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HelpRe: Cultural Appropriation
in reply to a message by boingloings
I think Olamide would be less problematic than a Japanese name. Olamide sounds kinda similar to European names. People wouldn't instantly guess it was African - they'd probably ask where it was from. But Asian names are so different from Western names as to instantly give away their origin.
That said, I think certain European names scream their origin as well. French names seem obviously French, and the same goes with Italian and Russian names. I'd be wary to use such a name, afraid that people would ask my child "Are your parents French/Italian/Russian?" etc. I'd be annoyed to have to explain that we have no Italian heritage, that I just like the name. There'd be no such problem if a child with Japanese heritage was given a Japanese name. I know a Vietnamese girl (I assume she was born here in Australia) who has a traditional Vietnamese name. I don't find it strange at all.
As for giving a Japanese name to a Caucasian with no Japanese heritage, it's not that it's not "okay" - but people will be quite surprised. It's not usual. I assume that it goes both ways - I assume that it would be strange to give a Western name to a Japanese child living in Japan. But I don't know this for sure.
That said, I think certain European names scream their origin as well. French names seem obviously French, and the same goes with Italian and Russian names. I'd be wary to use such a name, afraid that people would ask my child "Are your parents French/Italian/Russian?" etc. I'd be annoyed to have to explain that we have no Italian heritage, that I just like the name. There'd be no such problem if a child with Japanese heritage was given a Japanese name. I know a Vietnamese girl (I assume she was born here in Australia) who has a traditional Vietnamese name. I don't find it strange at all.
As for giving a Japanese name to a Caucasian with no Japanese heritage, it's not that it's not "okay" - but people will be quite surprised. It's not usual. I assume that it goes both ways - I assume that it would be strange to give a Western name to a Japanese child living in Japan. But I don't know this for sure.
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