Yeah..I just wanted to get others' opinions of this matter.

I tend to like names that are really not of my heritage. I like Spanish names, Irish names, ect. My ancestry is German, Scottish and English. Lately I have been taken a liking to the name "Sergei". It's one of the only names I've used for almost a month straight. I've had another name in mind that I like. It's "Miles" (Which is English). Someone online told me "Why don't you pick a name of your own heritage?". I stopped and thought for a minute "If people are gonna get down on my name just because it's not of my true heritage than I'll save myself the trouble and pick one that is". And if I can't use Sergei since it's Russian and I'm not Russian (though I like to believe I am) then I'll have to use either Miles or Manfred (One or the other. German or English)

I don't know...people seem to dislike it when your name doesn't match your heritage. Should I stick with Sergei since I like it so much or should I pick some name that actually matches my heritage so I save myself the weird remarks? I thought I'd ask..

My birth name wasn't apart of my heritage. People seem to forget that people pick names for other reasons, heritage isn't a requirement. My birth name is Greek and I'm not Greek at all, but I did pick out my current name that  does match up with my heritage because I wanted to. I don't think it comes up in regular conversation about why your name isn't of your heritage. No one's asked me if I'm Greek before.

Decide what fits you.

My birth name goes at least three generations back.  My name now is out of respect for my parents, who never would have approved.  No sense in upsetting the ancestors.



Hugs,
Janet

Heritage, shmeritage. My given name is Welsh, (and technically male, with a feminine ending...But no one uses it as a boy's name in the US, so it's still a dead giveaway) and my family is defiantly not.

that's just one *idea* to get thoughts rolling. If you find something else fits better, then go with it.

I am predominantly German. My birth name is Greek. When I name my children, I most likely won't be considering names like Friedrich. I don't think it matters too much.

I don't think it's anyone's darned business what name you choose. And it only matters to someone who knows your heritage; most people you meet in life aren't privy to your family tree and probably wouldn't care anyway. Not to mention that most families have one or two "indiscretions" somewhere in the line; who's to say that you don't have a Russian ancestor somewhere? Not that that matters...I think you should do what you want.

My first name is uncommon but crops up a lot in Catholic families. I'd never given that a second thought, or been given a hard time about it, until a men's meeting that I went to. The fellow sitting next to me was obsessed with my name. "Oh, are you Catholic?" he said when I introduced myself. I said that I wasn't, and he thought I must be a lapsed Catholic. Or had one parent who was a lapsed Catholic. Or, or, or SOMEthing.

I said, no, maybe my parents just liked unusual names. After all, my brother's name is XXX (a very unusual name). His response? "Well, THAT'S not Catholic!"

I like my name, and that's why I chose it. I'm not going to change it just because it might make some people think I'm a lapsed Catholic.

I guess my point is that a few people might give you a hard time, but I think they're being way too dogmatic, and it's none of their business.

True, some folks here may have Russian ancestry. But they may also have ancestry that spans Europe and much of the U.S. But it does not matter where they are from.

They have chosen a name that is comfortable with them.

Thank you all for your posts. I agree that it's not anyone's beeswax if they don't like my name. But for now, I've decided to use Miles for as long as possble. Since my ancestry contains some English, I'll have picked a name that is English

Quote from: Miles on December 20, 2009, 02:51:31 AM
Since my ancestry contains some English, I'll have picked a name that is English

Actually, I think the English use kilometers.

my birth surname was Irish, my new surname is Dutch. I like my new name much better.

Chloe (a Greek name)

Quote from: Miles on December 20, 2009, 02:51:31 AM
Thank you all for your posts. I agree that it's not anyone's beeswax if they don't like my name. But for now, I've decided to use Miles for as long as possble. Since my ancestry contains some English, I'll have picked a name that is English

One of my few males friends at school was called Miles - although i think he spelt it Myles - anyway you look pretty like him so I should stick with it. I think it suits you.

Me - I never got to choose.

As I at least partically transitioned in early(ish) childhood my mother picked female names for me (with some input from me) on the basis that back in th 1960's they really could go round calling me by my male name when I was wearing obviously female attire.

I'm actually slightly envious of those of you who get to choose.

I think it depends on just how different the name is to your original heritage. For example a white guy with a Japanese or Indian name would look really strange. I considered a Japanese name for myself but I think people would have just looked at me weird if I introduced my self as Ryuji or something

I'd say just go with a name that fits you, regardless of its heritage. My birth name was Hebrew, but I'm almost entirely German. So I chose a French name to change it to. My last name is of German & French heritage, and I've always tried to hold tight to that little bit of French, so I figured it would make sense if I chose a name of that lineage. My middle name is British, and I'm part British as well... I suppose it works out. I looked through every German name I could find, and couldn't stand a single one.

In the end, you have to pick what works for you. I'd vote against Manfred, though... that was my grandfather's name. Quite German, and quite unusual for someone in the U.S.

SD

My birth name was terribly uncommon, although there was an actress whose name was spelled differently but pronounced the same. She wasn't that well known when I was born, so I don't if my parents knew of her. Now I see my name all over the place. Like on TV shows. Or at the video store the other day. Funny what a jolt it is, even though I changed my name over a decade ago.

My last name was also very unusual, so naturally people asked me what nationality it was. Dutch? I told them German because at least three quarters of my heritage was German--entirely so on my grandfather's side, as far as I knew. And I had heard of a German historical figure with the same last name (slightly different spelling). I guess they didn't like having a kid tell them that they were wrong. So in return, I would hear, "Oh, that's impossible. The Germans don't have that vowel combination. It's Dutch, all right." And I'm sitting there steaming, thinking, "Diphthong! It's a diphthong, you idiot! And don't you think the spelling might have been changed at Ellis Island, or something?"

My mother finally gave me the perfect answer. When people asked me what kind of name it was, I started replying, "An American name."

This is a tossed salad/melting pot country. Whatever name you take is pretty much an American name. It may have baggage, but that's half of the fun.

Heritage isn't all that important. Just don't go for something that's obviously out of place.

Hell, thanks to the internet, culture mixing and the name selection habits of some of the younger generation, I don't think there's much that will be out of place in a decade or two .

My birth name was German and unusual, and there's no German in my heritage. People immegrate, names and culture spread. My mother encountered a German lady and liked her name. Bam - name does not match heritage right there.

Yes, it confused German people for about the 10 seconds it took me to explain how I came about the name without German heritage. Then it was nothing more than a not so interesting sidenote. It's no big deal. What are people going to do? Staple an "IMPOSTER" sign on your head? No, they don't care that much - they only ask to satisfy a fleeting curiosity and make conversation without resorting to the 5 day forecast.

I can't leave a name thread without saying - I've had my unusual "weird" name legally for 3 months now. It sticks out over here about as much as my birthname did (That being a lot. Though my former last name didn't stick out - the new "American hackjob of an English surname with clipped pronounciation" does. My first name just sticks out anywhere :p ).

People ask me to spell my last name all the time. Sometimes they remark "Cool name", "Unusual name" or "Oh, X amount of years ago I met a guy with the same first name as you!". The only times people enquire further is when they KNOW I've changed it (ie, they knew my old name), and they're curious about where it came from and how long ago I decided on it. I haven't had anyone ask that in months though (I did get it a lot in the first month).

I know it's a big decision and all, but I think you're getting a little paranoid about what everyone else will think. I think you just need to hold out naming yourself until you hear something that clicks so well you don't give a crap about what anyone else thinks.

I didn't put a whole lot of thought into my new name let alone go into what heritage to choose.  I figured my parents named me what they did and I wanted to stick as close to that I could.  I'm of Irish/German heritage and the name they would have picked for me had I been born female is a Spanish name (which I've adopted as my middle name).  But I figure as long as you're sticking to a probable name (a white kid going by Omixochitl or Hayashi seems a little out of place) you should be fine.