5 replies to this topic

[Wildflowerchild]

Okay, so I love Italian names, but I'm not Italian at all. I love the elegance and the sounds of them. Would it be wrong or weird to use a super Italian name even though I'm not?

 

The names I love:

Lucian

Sebastian (the real Italian form is Sebastiano, but I like this version!)

Giovanni

Luca

Leonardo

 

Giuliana

Lucia

Giovanna

Katerina

Gianna

 

These are the ones that I would really consider using, if it's not too strange for me to go full Italian.

[Meghan<3]

I've definitely faced the same issue of wanting to use an ethnic name but not having origins within that place, so I understand your dilemma and am curious to see what others think. If you're uncertain about using an Italian name, then I would suggest straying away from Gianna (<- though I like this one too!), Giovanna, Giovanni, and Giuliana (unless you used the more "American-ized" spelling Juliana) since all of these sound very Italian... I have a hard time picturing a Giovanni Miller or Gianna Roberts!

I think that a lot of the names you mentioned, however, are very usable because they've become more commonplace in other cultures. Luke and Lucy are popular, so the variants Luca, Lucian, and Lucia don't seem too far off. I think Sebastian is incredibly usable as well; I've met several Sebastians of various ethnic backgrounds. As for Leonardo, I think Leo is more usable on its own... Plus the namesakes Leonardo da Vinci and Leonardo DiCaprio (both of whom have very Italian-sounding last names) may be hard to shrug.

I personally really like Gemma and Tessa, both of which are Italian

Hope this helps!

[Barbie]

I know a little Giovanni from church who is NOT Italian, but it suits him quite nicely (he actually has black hair).
Beyond that, I agree with Meghan. Definitely spelling the names more American might help them be more usable too

[xxThePumpkinQueenxx]

My oldest son's middle name is Giovanni and we're far from Italian. If you like the names then use them! I still favor some Italian names but I doubt DH would go for them now

[Remy Hadley]

I don't think theres anything wrong with it at all. I think some names could come off as weird, I suppose. None of the ones you listed above though I've met Luca's of all ethnicities, it seems a common name in my state (but Luke and Lucas are also common here, so.. makes sense I suppose). Giovanni / Giovanna always stuck out to me as Italian, but I wouldn't be weirded out at all by a not Italian one.

 

I feel you though. I'm not even the slightest Irish, but man do I love Irish names. Saoirse, Aoife, Siobhan, Sinead... yep.  

[Wildflowerchild]

Thanks a lot for all your help ladies! I'm thinking that the longer ones, like Sebastian, Giovanni, and Giovanna may be saved for middle names!

 

Remy, I would be fine in the Irish category, 90% Irish over here! <3

 

As for the rest, this really helped. Just making sure I'm not the only one with this problem.