I used to like the name Cheyenne* a lot. It’s a place name and a Native American tribal name… both very hip, en vogue, cutting edge, etc. The more I grew and learned and witnessed– in terms of our culture and the ways in which we represent ourselves and even appropriate– the less fond I grew for such styles. It started to seem insincere to me, and maybe even rude of me, and so I could no longer really validate my preferences by telling myself how pretty and cute they still were. I couldn’t kid myself by telling myself I was honoring something I didn’t truly understand. The truth is, there was no other reason to keep these types of names on my list, and too many reasons to cross them off. The truth is, they were trendy and had no real connection to me, period.
I now value authenticity. Authentic being-you. Authentic respect for others.
There is so much for me, and for you, to genuinely celebrate! No costumes, no disguises. Choose something with a close personal connection to you when you are naming your baby and it will mean so much more.
The exchange pictured above inspired me to create a new category in the blog– Racism (where I will talk about any cultural faux pas in names, not just limited to racial differences.) Every blog link I am about to share with you now fits the new category.
For further info on this specific topic, read here: The Bastardization of Native American Names
To find out why being honest about names matters, see: Hispanic Baby Name “News” is Ignorant BS
Some brief words on Native American words becoming tweaked names, when we helped a fan here (she had a child named CheyAnne): Cowboy Prairie Style First and Middle Baby Name Combos
Where we urged readers to not take K-K-K lightly: K, K, and Definitely Not K
If you’re one of our long time readers or just an appreciative fan, you respect the fact that we always advocate smart, thoughtful naming, minus the fluff. What I like about the community we share is that you can tell we genuinely, truly love names. Thanks for joining with us in supporting integrity and education! I look forward to the ways we’ll keep learning together.
(I will discuss the name Cheyenne [the usual “proper” spelling*] more in the upcoming book.)
There is definitely a sort of modern cowboy/prairie feeling here, as fan Angel pointed out on our page. The style is definitely modern but inspired by dusty boots Americana– I call it Western nouveau. It can be really charming and you can take your inspiration from ancestors in the South during the 1800s, state, city and county names (appropriate to geography and era), and outdoorsy concept words.
next in line. One of the suggested first name choices was Felicia, but perhaps Felicity would be more keeping with the theme. Another virtue name that could work would be Amity. It’s seldom used and has a good meaning, and fits well with the theme (could that be because it reminds us of Calamity Jane?).
First & Middle Baby Names 