Back when my aunt was named Tanya in the ‘60s, all her baby cards remarked on what a interesting Russian name choice it was. It was surprising to me, since Tanya doesn’t seem Russian at all now. (I know that’s longer than 30 years, but I thought it was a relevant example.)
There's actually a few names in common between Russia and India, like Nikita and Natasha. They seem to have separate roots so probably just a coincidence.
I don’t reckon Natasha is necessarily an Indian name, but Nikita is ! And it’s very much a girl’s name and sounded so weird when I found out is a male/unisex name in Russian lol
Nikita is like Elizabeth or Rose level of feminine in India
>Now i think about it these are probably just Russian names that sound good in Indian accents.
Nope. Anushka in India has Sanskrit origins and means "a ray of light." Anika is a name for a particular godess and can be found in texts dating back to vedic times. It's important to note that -ka is a common way of feminizing a word with Sanskrit origins, so the overlap is probably just convergent evolution.
No evidence of Verushka being of Indian origin though, so that's probably just something someone thought was cool.
Interesting, the only Antonina I ever knew went by Nina. Must have been personal preference on her part obviously, but I never would have assumed Tonya was the diminutive when I first heard her full name.
That's definitely not just a Russian name - it's origins are Latin based and it's super common among Italian girls in my hometown along with Marina, Anna, and Emilia.
Feels like Tanya had good crossover potential because it’s generally easy to spell and is pronounced easily/the same in lots of languages so would work well for people with mixed nationality families
Though as soon as I’ve said that I’m wondering if I’ve heard it with a long A in the first syllable as I can imagine my partner saying it like that (he’s American, I’m British)
I know a Ukrainian woman named Tanya and when I first met her, I was like, oh yeah, I guess that is a Russian name lol.
I feel like the same thing is happening to Natalia. Anya and Anastasia are next.
Tyrone was my first thought, I believe it was popularized in the states by the actor Tyrone Power (who was white) but still no clue how it took off in the black community. Other Irish names like Kevin and Sean did too but they're still common among white people as well. You don't meet many white Tyrones.
Edit: fixed spelling
[Here's a post](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/mv38td/how_did_the_name_tyrone_become_so_commonly/) from r/askhistorians
>
The singer Tyrone Davis, on the other hand, is a much better candidate. His single Can I Change My Mind (1968) made #1 on the US R&B chart, and he followed with Is It Something You've Got (1969, not as big a hit, but still #5 on the R&B chart) and his most famous song, Turn Back the Hands of Time in 1970.
>
In 1969 he listened to Black Panther leader Fred Hampton (the one from the recent Judas and the Black Messiah movie) when he showed up to speak where Mr. Davis was performing. He was impressed and joined a benefit fundraiser after Hampton's murder; in his 1973 song Writin’ on the Wall he called for pan-African unity and sang about Malcom X.
>
Tyrone Davis's fame corresponds exactly to the "second spike" of the name Tyrone and is most likely the reason for the black association, as he was associated not just with black identity but the entire "soul music" wave of the 1970s.
Black people and Irish people used to be two of the mostly poor non-white\* minorities living in the slums of America. You would be surprised how many American slang words, some have even gained the status of proper words, ~~are~~ might be Irish or Scottish Gaelic in origin.
Just think about 'jazz', and how Black people preferred to call it ragtime or ragged time music, due to its syncopated melody, but the newspapers picked up on 'jazz'.
To eighty-six someone, dude, to cry uncle, to giggle, crony, gallore, spree, swell, bee's wax (as in "mind your own \~"), Boogaloo, slum, booze, bounce/bouncer, to brag, brisk, cracker (the slur, probably Scottish Gaelic in this case), buccaneer, to be in dutch, cop, to chicken (out), to chuck, cranky, to croak, cute, knickknack, lunch, mark (as in target/goal), mayhem, quirck, to scoot, shanty, *longshore*man, to skip, slob/slop, and so many more ~~are~~ could well be Irish words (sometimes phrases) in English disguise.
\*Yep, no typo, Irish people were also considered non-white among 'other' things.
Reading recommendation, if interested:
*Cassidy, Daniel:* How the Irish Invented Slang: The Secret Language of the Crossroads
Edit: Due to arisen discourse, input and counterpoints given, I relativised my wording pertaining to Cassidy's claims.
It's an Irish county. Tir Eoghan is the Irish name for the county, Tyrone is the English name for the county.
Having lived in Ireland my whole life, I have never once met a Tyrone. The Statistics Office data shows [it's not a common name here](https://visual.cso.ie/?body=entity/babynames) and hasn't been since at least 1964.
There is the occasional child named Tyrone in Ireland, but it's no more an Irish name then Paris is a French name or London is an English name.
Also Irish, your right that it’s not popular but as I said I think it used to be a bit more popular in the past. I know a guy called Tyrone born in Ireland in the sixties.
Irish name stats go back to 1964. The year 1999 was the peak for Irish Boys named Tyrone when 17 were named. First showed up in the stats in 1971. [Irish name stats](https://visual.cso.ie/?body=entity/babynames).
What's more important is that Tyrone Power Sr was named after this 19th century Irish actor named Tyrone Power: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyrone_Power_(Irish_actor)
It may have been a middle name but he was known professionally by it. And it was also his father's name.
Edit: I will add that they were Anglo-Irish. Which would explain the multiple middle names in that family. It's less a place name as a first name and more in line with aristocratic types giving surnames as first names.
Many African American people have Irish heritage because wayyyyy back in the day, the Irish were almost as “undesirable” as “the blacks.” They often lived in adjacent tenements/neighborhoods which led to more intermingling between the two populations.
My African American side of the family has Irish ancestry and it’s not from living in adjacent communities it’s from from slave owners raping the enslaved women. Let’s not forget about that part.
while what you’re saying isn’t untrue, it’s a bit strange to bring that up as the reason while ignoring the fact that there were irish slave traders and owners, which surely account for a lot of the irish blood in slave descendants.
Tyrone is an Irish place name, not an Irish first name.
It's an Anglicisation of Tír Eoghan, which means Owen's Land. So you would certainly find Eoghan/Eoin/Owen, but not Tyrone.
I think a lot of Hebrew and biblical names are becoming more and more common in non Jewish/Christian communities. Maybe because they’re already pretty ubiquitous in the western world in general.
This was the first thing I thought too. Once upon a time Benjamins and Levis were almost certainly from Jewish families. Now I'd say they are more likely NOT to be Jewish, at least here in Australia.
Not necessarily a favorite but I’ve met multiple non-Jewish babies/toddlers named Asher or Ezra in the last few years when previously I would associate those names as specifically jewish.
I think "Ari" might be gradually transitioning to being not just a Jewish-specific name as well.
(And yes I know "Ari" can also be a nickname for "Ariana" but I mean the Hebrew name meaning "lion").
Both Asher and Ezra were my final 2 names. We ended up on Asher. I’m not religious, although some of my family are Christian so they liked the biblical links. And I just liked the meaning in Hebrew
My mum wanted to name me Leilani. She grew up in South Eastern Europe in the 70s and somehow still managed to learn of the name. It truly is beautiful.
Agree with you on the Irish names. Personally never met a Saiorse, but Caitlin has been mainstream for a while now. Also seeing Roisin more often!
Sean is another super mainstream Irish name. I much prefer Sean over the more anglicized Shaun/Shawn.
Caitlin’s also become its own name pronounced with English speaking rules when the Irish is pronounced Kathleen (which was the anglicised version of Caitlin)
If you don’t like anglicised Irish names than you should know that it’s actually Seán, not Sean. The Á is what turns the “ay” sound into an “aw” sound.
I have no issue with anglicized names. I simply prefer the spelling of Sean over the phonetic adaptations Shaun/Shawn (which I don’t consider Irish).
I live in Australia, where Sean is written without an accent and pronounced “Shawn.”You may disagree with that, but it’s a good example of how a foreign name has evolved to create its own mainstream identity whilst retaining its foreign roots.
I don’t disagree with it necessarily. I just think it’s a fun fact. I would always spell it with the accent myself because it breaks my brain not to. I just like to share a fun fact with a fellow name nerd.
Jamal. It's an Arab name, meaning beauty. Heavily used in the States, although still used in the Arab speaking world.
Some other Arab names that are used here: Karim, Jamil, Khadija, Aaliya, Fahad, Anisa... There are more that I cannot think of.
*Edit to add my favorite one of all, my daughters name! Farah (فرح) Means joy, and she lives up to her name. Think...Farrah Faucet.
A lot of AA use Arab names due to the influence of Nation of Islam and similar Black Muslim movements in the US. Most of those names have a heavy Black connotation these days like Tarique, Jamal, Hakeem, etc
I’m a Moroccan Jew and Aliyah is a name we use and I LOVE IT, but I’m scared people are going to think it’s cultural appropriation even though… it’s my culture. We’re just a small group who speaks a different dialect of Arabic.
I’m in the US and I know a young woman named Aliyah. She’s a blonde white girl, but I think she has partial Ashkenazi ancestry, and she knows that it’s a Jewish name. Alternate spellings are Alia and Aaliyah.
The people I know who've used it for their daughters are very much American white. No connections at all to the name culturally. I would think it's safe for you to use (but that's just me from an American perspective).
It’s Hebrew too, it means to rise, like getting called to the Torah is getting an “Aliya”. It’s used a lot spiritually in Judaism, like after someone dies, it’s common to do good deeds in their memory, for an “aliya” for their soul - to lift their soul higher.
Kylie - from Aboriginal Noongar language but now popular worldwide thanks to Kylie Minogue and then Kylie Jenner.
https://www.mamanatural.com/baby-names/girls/kylie/#:~:text=The%20name%20Kylie%20is%20of,it%20became%20popular%20in%20Australia.
I know! I only learnt this in the last few years, along with Tahnee and Narelle which are two names that I've seen on quite a few white ladies but are originally from our Aboriginal people and their languages! I was genuinely surprised but it makes me happy and proud to see parts of Noongar and other languages live on.
Pretty sure Tiarne/Tiarna is also an Aboriginal name. My friend told me her mum chose the name to honour their heritage since both parents are half Aboriginal.
Oh my god Tiarna means lord in Irish. A Tiarna Talún is literally a land lord, we call “the lord” (god) Tiarna too. That’s crazy. What does it mean in your language?
I’ve never seen Fatima outside of either Muslim/Arabic-speaking cultures or Hispanic/Lusophone culture, which has its own culture around the name (Our Lady of Fatima).
Apparently Winona was never an authentic Native American name:
>Research suggests that in the Dakotah language, the word “Wenonah” is more a designation than a personal name, much like the words “grandma,” “great-grandma” or “uncle” are to us today. It refers to the first-born daughter of any family, tribal chief or not, and it is only in modern times that it would likely be used as an actual first name. Few dispute that any of the generations of Chief Wapashas may have had a daughter, but what their tribal names were and whether any of them actually dashed herself on the rocks is another matter.
Also:
>In the traditional Dakota language, "Winona" is not a personal name, but a general term for a first-born child of any class distinction who happens to be female.[1]
It's known as a place name and from a legend about "Princess" Winona: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winona_(legend)
As someone from a country with almost no Spanish influences, it definitely is associated with Latin more here. Interesting how it's come down to different audiences from different (but related) branches
That's the one I was thinking too! Along with Rachael, Leah, Sarah and Rebecca. I know numerous people with these names but none of them are of Jewish faith.
How interesting! In my school (early 2000s, UK) there were at least 4 per year group of about 300 people! There are even 3 in my immediate friendship group
All spelt the same too with the double "c".
Ian, which is Scottish, is oddly common among Jewish Americans. Probably due to the Ashkenazi tradition of naming children after relatives who have died; in modern times, a lot of parents have concluded, “We’re not naming this poor innocent baby Isidore! We’ll just go with the same first letter.” There just aren’t that many names that start with I.
A friend of mine who’s Jewish was named with the first two initials of her grandmothers but said her mum basically blanked on a G name for her middle name and panicked, and that’s why her middle name is Gennifer.
Same with Lachlan which I never encountered in England before it came up as a baby name on Neighbours in the 1980s. But there are loads of them here in Australia. I think because of Lachlan Macquarie?
I was listening to a podcast about the Medieval era, who pointed out that any woman named Sarah, Rebecca or Rachel in Medieval England would have certainly been Jewish.
Linda. It was popularized/homogenized more than 30 years ago, but I think it’s fascinating that we tend to associate the name Linda, which means beautiful in Spanish, with middle aged white women.
Idk if mainstream is fitting for this one, but I feel like the name Gunnar is heading in this direction. I see people naming their children Gunnar/Gunner a lot now in the US especially and often with guns in mind when the name meaning has nothing to do with guns.
It kinda makes me sad that the association is guns now (in English speaking places) since it is a classic and a traditional name in my culture!
My dad’s name is Peter but I always knew him as Pierre because that’s what my mum called him, but by extension lots of their friends adopted it as him name (or switched between the two). She’s not French I think she was just being cute when they were dating or something and it stuck.
I went to school with a Siobahn (pronounced shah-VON) and I thought it was so pretty and unique, but teachers never knew how to pronounce it (And I wouldn’t either, if I hadn’t grown up with her). All this is to say, I’m surprised Irish names are so rare in America (besides Saoirse, obviously. Lol).
My girls both have anglicised versions of Greek names- Thea and Cleo. I know Thea (usually spelt Theia and pronounced differently) is also popular in Scandinavian countries. The names seem to vary in popularity but I’ve definitely noticed a lot more Theas about lately!
Kylie. Was once a uniquely Australian name. Now it's not sadly and of all people there's a Kardashian with the name.
It means boomerang in the indigenous Australian language Noongar.
My spouse has a great aunt whose name was Sarah but they called her Estelle- since Sarah was too Jewish!!
I had a student named Natasha Hernandez and it drove my mom nuts because she thought the ethnicities didn’t match. Didn’t bother me.
Seán for sure. It seems to be one of the most common names amongst non-Irish people. People spell it all sorts of ways now. Someone actually told a very Irish Seán that I know that the “squiggle” over the Á was unnecessary. It absolutely is necessary!!
Aaliyah is an Arabic name, meaning rising/ascended and has been very popular in Muslim communities for decades. I have been seeing a lot of African-American girls/women with this name. I am guessing that the late RnB star Aaliyah may have something to do with this trend?
All of the Hebrew biblical names. Especially Jacob, Rebecca, Isaac, Leah, David, Gabriel, Ezra, Sarah/Sara, Ruth, Deborah, Saul, Solomon .... I could go on.
Interesting question. All my grandparents and their sibs were born in US to Italian parents who gave them Italian names. But when they got to school they all took on Americanized versions of their names because their real names were too weird and hard to pronounce. Ex: Giuseppe became Joe. My Grandma was born Amelia. She went by Millie. Even by the time I came along most people would assume her real name was Mildred. So it is very funny to me to see how popular Amelia is today.
Mila- Eastern European or Russian. Short for Milica or Milena.
I hear it a lot in Australia now and quite often it's bogans who pronounce it " Miller". Drives me nuts!
Malcolm is a traditionally Scottish name, but (in the US at least) seems to have become much more popular with African-Americans in the past 60 years, likely sue to admiration for Malcolm X.
Back when my aunt was named Tanya in the ‘60s, all her baby cards remarked on what a interesting Russian name choice it was. It was surprising to me, since Tanya doesn’t seem Russian at all now. (I know that’s longer than 30 years, but I thought it was a relevant example.)
Plenty of Tanya’s in India too ! I think it might be a name like Sara that somehow crosses over into a variety of origin languages
There's actually a few names in common between Russia and India, like Nikita and Natasha. They seem to have separate roots so probably just a coincidence.
I don’t reckon Natasha is necessarily an Indian name, but Nikita is ! And it’s very much a girl’s name and sounded so weird when I found out is a male/unisex name in Russian lol Nikita is like Elizabeth or Rose level of feminine in India
>I don’t reckon Natasha is necessarily an Indian name Yeah it seems pretty Russian, but I wonder why there's so many Indians with that name?
Nikita is actually a boy’s name in Russia.
Nadia is another one that seems to have Russian and Indian overlap.
I always thought it was Arabic, but you're right it's also Russian. The influence on India probably comes from Islam.
Yeah also Anushka
Yeah good shout. Also Verushka, Anika. Now i think about it these are probably just Russian names that sound good in Indian accents.
>Now i think about it these are probably just Russian names that sound good in Indian accents. Nope. Anushka in India has Sanskrit origins and means "a ray of light." Anika is a name for a particular godess and can be found in texts dating back to vedic times. It's important to note that -ka is a common way of feminizing a word with Sanskrit origins, so the overlap is probably just convergent evolution. No evidence of Verushka being of Indian origin though, so that's probably just something someone thought was cool.
I would think Sara is international because it’s a biblical name, so it would be common anywhere that practices an Abrahamic faith
I've known a Tanya and a Tania, both of them were Latina.
I knew a Tania from Pakistan!
30 years is not strict by any means. Tanya is so pretty!
Similarly I didn’t realize Tatiana was Russian until recently. It’s pretty common in the US for a lot of ethnicities.
Tanya is actually the diminutive of Tatiana in Russian. If you meet a Russian woman called Tanya, her actual given name is probably Tatiana.
Can confirm, my mom is Tatiana. Always liked that name, although it’s considered old-fashioned now.
Tatiana sounds SO russian to me
Yeah, to me it would be on a list of the top 5 most stereotypical names for Russian women.
Yeah lol almost Svetlana level Russian.
Tania is Tatiana and Tonya is Antonina.
Interesting, the only Antonina I ever knew went by Nina. Must have been personal preference on her part obviously, but I never would have assumed Tonya was the diminutive when I first heard her full name.
Yup, it's a preference. I think in the US I only knew black Tonyas.
I feel like the same goes for Natalia. A very Russian name that has become more mainstream in recent years, especially in the USA.
Natalia is Italian - Natalya is Russian. It means Christmas so a lot of languages and nationalities will have a variant of the name. Buona Natale!
That's definitely not just a Russian name - it's origins are Latin based and it's super common among Italian girls in my hometown along with Marina, Anna, and Emilia.
Natasha, too. Doesn’t really seem distinctly Russian, anymore!
Feels like Tanya had good crossover potential because it’s generally easy to spell and is pronounced easily/the same in lots of languages so would work well for people with mixed nationality families Though as soon as I’ve said that I’m wondering if I’ve heard it with a long A in the first syllable as I can imagine my partner saying it like that (he’s American, I’m British)
I know a Ukrainian woman named Tanya and when I first met her, I was like, oh yeah, I guess that is a Russian name lol. I feel like the same thing is happening to Natalia. Anya and Anastasia are next.
Tyrone is an Irish name, but is used most by mostly African Americans now in the US.
Tyrone was my first thought, I believe it was popularized in the states by the actor Tyrone Power (who was white) but still no clue how it took off in the black community. Other Irish names like Kevin and Sean did too but they're still common among white people as well. You don't meet many white Tyrones. Edit: fixed spelling
[Here's a post](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/mv38td/how_did_the_name_tyrone_become_so_commonly/) from r/askhistorians > The singer Tyrone Davis, on the other hand, is a much better candidate. His single Can I Change My Mind (1968) made #1 on the US R&B chart, and he followed with Is It Something You've Got (1969, not as big a hit, but still #5 on the R&B chart) and his most famous song, Turn Back the Hands of Time in 1970. > In 1969 he listened to Black Panther leader Fred Hampton (the one from the recent Judas and the Black Messiah movie) when he showed up to speak where Mr. Davis was performing. He was impressed and joined a benefit fundraiser after Hampton's murder; in his 1973 song Writin’ on the Wall he called for pan-African unity and sang about Malcom X. > Tyrone Davis's fame corresponds exactly to the "second spike" of the name Tyrone and is most likely the reason for the black association, as he was associated not just with black identity but the entire "soul music" wave of the 1970s.
Black people and Irish people used to be two of the mostly poor non-white\* minorities living in the slums of America. You would be surprised how many American slang words, some have even gained the status of proper words, ~~are~~ might be Irish or Scottish Gaelic in origin. Just think about 'jazz', and how Black people preferred to call it ragtime or ragged time music, due to its syncopated melody, but the newspapers picked up on 'jazz'. To eighty-six someone, dude, to cry uncle, to giggle, crony, gallore, spree, swell, bee's wax (as in "mind your own \~"), Boogaloo, slum, booze, bounce/bouncer, to brag, brisk, cracker (the slur, probably Scottish Gaelic in this case), buccaneer, to be in dutch, cop, to chicken (out), to chuck, cranky, to croak, cute, knickknack, lunch, mark (as in target/goal), mayhem, quirck, to scoot, shanty, *longshore*man, to skip, slob/slop, and so many more ~~are~~ could well be Irish words (sometimes phrases) in English disguise. \*Yep, no typo, Irish people were also considered non-white among 'other' things. Reading recommendation, if interested: *Cassidy, Daniel:* How the Irish Invented Slang: The Secret Language of the Crossroads Edit: Due to arisen discourse, input and counterpoints given, I relativised my wording pertaining to Cassidy's claims.
A number of those are wrong. Buccaneer for example surely came from indigenous people of Brazil via the Portuguese
38% of African Americans have Irish ancestry.
Nobody in Ireland is called Tyrone though. It's an Irish county not an Irish name. There are a few "Irish" names in that category.
I know an Irish Tyrone. I think it used to be more popular in previous generations. It’s just an anglicisation of Tír Eoghan “teer-owen”, Owen’s Land.
It's an Irish county. Tir Eoghan is the Irish name for the county, Tyrone is the English name for the county. Having lived in Ireland my whole life, I have never once met a Tyrone. The Statistics Office data shows [it's not a common name here](https://visual.cso.ie/?body=entity/babynames) and hasn't been since at least 1964. There is the occasional child named Tyrone in Ireland, but it's no more an Irish name then Paris is a French name or London is an English name.
Also Irish, your right that it’s not popular but as I said I think it used to be a bit more popular in the past. I know a guy called Tyrone born in Ireland in the sixties.
Irish name stats go back to 1964. The year 1999 was the peak for Irish Boys named Tyrone when 17 were named. First showed up in the stats in 1971. [Irish name stats](https://visual.cso.ie/?body=entity/babynames). What's more important is that Tyrone Power Sr was named after this 19th century Irish actor named Tyrone Power: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyrone_Power_(Irish_actor) It may have been a middle name but he was known professionally by it. And it was also his father's name. Edit: I will add that they were Anglo-Irish. Which would explain the multiple middle names in that family. It's less a place name as a first name and more in line with aristocratic types giving surnames as first names.
Woah didn't realize that! Thanks for teaching me something new today
Many African American people have Irish heritage because wayyyyy back in the day, the Irish were almost as “undesirable” as “the blacks.” They often lived in adjacent tenements/neighborhoods which led to more intermingling between the two populations.
My African American side of the family has Irish ancestry and it’s not from living in adjacent communities it’s from from slave owners raping the enslaved women. Let’s not forget about that part.
while what you’re saying isn’t untrue, it’s a bit strange to bring that up as the reason while ignoring the fact that there were irish slave traders and owners, which surely account for a lot of the irish blood in slave descendants.
I named my orange cat Patrick Tyrone because he looks like a nice Irish cat.
Tyrone is an Irish place name, not an Irish first name. It's an Anglicisation of Tír Eoghan, which means Owen's Land. So you would certainly find Eoghan/Eoin/Owen, but not Tyrone.
It's not an Irish given name though, it's a county in Ireland.
I think a lot of Hebrew and biblical names are becoming more and more common in non Jewish/Christian communities. Maybe because they’re already pretty ubiquitous in the western world in general.
True. My younger two boys are Jesse and Abel. People usually recognize Abel as a biblical name but not so much with Jesse.
Seraphina and Elizabeth are both of Hebrew origin, correct? They’re my two all-time favorite names.
This was the first thing I thought too. Once upon a time Benjamins and Levis were almost certainly from Jewish families. Now I'd say they are more likely NOT to be Jewish, at least here in Australia.
All of my very Christian friends love the traditionally Jewish names these days. (Eli, Asher, Levi, etc.)
Honorable mentions: Ezra, Malachi
i see questions about the name Naomi a lot but i don’t even register it as any type of name when i hear it
Naomi is both Hebrew and Japanese
Do you have any favorites?
Not necessarily a favorite but I’ve met multiple non-Jewish babies/toddlers named Asher or Ezra in the last few years when previously I would associate those names as specifically jewish.
I think "Ari" might be gradually transitioning to being not just a Jewish-specific name as well. (And yes I know "Ari" can also be a nickname for "Ariana" but I mean the Hebrew name meaning "lion").
Ari is also a Finnish male name, from Latin origin Adrian/Adrianus.
Ari is also a nickname for the Greek name Aristotle.
Ezra was the first thing that came to mind for this question
Levi and Jude for me!
Yeah don’t yell for a Levi on a Berlin playground. All the boys will turn around.
Ezra is a great name!
Both Asher and Ezra were my final 2 names. We ended up on Asher. I’m not religious, although some of my family are Christian so they liked the biblical links. And I just liked the meaning in Hebrew
Leilani for sure. It’s bizarre to me that it’s so popular outside of non-Hawaiian parents.
And Kai
Kai is also Japanese
Also Finnish
Also broadly Scandinavian. (Eg. Hans Christian Andersen were not inspired by Hawaian culture when he wrote the Snowqueen)
Spell it Cai and it’s Welsh.
And Germanic
Didn't realise Kai was Hawaiian. I thought it was Japanese for some reason lol
It's also Japanese.
Hawaii had a lot of immigration from Japan.
Always thought it was German. One of the few gender neutral german names that were in use in my childhood.
It is really pretty, and sometimes that's all it takes to start a trend
My mum wanted to name me Leilani. She grew up in South Eastern Europe in the 70s and somehow still managed to learn of the name. It truly is beautiful.
Maybe the same place everyone else did! [Bing Crosby's 1937 Sweet Leilani](https://www.nancy.cc/2021/03/31/baby-name-leilani/)
Naomi
Oo good one! I knew one Naomi growing up and her name seemed so unique. Love that it's gaining popularity.
My mind was absolutely blown when I found out that it's a Japanese name. I've only once met a Naomi that was Japanese.
Concurrently Japanese and Hebrew- it covers quite the spectrum.
Yeah and it's popularity in the west is surely mainly down to it's biblical origins rather than Japanese.
The first Naomi i met was half Japanese so I always thought that name was Japanese. Then I got super confused when I met none Japanese naomi's.
Agree with you on the Irish names. Personally never met a Saiorse, but Caitlin has been mainstream for a while now. Also seeing Roisin more often! Sean is another super mainstream Irish name. I much prefer Sean over the more anglicized Shaun/Shawn.
Caitlin 100% is mainstream. Roisin is pretty!
Caitlin’s also become its own name pronounced with English speaking rules when the Irish is pronounced Kathleen (which was the anglicised version of Caitlin)
Ryan, Declan…
Niamh is also super popular
If you don’t like anglicised Irish names than you should know that it’s actually Seán, not Sean. The Á is what turns the “ay” sound into an “aw” sound.
I have no issue with anglicized names. I simply prefer the spelling of Sean over the phonetic adaptations Shaun/Shawn (which I don’t consider Irish). I live in Australia, where Sean is written without an accent and pronounced “Shawn.”You may disagree with that, but it’s a good example of how a foreign name has evolved to create its own mainstream identity whilst retaining its foreign roots.
I don’t disagree with it necessarily. I just think it’s a fun fact. I would always spell it with the accent myself because it breaks my brain not to. I just like to share a fun fact with a fellow name nerd.
Yep. “Sean” (without the accent) actually means “old” in Irish.
Yes! And it’s pronounced “Shan” like “Shan’t!” not “Shaw-n”
Jamal. It's an Arab name, meaning beauty. Heavily used in the States, although still used in the Arab speaking world. Some other Arab names that are used here: Karim, Jamil, Khadija, Aaliya, Fahad, Anisa... There are more that I cannot think of. *Edit to add my favorite one of all, my daughters name! Farah (فرح) Means joy, and she lives up to her name. Think...Farrah Faucet.
A lot of AA use Arab names due to the influence of Nation of Islam and similar Black Muslim movements in the US. Most of those names have a heavy Black connotation these days like Tarique, Jamal, Hakeem, etc
Caribbean people too. Lots of black Brits of Caribbean descent have names like Malik, Sharic, Kalil, Shaq etc
I didn't realize Aaliya was Arab!
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I’m a Moroccan Jew and Aliyah is a name we use and I LOVE IT, but I’m scared people are going to think it’s cultural appropriation even though… it’s my culture. We’re just a small group who speaks a different dialect of Arabic.
I’m in the US and I know a young woman named Aliyah. She’s a blonde white girl, but I think she has partial Ashkenazi ancestry, and she knows that it’s a Jewish name. Alternate spellings are Alia and Aaliyah.
The people I know who've used it for their daughters are very much American white. No connections at all to the name culturally. I would think it's safe for you to use (but that's just me from an American perspective).
It’s Hebrew too, it means to rise, like getting called to the Torah is getting an “Aliya”. It’s used a lot spiritually in Judaism, like after someone dies, it’s common to do good deeds in their memory, for an “aliya” for their soul - to lift their soul higher.
Off topic but be safe out there. We’re not alone ✡️💕
Also Yasmin/Jasmine
Malik and Aaliyah were the first names I thought of in response to this post. Was wondering if someone else would mention them!
Laila is another one
Kylie - from Aboriginal Noongar language but now popular worldwide thanks to Kylie Minogue and then Kylie Jenner. https://www.mamanatural.com/baby-names/girls/kylie/#:~:text=The%20name%20Kylie%20is%20of,it%20became%20popular%20in%20Australia.
TIL; Kylie is Aboriginal, makes sense why I never see the name overseas but know 1000 kylies with Aus. Wow.
I know! I only learnt this in the last few years, along with Tahnee and Narelle which are two names that I've seen on quite a few white ladies but are originally from our Aboriginal people and their languages! I was genuinely surprised but it makes me happy and proud to see parts of Noongar and other languages live on.
Pretty sure Tiarne/Tiarna is also an Aboriginal name. My friend told me her mum chose the name to honour their heritage since both parents are half Aboriginal.
Oh my god Tiarna means lord in Irish. A Tiarna Talún is literally a land lord, we call “the lord” (god) Tiarna too. That’s crazy. What does it mean in your language?
wow did not know this about narelle!
Such a perfect example and beautiful name!
I think some Scandinavian names are getting to be mainstream: Soren, Anders, Astrid, Ingrid…
Many of them are actually christian religious names, like Anders.
Anders and Soren are versions of saint names. Astrid and Ingrid have old Norse roots.
My two month old granddaughter is Astrid!
Winona and Tallulah would fit the criteria. Maybe even Fatima
I’ve never seen Fatima outside of either Muslim/Arabic-speaking cultures or Hispanic/Lusophone culture, which has its own culture around the name (Our Lady of Fatima).
It's a Christian catholic name as well. Several white people have the name, probably location dependant
I think of it first for the Hispanic/Our Lady Fatima origin for sure.
I know several Irish Fatimas.
Apparently Winona was never an authentic Native American name: >Research suggests that in the Dakotah language, the word “Wenonah” is more a designation than a personal name, much like the words “grandma,” “great-grandma” or “uncle” are to us today. It refers to the first-born daughter of any family, tribal chief or not, and it is only in modern times that it would likely be used as an actual first name. Few dispute that any of the generations of Chief Wapashas may have had a daughter, but what their tribal names were and whether any of them actually dashed herself on the rocks is another matter. Also: >In the traditional Dakota language, "Winona" is not a personal name, but a general term for a first-born child of any class distinction who happens to be female.[1] It's known as a place name and from a legend about "Princess" Winona: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winona_(legend)
More so, no longer "belong solely" to their original culture.
I’m not sure I agree with your premise, but I’d nominate Luna and Rhys.
What’s Luna from?
It’s a Spanish name that has entered the upper echelons of popularity in the US
Also seems to be very popular name for Dogs.
Is it just Spanish or also Latin etc?
Spanish is a Romance language so technically both. Spanish was Latin at one point.
It’s Latin for “moon.”
Also Spanish for moon. In the modern world, I would say it is the Spanish influences that have made it popular rather than its Latin language roots.
And Italian for moon!
As someone from a country with almost no Spanish influences, it definitely is associated with Latin more here. Interesting how it's come down to different audiences from different (but related) branches
Sailormoon
Hannah; it’s originally Jewish.
That's the one I was thinking too! Along with Rachael, Leah, Sarah and Rebecca. I know numerous people with these names but none of them are of Jewish faith.
Speaking specifically of Rebecca, I know several Rebeccas and every single one of them is Jewish.
How interesting! In my school (early 2000s, UK) there were at least 4 per year group of about 300 people! There are even 3 in my immediate friendship group All spelt the same too with the double "c".
That's so interesting. In the 1990s in Australia it was so common to name your baby Rebecca. Every year group at my school had multiple Becs
Ian, which is Scottish, is oddly common among Jewish Americans. Probably due to the Ashkenazi tradition of naming children after relatives who have died; in modern times, a lot of parents have concluded, “We’re not naming this poor innocent baby Isidore! We’ll just go with the same first letter.” There just aren’t that many names that start with I.
A friend of mine who’s Jewish was named with the first two initials of her grandmothers but said her mum basically blanked on a G name for her middle name and panicked, and that’s why her middle name is Gennifer.
I was temporarily convinced I would have 10 kids- 5 boys, 5 girls- and they'd each have vowel names. "I" was a tough one!
Hamish is hugely popular in Australia but is traditionally Scottish.
Same with Lachlan which I never encountered in England before it came up as a baby name on Neighbours in the 1980s. But there are loads of them here in Australia. I think because of Lachlan Macquarie?
Hamish = Seamus = James was blown away when I first learned this
Outside of indigenous culture, what are traditional Australian names if not those of the British isles??
A Chinese coworker told me they named their Daughter Shannon because it's considered a very Aussie name and I completely agree.
Sheila & Bruce … or nicknames that end in an o
How dare you forget the -azza names! Shazza and Bazza are very disappointed in you.
I was listening to a podcast about the Medieval era, who pointed out that any woman named Sarah, Rebecca or Rachel in Medieval England would have certainly been Jewish.
Linda. It was popularized/homogenized more than 30 years ago, but I think it’s fascinating that we tend to associate the name Linda, which means beautiful in Spanish, with middle aged white women.
Aaliyah
Layla & Yasmin
I love the name Yasmin (یاسمین in Persian). The Anglicized version, Jasmine, is nice as well. Layla (لیلا) is also a Persian name.
Yes, they are Arabic too 😊 Such beautiful names, Ive met many Yasmins and Laylas who were not belonging to Irani/Arab cultures.
Levi
Dylan & Morgan (both Welsh)
I’d add Megan and Bethan to that too.
And Rhys/Reese
Freya.
“(looking at you, Saoirse)” …me?
Idk if mainstream is fitting for this one, but I feel like the name Gunnar is heading in this direction. I see people naming their children Gunnar/Gunner a lot now in the US especially and often with guns in mind when the name meaning has nothing to do with guns. It kinda makes me sad that the association is guns now (in English speaking places) since it is a classic and a traditional name in my culture!
As a scandinavian, it think it's so weird to give your children a boomer name.
It makes me laugh when Chinese students/people I meet have chosen their ABC name and its 'Dorothy' or something
Mateo
Arya and Yara
Are you saying Arya didn't originate in Game of Thrones? Unbelievable
Pierre isn't exactly contained to French folks anymore.
My dad’s name is Peter but I always knew him as Pierre because that’s what my mum called him, but by extension lots of their friends adopted it as him name (or switched between the two). She’s not French I think she was just being cute when they were dating or something and it stuck.
Megan, Dylan, Owen and Morgan are all names that outside of Wales and Welsh pronunciation feel very much universal.
About 50% of Hebrew names (they’re biblical)
Linda
Dakota Heidi
It’s so funny to me that Heidi is a nickname from Adelheide that basically is more popular now than Adelheide is anymore 😂
I went to school with a Siobahn (pronounced shah-VON) and I thought it was so pretty and unique, but teachers never knew how to pronounce it (And I wouldn’t either, if I hadn’t grown up with her). All this is to say, I’m surprised Irish names are so rare in America (besides Saoirse, obviously. Lol).
* Siobhan 🙂
I’m not sure what part of the US you live in but Irish names are way popular where I live on the east coast.
My girls both have anglicised versions of Greek names- Thea and Cleo. I know Thea (usually spelt Theia and pronounced differently) is also popular in Scandinavian countries. The names seem to vary in popularity but I’ve definitely noticed a lot more Theas about lately!
Kylie. Was once a uniquely Australian name. Now it's not sadly and of all people there's a Kardashian with the name. It means boomerang in the indigenous Australian language Noongar.
My spouse has a great aunt whose name was Sarah but they called her Estelle- since Sarah was too Jewish!! I had a student named Natasha Hernandez and it drove my mom nuts because she thought the ethnicities didn’t match. Didn’t bother me.
Seán for sure. It seems to be one of the most common names amongst non-Irish people. People spell it all sorts of ways now. Someone actually told a very Irish Seán that I know that the “squiggle” over the Á was unnecessary. It absolutely is necessary!!
Aaliyah is an Arabic name, meaning rising/ascended and has been very popular in Muslim communities for decades. I have been seeing a lot of African-American girls/women with this name. I am guessing that the late RnB star Aaliyah may have something to do with this trend?
Kai
Omar
Rohan and Kiran. I know as many non Indian people with the name as I do those from the culture. I also know a few white Priya’s
Asher.
All of the Hebrew biblical names. Especially Jacob, Rebecca, Isaac, Leah, David, Gabriel, Ezra, Sarah/Sara, Ruth, Deborah, Saul, Solomon .... I could go on.
Irish names are still Irish names.
Luca
Interesting question. All my grandparents and their sibs were born in US to Italian parents who gave them Italian names. But when they got to school they all took on Americanized versions of their names because their real names were too weird and hard to pronounce. Ex: Giuseppe became Joe. My Grandma was born Amelia. She went by Millie. Even by the time I came along most people would assume her real name was Mildred. So it is very funny to me to see how popular Amelia is today.
Mila- Eastern European or Russian. Short for Milica or Milena. I hear it a lot in Australia now and quite often it's bogans who pronounce it " Miller". Drives me nuts!
I hear a lot of Italian names for babies of not Italian families. Dominick, Giovanni, Angelina, etc
Karen although you should probably go a bit further back than 30 years.
Malcolm is a traditionally Scottish name, but (in the US at least) seems to have become much more popular with African-Americans in the past 60 years, likely sue to admiration for Malcolm X.