How important is/was your heritage to you when you're thinking of names for your children? Are you Greek but have a huge crush on a dozen Irish names? Are you Irish, but want something with a Gallic flavor? Maybe you're African American and adore the soft sounds of Arabic names?
I think a lot of us in the United States have a mixed heritage, so we can pick and choose which culture we want to emphasize with what we name our children. This can be great, it can ground us in our families' deep pasts, and reflect what aspect of our heritage we most identify with. But it also means that unlike more culturally and ethnically homogenous societies (like Finland, for example), there aren't very many names we can call "American". Not very many people set out to give their baby an American name, at least not in the same way they do with French names or Italian names.
What is an American name? Obvious choices would be names closely identified with American places (Montana, Dixie, Indiana, Savannah, Dakota), American presidents (Adams, Jackson, Cal, Barack), Cowboy names (Rusty, Tex, Autry), "down home" names (Clyde, Jolene, Earl, Bobbi Jo, Billie Sue, Jim Bob) and invented names (Darvel, Shaylee, Kerzeeah, Dequarious) that sort of thing.
I wonder how many names that are used in the U.S. could actually be considered American?
My husband and I are considering our heritage in naming our baby. He and I both have French heritage. I'm Polish and French, and he's Russian, Belgian, French and Polish. I feel almost obligated to opt for something French. I'm not sure why this is. I don't have any affinity for French in particular, in fact I feel more naturally drawn to Welsh names (a country to which I have no personal connection).
The problem comes in when I realize that there are only a handful of French names that I like for boys or for girls. I suppose we'll cross that road when we come to it.
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