What is Name Appropriation? BabyNames.com

Name appropriation is a subset of cultural appropriation, and it’s a topic we want to discuss as a baby-naming site.

First, let’s define cultural appropriation. Cultural appropriation is defined as when a member of a dominant culture takes in elements from the culture of people who have been systematically oppressed by that dominant group. Unlike cultural appreciation or exchange, appropriation lies in the power dynamic—of a dominant culture that has systematically oppressed, controlled, or even killed another.

If you are Caucasian-American, this likely applies to you. Now before you start “coming us,” or “but…but…butting” please read the rest of this article.

Native American and Hawaiian names

Name personalization is more prevalent with white people and Native American/Hawaiian names. I’m not going to go into the long history of how white colonists massacred indigenous people (including Native Hawaiians) to steal their land and eradicate their culture—even to the point where it is illegal to speak their indigenous languages ​​or practice their indigenous religions. There are very long histories on the Internet where you can tell yourself about these atrocities in American history.

But what happened. And then when a white person thinks it’s “cool” to give their white child a native name, you have to understand how offensive that can be to indigenous cultures. Especially if it is a sacred or tribal name.

But wait, Dakota is a state name — I wasn’t even…