103. Names: Cross Cultural
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About this listen
This episode looks at names that work across cultures, names that sound alike but emerge from entirely different linguistic roots. It opens with demographic data from the USA and from England and Wales that helps explain why many parents now seek names that fit multiple cultural contexts. In England and Wales, 37% of newborns have a parent born abroad, and in the USA approval of mixed marriage has risen from 4% in 1958 to 94% today. The name Maya or Maia can mean beloved, magic, brave, princess or mother, with possible origins in Hebrew, Greek, Sanskrit, Arabic and an Indigenous language of New Zealand. Idris in Welsh means ardent lord, while in Arabic it is said to mean studious or smart. The Irish name Ciaran and the South Asian name Kiran sound similar, yet their etymologies move in opposite directions: one means dark, the other light. Also explored are the names Chika, Naomi, Bo, Arya and Dylan.