologize if it seems so to you. I remember reading a book that’s probably similar to the one you have: it had a section on mixing of ethnicities amd how it might be laughable. (or the very least, odd-sounding) There is nothing wrong with NOT being influenced by fashion; I don’t particularly like some of the trendy names out now (Britney, for example), but some of them aren’t too bad. (Mackenize and Michaela, for example)
I read another baby name book (or it may have been the same one) that warned against giving your kids TOO trendy a name… just think of all the Grandma Mackenzies (pr indeed the Grandpa Mackenzies) we’re going to have in 50 years’ time! Nothing wrong with that, of course… it’s just that right now, it sounds odd to the ears.
leechbabe, I haven’t been to that webpage yet; I think I might check it out some other time when it in’t past 1 AM and all I want to do is sleep! (or at the very least, submit this reply before I do other things)