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Re: German Names
They sound fine, but keep in mind that most Germans don't use their own names and instead want to use American names on their children. Boy, I can't stand the way Europeans name their children.
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Aren't I doing the same thing?I'd be a hyppocrite to criticize. Since I'm an American picking out German names.
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No, you aren't. I wouldn't use a name from another culture that was hard to say. I think that a name like Zvonimir, Kumar, Sayyida, or Abimbola would look weird on an American child. The same way I think a name like Kevin, Brian, Anthony, or Jessica would look weird on a child from Germany, Sweden, Poland, Belgium, or France.
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But what about my name?Yes my name is Aileen. Yes I live in America. No, Aileen isn't traditionally English. Now it's considered fairly English just because of frequent (for lack of a better word... it's not common) use. Wouldn't you just be bored to death in a country where everybody had the same names? That would be absolutely horrible in every way imaginable. Brave New World, much?
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All cultures have hundreds of names.For example, if a Spanish parent was bored with Diego and Ana, why not use a lesser-used name like Prudencia or Evaristo? Or if a French parent was bored with Jacques and Marie, why not use a name like Telesphore or Hippolyte? Europeans should use lesser-used names from their cultures and not American names like Kevin or Jessica.

This message was edited 9/30/2008, 6:24 PM

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Erm...By that logic, American parents should only use "American" names like Dakota and Randy.Anyway Kevin and Jessica are not American! Kevin is Irish and Jessica was first used by Shakespeare, probably based on a Hebrew name.
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Exactly.Sometimes I just *boggle* at BR's "logic".
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Also...If you're going to have a child, shouldn't you name it something that you love and that means something to you regardless of the orgin instead of sticking to your culture w/ a lesser liked name? I named my son Sascha after his great grandfather Aleksandr. GGF lived in Russia where Sasha was a common nn for Aleksandr. We live in the states where Sasha is predominantly girls name. I wouldn't have let something as silly as not living in Russia deter me from naming my child what I want.
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But . . . you're from the USA. Why is it any of your business?
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You got me.
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What if they like the names Diego and Jacques?
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But why.
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Everyone has different naming styles. I'm doing the exact thing you speak out against. And most Americans will not pronounce Anneliese and Adelheid the same way German speakers do. But I also plan to use traditional "American" names like Eve and Ethan. I don't think I'm being unpatriotic (or whatever you want to call it) in my naming style.
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I don't even thinkthat we use many English names in Germany. We use a lot of French names and German names but not really lots of English names. a few of them, sure. Emma for example is not an English name. Neither are Zoe and Chloe. yes they have been used in america for a long time but their origin is elsewhere.
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