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Probably something that's well-known on two or three continents that seems recognizable in multiple languages. I would count Francis - it's English, but to me it's obviously like Francisco, Frans, François. So that's South America, North America, Europe...

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I'd also count names like Maya that sound the same or very close in multiple languages but mean different things.

This message was edited 4/7/2024, 10:55 AM

Anna, Maria, Sara, Laura, Alexandra, Rosa, Emilia, Lena, Jessica, Miriam, Irene, Tamara, Victoria, Olga, Emma, Barbara, Esther, Flora, Lina, Hana, Eva, Lucia, Natalia, Sofia, Helena, Linda, Veronika, Rita, Julia, Martina, Hilda, Lea, Magda, Andrea, Nina, Tatiana, Iris, Antonia, Martha, Sandra, Vera, Diana, Kristina, Amanda, Inga, Regina, Magdalena, Paula, Alma, Daniela, Gabriela, Marina, Ida, Marta, Valentina, Anita, Elena...

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Sebastian, ... Load Full Message

The most international names I can think of are Anna, Maria, Laura, and Sara. I think girl names tend to use letters that are more easily translatable into other languages. It's not important at all, just cool.

My daughter's name, Miriam. I've met/heard of Miriams in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and South America. I've never met/heard of one from Asia, though. Adam, Omar, Joseph, and Sara also come to mind.

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I don't think it's important but I find it neat.

This message was edited 4/6/2024, 7:49 AM

Mary and all its variants seem very international.
Elizabeth and Catherine seem to be names with many different language variants.

Kai, Mai, Sara, Anna, Isa, Lina, Lila, Jay / Jae, Rina, Rita, Anita, Hana, Lu, Tina, Ima, Nia, Ema come to mind
I don't think having a name that is used or familiar sounding everywhere is important, though it could be convenient.

This message was edited 4/6/2024, 6:28 AM

Some names that are pretty international are: Maria, Anna, Mina, Sara, Vida, Alexander / Aleksander, Kai, Noa, Mai and Hana.
I think the importance can depend on the person. It could be helpful if the person with the name is going to be travelling a lot, has family from a variety of places and/or lives in a place where a lot of different languages mix. However, I wouldn’t call it a necessity, just helpful.
If none of those factors apply to a person, while it may be nice to have an international name, I wouldn’t consider it an important criteria to meet.

I suppose biblical names are used in all countries with a Christian and/or Jewish population. And possibly not with a religious message: my fn and mn are both originally biblical, but my fn was chosen because my mother liked it and my mn was my paternal grandmother's mn.