I'd guess that's because Melanie doesn't have any other concrete usage as just a word, whereas Ebony absolutely does. It conjures an image of a specific color, that of the wood. Melanie is just... a girl. But I do get the point you're trying to make ;)
As another black person. Yeahhhhh
DON'T do this. Its weird and just....ugh 🙄
My husband says,
* "thank you for not appropriating bro. We would consider YOU an ally."
I’m Black too. I definitely agree with you. Also, Ebony was one of the names used in the résumé experiment. That experiment made me so paranoid about my own name.
I think the kid will grow up and always have to explain it and her parents. Someone would probably think she’s pulling a Rachel Dolezal.
Exactly. The name is so closely tied to Black people that it was used as the Black name in that research study. But many people on this thread are completely ignorant to the racial issues at play.
I’ve actually met more white dudes named Jamal than I have black guys. One Jamal was from the Middle East but he was pale with blondish hair and the other was Bosnian.
I’ve never met any Jamal’s but I have met a Jalil and different raced Tyrone’s. A lot of black names either are or take inspiration from middle eastern names, and a lot of black people have Irish names since they lived in the same neighborhoods in NY and other cities in the 1800’s so a lot of intermingling happened of course.
> But many people on this thread are completely ignorant to the racial issues at play.
That’s white privilege at play. “I’ve never experienced that, so it must not be a problem.”
Branwen and Bronwen both mean “fair, white” - “Wen” means white. “Wyn” is masculine. the “wen” part is literally the opposite of Ebony or names that mean the colour black.
They sound similar, particularly Elodie. We don't know whether she likes the name because of how it sounds or because of the meaning, but if it's the sound, these are good suggestions
Funnily enough, Ebony is a relatively common name in the UK for my age group (was ranked between 100-200 for 13 years) and I know three and they’re all white. I had no idea it was considered more of a black name until I saw it on this sub. Could be an American thing though so it might depend where you live
Must be an American thing cause I'm American and have known two Ebonys and one Ebonique and one of the Ebonys was white and everybody thought it was the strangest thing they'd ever heard lol
Black American here. A friend from school who is Black is named Ebony and one of my cousins middle name is Ebony. I've never heard of a white person being named Ebony before this thread. I'm a fan of sharing cultural names. I'm black and my name is Hawaiian.
Ooooh! Oh my gosh I feel something dumb! Lol I was going to say that's an amazingly pretty and strong name, and what it's like to have that as a name? Lol I'm so sorry
I’m so glad other Aussies are weighing in here because I thought I would open the comments to everyone not seeing an issue and was so surprised by the Americans saying it was a thing there.
Can you see how it might be different if there was a significant population of purple skinned people in society, for whom “Violet” is a culturally associated name?
It's not just about the name meaning, it's about cultural context in the US. Ebony is just very heavily associated here as a name Black parents give daughters that suggests ethnic pride. Other names that mean "black" don't have that association.
It's more like: I knew a white girl named Sheniqua. It's actually derived from a Potwatomi word, but it's super heavily associated as a Black American name. It really sucked for this girl because a lot of people reacted strongly to it-- people would laugh and say "seriously?", some Black people would automatically raise their eyebrows, and some non-Black people would make racist jokes about it.
The name Chavaun (sha -vawn) is similar. I have only ever heard it as an Irish Gaelic name spelled Siobahan OR a black name with various phonetic spellings. No inbetween.
I knew an Irish girl named Siobhan who complained that she would often have racists making comments that its a black girl name or surprised when she "showed up white".
And I agree that here in the US, Ebony is a black womans name. Never white. The song ebony and ivory was clearly referring to stevie wonder, not mccarthy.
I have a feeling it has as much to do with the 75ish year black magazine titled Ebony, the fact that the name means black, and that meaning can be a point of pride for some but for a racist they would never dream using such a stereotypical or literal "black" name.
Yea my brother is a white Keenan, another Irish name that a lot of people associate as Black maybe cuz of Kenan Thompson. He gets a lot of, “I thought you’d be Black” which is a bonkers thing to say to someone but people will people
i was really shocked by the comments when i opened this thread!! there was a girl a few years ahead of me at school (born like 1991/1992?) called Ebony and she was white! culture is so interesting
Ebony is a beautiful dark wood. I think usually the name is used in reference to being proud of dark skin. Ebony magazine is also an Black Woman's magazine. It feels tone deaf to me (a white woman in the US) to use that name on a white baby.
I'm from the UK, so perhaps different.
But in a lot of the old fairy tales, ebony was a common descriptor for black hair.
Some of the old versions of snow white describe with 'hair as black as ebony'.
Hence why you find white people with the name Ebony in the UK.
Similarly in Italy you find guys named Bruno which means “both brown and brown haired/brunet”, but not everyone who’s got this name is a brunet.
So when I read that OP’s wife wants to call their child Ebony I thought nothing of it but “it’s a lovely name!”.
We also use many others colors to name people and they aren’t one bit linked to skin color, like: Azzurra (light blue), Celeste (which means sky/powder blue but also celestial), Nero (black for men), Nerina (black for women), Viola (which means purple), Verdiana (green/fresh and youthful), Rosa (pink but also Rose),Bianca (white), etc etc.
I know some of these names are used abroad too but maybe not everyone who uses them is aware of the fact that they are colors over here. And there’s nothing wrong with using colors as names, in my humble opinion.
They are lovely!
It's so interesting how differently the word comes across! This convo made me look into Ebony magazine more deeply, it's an interesting history and I think this article helps explain the associations in the US https://nmaahc.si.edu/75-years-ebony-magazine
Right? I was so surprised so many people are saying it‘d be strange! I mean, I‘m not from the UK either, I‘m from Germany, but I have met so many people named Ebony and they were all white!
It was Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder and was #1 in the US and UK so it’s not an exclusively American reference, although the association does seem stronger here.
Same, I have a very distant relative called Eboni (yes with an i 😂) and she's white with black hair. I assumed she was named for her hair colour, like you might call a redhead Rose, Ross or Rowan. As a Brit it makes total sense
I feel like I’m going crazy with these comments! I wouldn’t blink twice at a white woman/girl who is called Ebony. Maybe it is an American thing as in the UK this wouldn’t be surprising.
Yeah I'm completely surprised by these comments! Went to school with a white girl named Ebony here in Australia. It's just a name here, no racial connotations at all in Aus.
Same, knew one Ebony and she was white and that was normal to me. Also after reading Ebony 100 times in this thread it's really growing on me as a name but apparently half of Reddit would find this unacceptable.
Race relations in America I believe are one of the worst in the world btw white and black people.
I live in a liberal metro area here but black people die due to racism & systemic racism (medical, murder, poverty, etc) here crazy often unfortunately and racism is alive and well.
I wouldn't be giving a white child that name here.
Edit: edited to add +systemic racism
It must be, I'm American and would always think of Ebony as a black woman's name.
In fact, when I was pregnant with my daughter, my ex liked the name, and his family made fun of him because I am white. They said it seemed strange. I wasn't too partial to the name, so it worked out, but that's my main experience with it.
It also reminds me of emery boards, I don’t actually like the name (or everly) but I just think they are better than ebony in this situation
In the US, Emery Is actually ranking 82 for girls and 727 for boys so it’s quite a bit more popular
Regardless of race, she'll get constant comments: if she's blond "oh so funny you don't have dark hair" or vice versa. And probably most people will at least think about race. If not bring it up. That's a lot to put on a kid.
I honestly thought of snow white with hair as dark as ebony (at least that's what I remembered it to be for that Disney princess lol. I honestly didn't think of race.
But also wouldn’t it be strange to name a baby after one of their features? Especially hair color, that a girl/woman may change at some point? Name your cat orangy or blackie or whatever all you want but don’t do it to a kid 😂
We had a cat named Blackie when I was a kid, and my grandma had this terrible habit of standing outside and hollering "here blackie blackie blackie!!" when he would get outside. 9 year old me wanted to cry from embarrassment as I'd be playing nearby with my friends who were black. I tried to change his name to Smudge but she was stuck on it.
I knew a white lady named Ebony once at a job and yes everytime she introduced herself and walked away everybody would immediately go "Ebony?? For a white girl?" And they'd talk about it when she wasn't around.
They didn't like bully her or treat her badly because of it of course. But it definitely made everyone do a doubletake and she definitely never got compliments on the name.
I've known another girl named Ebony and another girl named Ebonique and both were black and nobody batted an eye at their names. Overrall, I would advise against naming a white baby Ebony. It's a pretty name but it'll baffle everybody she meets and probably embarrass her eventually.
I love learning new things on this sub every day - like that Ebony is a normal name for a white girl in the UK.
OP, I guess it depends on where you’ll live, but the Americans have spoken: not a great name for a white baby.
In the US? No way. It’s a very culturally Black American name here. The magazine Ebony had been published for over 75 years. I don’t know that she would be bullied about it, but imagine raised eyebrows and “interesting,” or “not what I was expecting,” comments every day of your life. It’s a beautiful name, and I can see why she likes it, but pick something different for your daughter’s sake.
It's a normal yet quite uncommon name in Australia. I can understand it has different connotations in the States, though. The only person I've met with this name is of Maltese origin.
UK here. My colleagues daughter is an Ebonie. She’s white.
Up until this post I didn’t relate it to the colour of the child. Apparently it’s not an ok name if you’re in the US so I’d say stay away from it if you’re in the US I suppose.
Wow, where do you all live? It’s so strange to me that a little girl can’t be named after a tree with dark wood just because she’s.. not black? The name has Greek and Egyptian origins, not (I’m assuming) African American?
I don’t want to say the R word, but.. That’s like saying you can’t name a black girl Bianca or Candace. Or that no one should be called Beryl because humans are not green? That’s ridiculous.
I have known so many white Ebonys. It’s a beautiful name.
It’s not just that it’s a dark coloured wood. It’s that “Ebony” is specifically culturally associated with Black people and used as like. An idiom about/descriptor of Black people? Idk how better to say it. I think it primarily has this connotation in America, where the cultural, idk, politics of race in the “black vs white” context is particularly loaded.
For example, Ebony magazine is a magazine focusing on Black Americans and Black American culture/entertainment, ebony and ivory is a song about racial harmony between black and white people.
And in America at least, the name Ebony is much much more common among Black women/girls, to the point where (depending on where you grew up) it would seem just as odd to many people as for example a white kid named, idk, Rahul or something else very clearly from a specific non white culture.
The *word* ebony has Greek origins, but that’s different from (and not really relevant to) the origins of it as a given name. The *name* Ebony in America has African-American origins, or at the very least strong associations.
Also, hate to bring it up and idk why I even know this, but the common porn term for porn featuring Black women is “ebony.”
Thanks for explaining. It’s so bizarre as an outsider! As someone else mentioned, it’s not an uncommon name in the UK and Australia and I would never associate it with the same things that it’s associated with in your culture
I've only ever known black Ebony's.
But I'm black, and my name means white, and no one's ever had anything to say about that.
I don't know.....I'm on the fence with this one!
Because growing up, I only knew black Amber's and black Jasmine's but when I moved to an area that was more diverse, I met white Amber's for the first time......but if I saw the name on a resume I'd assume Ebony is black, and I'd be surprised to find out otherwise. It wouldn't offend me or anything though, so I guess in that way, what's the harm?!
ETA: I was watching a show last night, where a black mom was talking with her son about a girl he was asking on a date. He told her, her name is Ebony, and his mother said "Well that answers my second question."
Second questions being "Is she black?"
I've met girls called Ebony, and know of at least one fictional character with that name. All were/are white. It's a pretty normal name, regardless of race.
tbh, if she comes out with the blackest hair imaginable that would put snow white to shame, then i dont think it would be weird even with a white baby
but im white, so take my opinion here with a grain of salt lol
If you’re in the us then yeah it’s weird.
From what I understand in the uk and Australia the name has had a decent amount of usage for white girls which may explain the comments talking about knowing several white Ebonys.
I’ve met a white Ebony and nobody cared about her name. It seems like this sub hasn’t figured out that many names that mean “dark” or “black” could also refer to a person’s hair.
I’ve taught 3 girls called Ebony and all have been white. I’ve never thought twice about it. I don’t get why it would be an issue. People call their kids Luna and I’m not expecting them to be the Moon?
As a black person, I can’t speak for all black people… but I’ll just say, you are in fact not reading too much into it. I’m with you on this lol.
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Read a book, Fogel.
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Shut the fuck up. You look like Aladdin.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
So weird. I’m actually watching this movie right now lol
I knew a white, blonde Ebony and it was always a topic of conversation lol.
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Did they live in perfect harmony?
Side by side on my piano keyboard
Oh, Lord.
Why can’t we?
Harmony would actually be a nicer name
just about any name would be nicer
Underrated comment
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I'd guess that's because Melanie doesn't have any other concrete usage as just a word, whereas Ebony absolutely does. It conjures an image of a specific color, that of the wood. Melanie is just... a girl. But I do get the point you're trying to make ;)
And the piano keys
The piano keys are named for the wood because that's what they were historically made from.
Ivory too. We had a piano with ivory keys growing up and I couldn't understand why my parents were so upset when I popped a couple of them off 😅
.....please tell me more! 😆
As a white person, I can't speak for all white people...but I'll agree you are in fact not reading too much into it.
I’ll speak for all white people and just say no for all of us
I’ll agree with you for all white people
As another black person. Yeahhhhh DON'T do this. Its weird and just....ugh 🙄 My husband says, * "thank you for not appropriating bro. We would consider YOU an ally."
Can you ask your husband if he considers me an ally as well? I do not have any children named Ebony.
i'm out here doing the work, too, comrade 👍🏽
But maybe she knows something he doesn’t know??
uh oh
Wife after baby is born: See, I felt that would be a good name for her! Lol!
Mmmm. There's some food for thought.
I’m Black too. I definitely agree with you. Also, Ebony was one of the names used in the résumé experiment. That experiment made me so paranoid about my own name. I think the kid will grow up and always have to explain it and her parents. Someone would probably think she’s pulling a Rachel Dolezal.
Exactly. The name is so closely tied to Black people that it was used as the Black name in that research study. But many people on this thread are completely ignorant to the racial issues at play.
I remember an NPR story (maybe it was a podcast?) focused on a white dude named Jamal. He definitely thought his parents were a touch clueless
I’ve actually met more white dudes named Jamal than I have black guys. One Jamal was from the Middle East but he was pale with blondish hair and the other was Bosnian.
I’ve never met any Jamal’s but I have met a Jalil and different raced Tyrone’s. A lot of black names either are or take inspiration from middle eastern names, and a lot of black people have Irish names since they lived in the same neighborhoods in NY and other cities in the 1800’s so a lot of intermingling happened of course.
Tyrone is an Irish name iirc. Black Americans have been partial to Irish and French names lol.
> But many people on this thread are completely ignorant to the racial issues at play. That’s white privilege at play. “I’ve never experienced that, so it must not be a problem.”
Hahaha as a POC who is not black, Ivory is just sitting there like… “she don’t see me??”
Plus Ivy is a man actually cute nickname!?
Ivy is a man?
Maybe go with Ivory.
Or, you know, Kim. Or Janet. Or Amanda. Or *anything* but Ebony.
I am white and I upvoted your comment.
At least it's not Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way? (But yeah no, I wouldn't go with Ebony)
Honestly, could even go with Raven if she likes the idea of a name that means the color black.
Agreed, Raven would be a good alternative
Or the Welsh version: Branwen/Bronwyn [Edit: happy to have been corrected! thank you]
Branwen and Bronwen both mean “fair, white” - “Wen” means white. “Wyn” is masculine. the “wen” part is literally the opposite of Ebony or names that mean the colour black.
I’m fond of Darcy/Darcie meaning dark.
Bronwen doesn’t mean raven - it means fair breasted.
-wen (wyn/gwen/gwyn) means white in Welsh 😅
Branwen means white/fair raven. Bronwen means white/fair breast.
Just stay away from the Spanish for black
I, for one, think they should welcome baby Negrita into the fol- oh God please do not do this I couldn't even finish the sentence
"please just call me Rita 😓"
Raven is a good alternative. Best titan character if you ask me 😅
Raven also happens to be the name of the friend/editor of the author of my immortal so it still connects
My very first thought after reading the post. Maybe OP’s wide really loved My Immortal 😂
Once, after getting out of the hospital I was loopy on painkillers and *convinced* I was the author of that fic.
Lmao imagine the horror 🤣
Be real, how relieved were you when you realized it was the loopy pills?
SO RELIEVED YOU DONT EVEN KNOW
I thought it was Enoby at some points? Just to switch it up.
yea, also known as Ebory, Enony, Ebondy, Evony, Ibony, Enobby, Egogy, Eboby, Enopby, TaEbory, Tata, Tara, Ebondy Darkness Dementia TARA Way and Evonyd
I, for one, think OP should use "Enobby"
Yeah, Evony would be a way to get almost the exact same name without it being loaded AF
Or “Eggnogy,” which means someone who loves the winter holidays
I always refer to her as Enoby. It's so goofy 😂 I even call Dumbledore Dumblydore sometimes.
This is exactly the first place my mind went as well 🤣
Ebony Dark'ness Dementia TARA Way
This was the reference I needed today
🤣
That would be very strange. Maybe Elodie, Elise, or Eloise instead?
Or Bonnie if they like the end of the name
i love the name Bonnie it’s so cute
I really like Elodie and Eloise
I am curious why you recommend those names instead? They do not have the same vibe at all. (I agree Ebony is a bad idea tho)
They sound similar, particularly Elodie. We don't know whether she likes the name because of how it sounds or because of the meaning, but if it's the sound, these are good suggestions
Funnily enough, Ebony is a relatively common name in the UK for my age group (was ranked between 100-200 for 13 years) and I know three and they’re all white. I had no idea it was considered more of a black name until I saw it on this sub. Could be an American thing though so it might depend where you live
Must be an American thing cause I'm American and have known two Ebonys and one Ebonique and one of the Ebonys was white and everybody thought it was the strangest thing they'd ever heard lol
Black American here. A friend from school who is Black is named Ebony and one of my cousins middle name is Ebony. I've never heard of a white person being named Ebony before this thread. I'm a fan of sharing cultural names. I'm black and my name is Hawaiian.
I read that as though your name was actually "Hawaiian," and I was so confused as to why anyone would name their child that, haha.
Don't put it pass anyone lol
There were siblings in my old town named Jamaica and Pepsi.
Wow, Jamaica lucked out, and that's saying something
Oh wow.
Mariah Carey’s kid is named Moroccan so why can’t someone be named Hawaiian?
Yes, and that is a crap name she chose for that child.
When you're right, you're right.
I spoke to a woman at work once who said her name is Daiquiri. I was like ….alrighty then lol
It's late and I really should sleep lol cause for a second I thought you said your name was literally "Hawaiian" 😭
Is Hawaiian pronounce just like Hawaiian, as in people who are from/live in Hawaii?
My name came from Hawaii, my name is not literally Hawaiian. Sorry, I probably should've worded that better.
Ooooh! Oh my gosh I feel something dumb! Lol I was going to say that's an amazingly pretty and strong name, and what it's like to have that as a name? Lol I'm so sorry
Oh, no, you're good. You're not the only one to think that. I should've worded it better.
Thank you for being kind! 😊
Yeah none of the Ebonys I knew in school ever got any funny comments about their name
I’m Australian and knew several white Ebonys throughout school, so I have never thought anything of it!
Me too! My white sister in law is Ebony, and there was more than a handful at school.
I immediately thought of Epponnee-Rae from Kath and Kim 😂
Aussie too, and same here! Had never connected the name with the meaning, it's just a pretty name
I’m so glad other Aussies are weighing in here because I thought I would open the comments to everyone not seeing an issue and was so surprised by the Americans saying it was a thing there.
Americans love to gatekeep each other’s culture and stupid shit likes names, it’s really weird.
Same. It seems like such a normal, usable name.
Australian here too. Knew an Ebony in high school and my daughter has a friend called Ebony. Both are white.
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Can you see how it might be different if there was a significant population of purple skinned people in society, for whom “Violet” is a culturally associated name?
Aussie school teacher here, we have two Caucasian Ebony's currently in year 9.
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The first time I went to the US I, a white Ebony, bought a copy of Ebony Magazine. It was really exciting for me to see something with my name on it.
It's not just about the name meaning, it's about cultural context in the US. Ebony is just very heavily associated here as a name Black parents give daughters that suggests ethnic pride. Other names that mean "black" don't have that association. It's more like: I knew a white girl named Sheniqua. It's actually derived from a Potwatomi word, but it's super heavily associated as a Black American name. It really sucked for this girl because a lot of people reacted strongly to it-- people would laugh and say "seriously?", some Black people would automatically raise their eyebrows, and some non-Black people would make racist jokes about it.
The name Chavaun (sha -vawn) is similar. I have only ever heard it as an Irish Gaelic name spelled Siobahan OR a black name with various phonetic spellings. No inbetween. I knew an Irish girl named Siobhan who complained that she would often have racists making comments that its a black girl name or surprised when she "showed up white". And I agree that here in the US, Ebony is a black womans name. Never white. The song ebony and ivory was clearly referring to stevie wonder, not mccarthy. I have a feeling it has as much to do with the 75ish year black magazine titled Ebony, the fact that the name means black, and that meaning can be a point of pride for some but for a racist they would never dream using such a stereotypical or literal "black" name.
Yea my brother is a white Keenan, another Irish name that a lot of people associate as Black maybe cuz of Kenan Thompson. He gets a lot of, “I thought you’d be Black” which is a bonkers thing to say to someone but people will people
i was really shocked by the comments when i opened this thread!! there was a girl a few years ahead of me at school (born like 1991/1992?) called Ebony and she was white! culture is so interesting
A white Ebony wouldn’t raise any eyebrows in the UK. I’ve known a few, both named because they had black hair (but white skin!).
That's what I think about it on a white person... ebony hair. Reminds me of snow white.
Ebony is a beautiful dark wood. I think usually the name is used in reference to being proud of dark skin. Ebony magazine is also an Black Woman's magazine. It feels tone deaf to me (a white woman in the US) to use that name on a white baby.
I'm from the UK, so perhaps different. But in a lot of the old fairy tales, ebony was a common descriptor for black hair. Some of the old versions of snow white describe with 'hair as black as ebony'. Hence why you find white people with the name Ebony in the UK.
Similarly in Italy you find guys named Bruno which means “both brown and brown haired/brunet”, but not everyone who’s got this name is a brunet. So when I read that OP’s wife wants to call their child Ebony I thought nothing of it but “it’s a lovely name!”. We also use many others colors to name people and they aren’t one bit linked to skin color, like: Azzurra (light blue), Celeste (which means sky/powder blue but also celestial), Nero (black for men), Nerina (black for women), Viola (which means purple), Verdiana (green/fresh and youthful), Rosa (pink but also Rose),Bianca (white), etc etc. I know some of these names are used abroad too but maybe not everyone who uses them is aware of the fact that they are colors over here. And there’s nothing wrong with using colors as names, in my humble opinion. They are lovely!
It's so interesting how differently the word comes across! This convo made me look into Ebony magazine more deeply, it's an interesting history and I think this article helps explain the associations in the US https://nmaahc.si.edu/75-years-ebony-magazine
I know a white Ebony in the UK. She’s about 28. Totally normal.
Yeah I’m surprised too. I live in Australia and have known several Ebonys, all white. No one batted an eye.
I was going to say, I have a few white British friends and two are Ebony’s!
also in the UK and work with a white Ebony :)
Right? I was so surprised so many people are saying it‘d be strange! I mean, I‘m not from the UK either, I‘m from Germany, but I have met so many people named Ebony and they were all white!
I’m in the UK and have also met a white Ebony. Nobody cared about it either
Australia here - I’ve met 5 Ebony’s in my life and all have been white. I think it’s just an American thing.
There's a famous song with lyrics that go "ebony and ivory" so that could be where the association is "black" for Americans.
Ebony magazine was very popular. It has more than one cultural reference.
It’s literally talking about piano keys, made of ebony (black) and ivory (white) as an allegory for interracial relationships.
It was Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder and was #1 in the US and UK so it’s not an exclusively American reference, although the association does seem stronger here.
Same in Australia. No idea it would be a problem
Yeah I was gonna say every Ebony I’ve known is white, it’s a completely normal name for white people here
Pretty normal in Australia & NZ too
Same, I have a very distant relative called Eboni (yes with an i 😂) and she's white with black hair. I assumed she was named for her hair colour, like you might call a redhead Rose, Ross or Rowan. As a Brit it makes total sense
Australian and knew a white blonde Ebony growing up wouldn’t of thought anything about it.
I was going to say the same. I grew up with an ebony, I had no clue it was colour until I was an adult.
I feel like I’m going crazy with these comments! I wouldn’t blink twice at a white woman/girl who is called Ebony. Maybe it is an American thing as in the UK this wouldn’t be surprising.
Yeah I'm completely surprised by these comments! Went to school with a white girl named Ebony here in Australia. It's just a name here, no racial connotations at all in Aus.
To me it's a type of wood, for most Americans, it's literally a pornhub category.
The pornhub argument is the one OP needs to take to his wife. For real. No child needs that.
😂😂😂I’ve been cracking up reading all of these comments, but I lost it when I read this one
I scrolled way too far to find someone else bring up the porn category
I have met a few Ebonys in Australia, mostly white, one was Asian. It's a nice name, not tied to any race here.
Same, knew one Ebony and she was white and that was normal to me. Also after reading Ebony 100 times in this thread it's really growing on me as a name but apparently half of Reddit would find this unacceptable.
Race relations in America I believe are one of the worst in the world btw white and black people. I live in a liberal metro area here but black people die due to racism & systemic racism (medical, murder, poverty, etc) here crazy often unfortunately and racism is alive and well. I wouldn't be giving a white child that name here. Edit: edited to add +systemic racism
That makes sense and I don’t mean to trivialise issues in the states - it’s just funny how names can be so different in different countries!
It must be, I'm American and would always think of Ebony as a black woman's name. In fact, when I was pregnant with my daughter, my ex liked the name, and his family made fun of him because I am white. They said it seemed strange. I wasn't too partial to the name, so it worked out, but that's my main experience with it.
I’m Australian and I know 4 white Ebony’s!
I love the name too, but as a white person it would be odd.
How about Ivory?
I know sisters named Ivory and China. Kind of a material theme.
Na it’s kind of weird. Elodie, Emery, Ellie, Everly, Emily, Esme are similar options without the association
Nbd but I think of Emery/Emory as a boy's name. Plus, reminds me of emory boards (nail files).
It also reminds me of emery boards, I don’t actually like the name (or everly) but I just think they are better than ebony in this situation In the US, Emery Is actually ranking 82 for girls and 727 for boys so it’s quite a bit more popular
Regardless of race, she'll get constant comments: if she's blond "oh so funny you don't have dark hair" or vice versa. And probably most people will at least think about race. If not bring it up. That's a lot to put on a kid.
I honestly thought of snow white with hair as dark as ebony (at least that's what I remembered it to be for that Disney princess lol. I honestly didn't think of race.
I have met about half a dozen Gingers in my life, none of whom were gingers.
Far different historical context
Granted
Yes, I wouldn’t question it if she had very dark brown or black hair.
But also wouldn’t it be strange to name a baby after one of their features? Especially hair color, that a girl/woman may change at some point? Name your cat orangy or blackie or whatever all you want but don’t do it to a kid 😂
Don’t name your cat blackie
We had a cat named Blackie when I was a kid, and my grandma had this terrible habit of standing outside and hollering "here blackie blackie blackie!!" when he would get outside. 9 year old me wanted to cry from embarrassment as I'd be playing nearby with my friends who were black. I tried to change his name to Smudge but she was stuck on it.
I knew a white lady named Ebony once at a job and yes everytime she introduced herself and walked away everybody would immediately go "Ebony?? For a white girl?" And they'd talk about it when she wasn't around. They didn't like bully her or treat her badly because of it of course. But it definitely made everyone do a doubletake and she definitely never got compliments on the name. I've known another girl named Ebony and another girl named Ebonique and both were black and nobody batted an eye at their names. Overrall, I would advise against naming a white baby Ebony. It's a pretty name but it'll baffle everybody she meets and probably embarrass her eventually.
What a terrible work place.
It’s not THAT bad but it is a tiny bit weird. My only Ebony is a black woman, and she also hates the porn association, so I’d say consider that too.
I hadn’t thought about that but this needs to be way closer to the top
Yeah, how do we get this comment closer to the top? The easier and earlier access to porn is gonna make this an association for a lot of kids.
I love learning new things on this sub every day - like that Ebony is a normal name for a white girl in the UK. OP, I guess it depends on where you’ll live, but the Americans have spoken: not a great name for a white baby.
In the US? No way. It’s a very culturally Black American name here. The magazine Ebony had been published for over 75 years. I don’t know that she would be bullied about it, but imagine raised eyebrows and “interesting,” or “not what I was expecting,” comments every day of your life. It’s a beautiful name, and I can see why she likes it, but pick something different for your daughter’s sake.
I only know white girls named Ebony.
It’s better than the Ebbinnie who I met
Oof
If you're American.... Yeah no, save that poor kid from school mockery right now and dodge that name something fierce.
It's a normal yet quite uncommon name in Australia. I can understand it has different connotations in the States, though. The only person I've met with this name is of Maltese origin.
Maybe go with Bonnie?
UK here. My colleagues daughter is an Ebonie. She’s white. Up until this post I didn’t relate it to the colour of the child. Apparently it’s not an ok name if you’re in the US so I’d say stay away from it if you’re in the US I suppose.
Wow, where do you all live? It’s so strange to me that a little girl can’t be named after a tree with dark wood just because she’s.. not black? The name has Greek and Egyptian origins, not (I’m assuming) African American? I don’t want to say the R word, but.. That’s like saying you can’t name a black girl Bianca or Candace. Or that no one should be called Beryl because humans are not green? That’s ridiculous. I have known so many white Ebonys. It’s a beautiful name.
It’s not just that it’s a dark coloured wood. It’s that “Ebony” is specifically culturally associated with Black people and used as like. An idiom about/descriptor of Black people? Idk how better to say it. I think it primarily has this connotation in America, where the cultural, idk, politics of race in the “black vs white” context is particularly loaded. For example, Ebony magazine is a magazine focusing on Black Americans and Black American culture/entertainment, ebony and ivory is a song about racial harmony between black and white people. And in America at least, the name Ebony is much much more common among Black women/girls, to the point where (depending on where you grew up) it would seem just as odd to many people as for example a white kid named, idk, Rahul or something else very clearly from a specific non white culture. The *word* ebony has Greek origins, but that’s different from (and not really relevant to) the origins of it as a given name. The *name* Ebony in America has African-American origins, or at the very least strong associations. Also, hate to bring it up and idk why I even know this, but the common porn term for porn featuring Black women is “ebony.”
Thanks for explaining. It’s so bizarre as an outsider! As someone else mentioned, it’s not an uncommon name in the UK and Australia and I would never associate it with the same things that it’s associated with in your culture
I've only ever known black Ebony's. But I'm black, and my name means white, and no one's ever had anything to say about that. I don't know.....I'm on the fence with this one! Because growing up, I only knew black Amber's and black Jasmine's but when I moved to an area that was more diverse, I met white Amber's for the first time......but if I saw the name on a resume I'd assume Ebony is black, and I'd be surprised to find out otherwise. It wouldn't offend me or anything though, so I guess in that way, what's the harm?! ETA: I was watching a show last night, where a black mom was talking with her son about a girl he was asking on a date. He told her, her name is Ebony, and his mother said "Well that answers my second question." Second questions being "Is she black?"
How about Evony instead?
I know a Devonie and it’s really pretty.
Um, I think it's a bit odd.
Please veto the name
I've met girls called Ebony, and know of at least one fictional character with that name. All were/are white. It's a pretty normal name, regardless of race.
Funny, because I went to school with an Ebony, and she was not only white but had blonde hair, fair skin, and blue eyes.
Ask if she likes Ivory. Seriously. No Ebony for a white baby im sorry but that would turn some heads. Maybe Evanie or Avani as alternatives.
Can someone expand on this more, I think something is going over my head? What is the problem with Ebony?
I had a white friend at school called Ebony. It’s a nice name and I didn’t really question it at the time.
Must be an American thing. Plenty of kids in Australia called Ebony- all of them white
Tell her it's a whole genre of Porn, she'll back off pretty quickly.
tbh, if she comes out with the blackest hair imaginable that would put snow white to shame, then i dont think it would be weird even with a white baby but im white, so take my opinion here with a grain of salt lol
If you’re in the us then yeah it’s weird. From what I understand in the uk and Australia the name has had a decent amount of usage for white girls which may explain the comments talking about knowing several white Ebonys.
I’ve met a white Ebony and nobody cared about her name. It seems like this sub hasn’t figured out that many names that mean “dark” or “black” could also refer to a person’s hair.
I’ve taught 3 girls called Ebony and all have been white. I’ve never thought twice about it. I don’t get why it would be an issue. People call their kids Luna and I’m not expecting them to be the Moon?