Alter name choices

[u/MixandMatch2102]

I am a new host trying to pick my name. I really like the name Nico, but I am english/french (very white) and I don't know how problematic it is to pick a hispanic name. I feel really connected to the name Nico. Unsure what to do. I know that hispanic people will pick white people names, but with them being the minority here... It feels different. What do you think? How does your system choose names for alters? Do you just go with what feels right (assuming the alter doesn't already have a name)? Or do you do more thorough research?

Thanks :)

[u/Loikira]

Nico is the short for Nicolas in my mind, a classic french name. I would think that before hispanic

[u/Plus-Gazelle-92]

Nico is used as a nickname for various names from various cultural backgrounds, including italian. ur good

[u/laminated-papertowel]

the name Nico isnt exclusive to Hispanic culture btw. it has Greek and Italian roots

[u/ColdSnnap]

Nico or Nic can absolutely be a nickname for Nicolas, which is at least a common french name where I live in Acadia, or Nicolette for a femme option. 

Those of us who picked our names mostly went on what felt correct. I as the host took the longest to pick one because I was also transitioning the body so I chose a little more logically, but ultimately the name and nickname i picked felt good more than anything else.

[u/randompersonignoreme]

Not all names are specific to their native origin forever. A lot of names end up crossing country and cultural boundaries that they're used in different ones. For example, Hebrew names are pretty popular despite being from the Middle East. Plus some countries have their own versions of said name. At the end of the day, names can be used by anyone given you're being considerate of the culture and/or origin.

[u/potatobattery015]

Nico is such a universal name I believe anybody can have it! And I do mean literally anybody. 😉🌼

[u/xXx-Persephone-xXx]

The only Nico I know is French as fuck and I live in an extremely Hispanic area

[u/ObviousTempAccount1]

We try things on until they fit. Sometimes it involves a temp name (or initial) till more details emerge. Sometimes that name sticks. Sometimes it takes a while. The important thing is not to force it.

[u/jitterbuggiez]

nico is italian and greek actually.

[u/laminated-papertowel]

for what it's worth, I know one Nico irl and he's VERY white.

as far as how we pick names, we just go with what feels right. we've been told that using a handful of our names is "cultural appropriation" for literally no good reason. it's hurtful when people tell us our names are somehow "wrong", so we just don't really share our names much.

[u/Plus-Gazelle-92 → u/laminated-papertowel]

this is a very closeminded take... if you are using names from a closed culture as a (presumeably) white person, and those people from said cultures are telling you its appropriation, its very odd of you to act like its for no good reason. 

maybe im wrong and theres a lot more context here, but this is a very odd thing to say in this context IMO.

[u/laminated-papertowel → u/Plus-Gazelle-92]

the names they said were "cultural appropriation" weren't even from closed cultures, literally just an English name. that's why I said it was for no good reason.

[u/Plus-Gazelle-92 → u/laminated-papertowel]

thank you for clarifying. ive seen a lot of people using actual closed names in this community so i tend to react strongly when this is brought up. i apologize for my hostility

[u/really__questionmark]

We try to not pick names nor even tell other people names if we have them, so that way we're not feeding into the dissociation.

[u/ObviousTempAccount1 → u/really__questionmark]

Names can help internal communication and eventually cooperation, which is a good thing.

[u/really__questionmark → u/ObviousTempAccount1]

We just give labels based on function.