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For the most part, when I participate in the "Top 10" threads on BtN, the names I'm posting are the names I'd consider using in real life. This means that they're names that would be, for all intents and purposes, "usable" in Anglophone culture, particularly in North America. However, within my PNL I have a separate list for "Different Cultures," for names I enjoy from cultures other than my own that--unless I, say, married into the culture--it would be strange or even inappropriate for me to use.

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You know how some users (including myself) have posted on here about doing a "purge" of their PNL to narrow things down? Well, at the end of last week I went on an adding spree instead of a deleting one; and now, the "Different Cultures" list is the longest of all my lists by far, at over 300 names.

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Once in a while, I'll see a post on here about non-Anglophone names (Hebrew/Israeli and South African--particularly Afrikaans--stick out in my mind), but overall, this is a solidly Anglophone board. So, I wanted to organize my "Different Cultures" list by language/culture and post it here, so people could maybe get a peek at something they otherwise wouldn't have seen. These aren't the same thing as "guilty pleasures," as outside Anglophone or even Western society they are often, for lack of a better term, "normal":

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Indigenous American & Polynesian
-Greenlandic
--Ivalu
-Tupi
--Jacira
--Maiara
-Mapuche
--Ayelen
--Eluney
--Liwen
-Zapotec
--Nayeli
--Zyanya
-Nahuatl
--Quetzali
-Navajo
--Nizhóní
-Hawaiian
--Leilani
--Noelani
-Maori
--Anahera
-Australian Aboriginal
--Nerida

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Asian (East, South & Southeast)
-Japanese
--Kazuo
--Kenshin
--Kentarō
--Kenzo
--Takeo
--Taro
--Haruna
--Hinata
--Izumi
--Keiko
--Sakura
--Sayuri
-Khmer
--Sovanna
-Indian (other than Urdu)
--Dinesh
--Navin
--Ravi
--Vivek
--Aruna
--Darshana
--Indira
--Jasminder
--Purnima (genuinely one of my favorite names)
--Reva
--Rupinder
--Veda

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Middle Eastern
-Farsi/Persian
--Ardeshir
--Azad
--Behruz
--Behzad
--Dariush
--Javed
--Kaveh
--Navid
--Yousef
--Asal
--Nasrin
--Shireen
--Vida
--Zinat
-Arabic
--Faris
--Harun
--Hassan
--Ilyas
--Murad
--Nadim
--Nasim
--Sargon (Assyrian)
--Tahir
--Amal
--Fairuza (genuinely one of my favorite names)
--Hania
--Inaya
--Munira
--Naima
--Nawal
--Nesrine (Maghrebi)
--Nura
--Rania
--Ruwa (my mom had a hairdresser with this name when I was a kid, and I thought it was so cool)
--Sadia
--Safia
--Sania
--Shahrazad (genuinely one of my favorite names)
--Tahira
-Urdu (specifically)
--Haris
--Syed
--Hira
--Sitara
--Syeda
-Hebrew & Yiddish
--Avrum
--Doron
--Evron
--Lazer
--Liev
--Oved
--Ravid
--Shalev
--Aviva
--Ayelet
--Devora
--Hadassah
--Kinneret
--Margalit
--Merav
--Mirele
--Nurit
--Perele
--Raziela
--Riva
--Ronit
--Shifra
--Shira
--Shulamith
--Sigalit
--Sivan
--Tehila
--Vardiel
--Yocheved
--Ziva

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Central Asian (a lot of linguistic overlap here)
-Tajik
--Anvar
--Faridun
-Kazakh
--Anara
--Ayazhan
--Dinara

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Caucasian & Turkish
-Azerbaijani
--Tamerlan
--Parvana
-Armenian
--Levon
--Nazar
--Mariam
-Georgian
--Gaioz
--Ramaz
--Revaz
--Zviad
--Endzela
--Ketevan
-Ossetian
--Taymuraz
-Turkish
--Alperen
--Emirhan
--Erhan
--Levent
--Serhan
--Yunus Emre (as a double name)
--Adalet
--Elanur
--Elif
--Erva
--Esmeray
--Evren
--Maharet
--Nevra
--Selvi
--Semra

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African
-East African
--Ethiopian
---Yohannes (Amharic)
---Lelise (Oromo)
-Central & Southern African
--Ganda
---Mirembe
--Swahili
---Ashura
---Subira
---Zuhura
---Zuri
--Afrikaans
---Charlize (okay, this one's a bit of a GP)
--Shona
---Tinashe (f)
-Western African
--Igbo
---Adanna
---Adannaya
--Yoruba
---Enitan
---Abiola
---Adeola
---Eniola
--(unspecified)
---Aminata
---Kadiatou

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European
-Eastern European
--Russian
---Alexei
---Nikolai
---Vadim
---Anya
---Katya
---Nadezhda
---Snezhana
---Svetlana
---Taisia
---Varvara
---Verusha
--Ukrainian
---Demyan
---Taras
--Polish
---Arkadiusz
---Dariusz
---Eliasz
---Mateusz
---Nikodem
---Radek
---Sergiusz
---Tadeusz
---Tobiasz
---Uriasz
---Zachariasz
---Jadwiga
---Katarzyna
---Stefania
---Zofia
--Romanian
---Catrinel / Katrinel
---Steliana
---Viorela
--Bulgarian
---Nedelya
---Nevena
--Albanian
---Dardana
---Flutura
---Pranvera
--Greek (modern)
---Andreas
---Vissarion
---Avra
-Western European
--Roma/Romani
---Alafair
--Italian
---Dante
---Alessia
---Ambra
---Artemisia
---Cassiopea
---Fiamma
---Fiammetta
---Fortunata
---Francesca Pia (as a double name)
---Pia
---Romina
---Silveria
---Speranza
---Verdia
---Vissenta (Sardinian)
--German
---Valeska
---Verena
--Dutch & Frisian
---Johannes
---Fenna
---Katelijn
---Madelief
---Saskia
---Senna
--French
---André
---Elouan
---Gustave
---Lazare
---Serge
---Venance
---Alizée
---Amélie
---Anaïs
---Avril
---Azélie
---Catrinelle
---Desneiges
---Dieudonnée
---Emmanuelle
---Espérance
---Lauriane
---Ludivine
---Marjolaine
---Mireille
---Mirèio (Occitan)
---Octavie
---Solenne
---Tatienne
---Vérène
---Verveine
---Zephyrine
--Basque
---Enara
---Erlea
---Lorea
---Maialen (I've had this in my Top 10 before)
---Naiara
---Nerea
--Catalan
---Queralt
--Spanish
---Andrés
---Dimas
---Isidro
---Javier (genuinely one of my favorite names)
---Joaquin
---Miguel
---Ramon
---Araceli
---Arsenia
---Esmeralda
---Esperanza
---Isidra
---Lourdes
---Nuria
---Pilar
--Portuguese
---Oseias
---Aparecida
---Vanderleia (Brazilian)
--Nordic
---Finnish
----Ensio
----Reijo
----Valdemar
----Inari
----Lumi
----Sonja
----Suvi
----Virva
---Swedish
----Stellan
----Solveig
----Viveca
---Norwegian
----Runa
----Sunniva
---Icelandic
----Estíva
--Celtic
---Breton
----Judicaël
----Judoc
----Winoc
----Yezekael
----Frañseza
----Gwenaela
----Gwenaëlle
----Nolwenn
----Rozenn
---Cornish
----Perran
----Elowen
----Endellion
----Eseld
----Kerensa
---Welsh (excluding Gallicized Arthurian names, e.g. Guinevere/Elaine)
----Taliesin
----Ceridwen
----Enid
----Nimue
----Tesni
---Scottish
----Ewan
----Catriona
----Eilidh
----Elspeth
----Kenna
---Irish
----Edana (Latinized)
----Enya
----Niamh
----Oona
----Saoirse

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This... took me a long time to make! Microsoft Word helped. Admittedly, I'm more open-minded when it comes to feminine names; and there's still a visible European bias just because of what I'm used to.

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I'd love to hear/read about other people's favorite names from cultures outside their own!

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Please rate my personal name lists:

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www.behindthename.com/pnl/69381
www.behindthename.com/pnl/69381/117507
www.behindthename.com/pnl/69381/109399
www.behindthename.com/pnl/69381/132018

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"If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe." - Carl Sagan

This message was edited 4/18/2025, 7:41 PM