Reply to Girl’s name: Kate v. Serena?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I don't like nicknames as full names so even though I like Kate as a short form of any number of great names, I lean toward Serena.

I'm not a huge tennis fan but I'm confused by how many posts seem to think an association with Serena Williams is a bad thing.  [/quote]

We seriously considered Serena for our child. We are white. As we discussed it with others I found more than a few people had a negative reaction to the association with Serena Williams. Here I'd thought that was a good thing. I like Serena Williams. That was part of why I liked the name. Serena Williams is a polarizing figure. It's hard not to see people's reaction to her as a gauge of misogyny/racism, even if internalized.

I personally had more reservations because of the association with Gossip Girl.

What finally clinched it was when an insightful friend raised her eyebrow at this name in the context of our loud, emotional family and said "Do you think it likely your child will be serene?" [/quote]

I have a daughter named Serena, and yes, I found the same reaction with regard to Serena Williams.  It was eye-opening.  I didn't name my daughter after Serena Williams but I thought the association was positive.   [b]I had some people tell me I shouldn't use it because it was a black name. [/b]  :shock:  Then other people would say things "but you know that it's going to make people think of Serena Williams!" with like a tone of horror in their voice.  I'd just look at them and say with a flat voice "is there something wrong with that?" and I'd get all sorts of embarrassed muttering.

[/quote]

How the hell can a Spanish/Italian/Portuguese word be a “black name”? I guess William and Grace are “black names” too (Bill Cosby and Grace Jones).[/quote]

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