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[Opinions] I tend to agree with you (m)
in reply to a message by Julia
I don't consider names to be random sounds that can be bestowed on children without any criterion, names should have a tradition and a history of usage and I don't really agree with the "anything goes" mentality. Of course things change, otherwise women would be still named all named after their fathers with "major" and "minor" to distinguish sisters, the way the Romans used to be, but it irks me when people say what's wrong to give a girl a boy's name? It's just a name! Or: Pagan is fine as a name, since Christian is! I also however find it difficult to draw an exact line, for instance I'm ok with Amber and Scarlet, but Tawny and Red don't sound like real names to me. As concerns Hosanna, I don't really like it but it's been used for a while so maybe why I find it bearable. Again it's a bit contradictory because I dislike Rejoice and Cherish, somehow it seems weird to use a verb as a name.
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It IS just a name! It is a sound that we are trained to respond to from a young age. If, from infancy, someone used the sound "Urgh" to get your attention, then that is what you would be trained to respond to.The true origins of names have become so cloudy that it is difficult to tell WHERE a name comes from or WHAT the true meaning of it is. Why not name your child something that you find pleasing? I would rather name my daughter Logan because I absolutely love the name (and it fits her extraordinarily well by the way) than Mary simply because it has more history of being a "girl's name".To you there is a sold black line that is thick and strong and totally differentiates between girls and boys. I simply prefer to not limit myself or my children. If it were THAT important, it would have been the 11th Commandment "Thou shall not give your child a name that others will disapprove of" pffffxoxo
Michelle
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it's just a matter of personal taste!"Why not name your child something that you find pleasing?"
I happen to find boys 's names on girls not pleasing and I think I'm entitled to my opinion, just as you have yours.It's not some kind of abstract principle. Furthermore, in some languages, including my own (Italian), with a few exceptions a "solid black line" between male and female names exists de facto because of the way the language works, and most names are gendered very clearly, we don't have surname-derived names, for instance. A girl named Giuseppe or Giovanni would have a hard time indeed (and probably it's illegal to name a girl that in Italy anyway).It's also interesting to see how the "black line" seems to persist when it's a matter of giving traditionally female names to boys, you don't meet many boys named Elizabeth or Helen, do you? Aren't they also "just names"? You make it sound as if I had written something along the lines of: "Parents who bestow male names on girls should be tried for child abuse". I just said it wasn't my style. Of course it's not a matter of life and death, and there's lots of things that are not in the 10 Commandements that I'd rather not do.
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I never said that you weren't entitled to your opinion, nor did I say that your opinion was bad. The "black line" exists with some people when it comes to surnames, place names, word names, etc. It's not just traditionally male names on girls. Some people are very adament when it comes to these things and I, personally find it absurd. Why should someone get so worked up about what I name my children? If someone wanted to name their son Elizabeth or Helen, so be it, that is my opinion. I wasn't implying anything about "child abuse", it is simply a difference of opinion. You have yours, I have mine...
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I have a "solid black line" and I like it. :-)
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