Cherokee

原My father is full blood Cherokee Native and he gave me the name "Cherokee" to honor my heritage and to give me a push to always learn as much as I can about my name sake. Cherokee women were the head of the household and notoriously strong. He had that in mind for me when he gave me this name. Also, many people ask me questions and inquire about my heritage and name sake, so then I get to educate them a bit on it. For me, it's much more ignorant to only think of "Cherokee" as a clothing brand when you know very well that it is a nation of people first and foremost. "Cherokee" can mean "people of another language" or "People of fire" depending on who you ask. Just like any other name given, it has a meaning. Yes, it is a people and a tribe, but just like any other name is has a root meaning. It is a very beautiful and powerful name and I'm glad that it is not common, and personally I don't believe that someone should be given the name when they have no claim to the heritage as their own. It is not disrespectful to carry the name if you do it justice. Also, this is not the 1930s when Native Americans being full blood was common and nobody wanted to be Native. This is today and now, where having this much Native is a special and unique thing and deserves to be shown off upon meeting. So that when I introduce myself, people know that there are still real natives thriving.

原My name is Cherokee and everyone that I have met has told me that my name is beautiful and my great grandpa is full blooded Cherokee and lived on a native American reservation and he said that it is not offensive to name your kid Cherokee.

原The name Cherokee was given to 28 girls born in the US in 2015.

原My mother named me Cherokee because she wanted me to be different. Her name was one of the most popular girl names in the 1930s, and she grew up surrounded by other girls with the same name. She found the name Cherokee when looking at my grandmother's college yearbook. The girl in the yearbook would have been born around 1910 and was from Alabama. My grandmother had known the yearbook Cherokee and remembered her as a dear, dramatically talented girl, so Mama picked that name for a future daughter long before my birth. She thought it was beautiful. I ended up being born overseas while my father served in the army, and the name Cherokee seemed to fit well because of its American spirit. Contrary to the notion some people who commented seem to have, my family has never claimed any Native American ancestry. It has not always been an easy name to carry. In elementary school, other students loved to sing "Cherokee People" to me, and I frequently have to explain how I was named. In the fifth grade I used my middle name just to avoid the teasing, but that did not last. I learned to love the name Cherokee and the fact that it is so rare. I am also grateful that my mother did not choose a name like Gertrude or Myrtle from my grandmother's yearbook.

原30 girls in the USA (2014) were given Cherokee.

原Ok. So first of all, I don't think that naming anybody "Cherokee" offends the Cherokee tribe in North America. Second, it's not ridiculous to name someone like London, America, or Asia. It's just a word being used as a name and it's not offending anyone or any country. I'm only saying this because my name is Cherokee and I have been told throughout my entire life what a beautiful name I had. People on the real world don't think that it's offensive in any type of way. Just saying.

原Some of you are just plain ignorant.1) Most names derive from nouns/words2) Place names and ethnonyms are some of the oldest sources of human names. Judith/Yehudit is one such example I can think of off the top of my head.3) I have met people named Irish, I have met people named Polk (Polish) I have met people named Suomi (Finland), Esta (Estonia) and Svea (Sweden).4) The only people I have met named Cherokee were actual Cherokee and bearing this name was a way to honor their heritage.

原I think Cheyenne is a beautiful, useable unisex name, but Cherokee just sounds... too weird. To those who named their kid this, good for you, never in my life will I. And I don't like the name in general. Go for something else, people.

原I find this name just ridiculous and also a bit racist.

原I have always thought that 'Cherokee' would make a beautiful name for a girl. I am a full-blooded Cree from Northern Manitoba Canada and am proud to note that my daughter carries the beautiful name of N'Tanis Cherokee Rose. Her name-N'Tanis means 'my daughter' in the Cree language. I chose Cherokee because it sounds so beautiful and Rose because she's the smallest flower in 'our garden'.I think it should be taken as a compliment to have someone honor your name.

原I think this name is awesome. Did anyone else notice that every single comment above against the name Cherokee gave the same example? "Why would anyone name there kid Russian, Mongol, or German?" It's obvious that those kinds of names are pretty ridiculous, but there are plenty of names like those above that sound kind of cool as names, like Asia, America, London, Cheyanne, etc. But naming your child Cherokee doesn't disrespect the Cherokee people. That's just a little too picky. I mean I want to name my daughter Cherokee in honor of my grandmother(she is half Cherokee) and my family and heritage. It's really a cool name for a girl if you think about it. And it has nothing to do with the clothing company. Should we stop naming babies Victoria because of Victoria's Secret? I mean really, it's not a big deal. I would think the Cherokee clothing company of the Jeep company would be more disrespectful.

原Like any other nationality name, I think it would be okay to name your child Cherokee if the Cherokee tribe is significant to you. But if you pick it just because you like the sound, to me, it seems disrespectful to Native Americans, as it cheapens the name.

原No matter what others think, yes it is a tribe, a noble and historic tribe.

原To use the name Cherokee is disrespectful to the Cherokee people. It doesn't matter if you're Cherokee. I'm sorry Cheyenne, but there were so many boy names in the Cherokee culture to use. And this may sound mean, but do you live near a Cherokee reservation, or did you learn about your culture? The reason why I'm asking is because if no, then you should learn more about the people and history. And if you don't live near a reservation and just plain old New York, then people are going to find this racist and going to comment on it. The reason why this name is essential to Cherokee culture is it's like naming your child 'God' to the Christians. I understand you're frustrated, but for you to pick the name Cherokee will just make people think you're not Cherokee, just ignorant. Right off the bat and it's going to be hard for you and your son to some day go to a reservation to learn more facts, because people are going to judge you for that. This may be just my opinion, but there's a lot of beautiful boy names that can reflect your culture. Maybe next time you can do more research.

原I am part Cherokee and I did name my son this out of pride, because I was adopted it was taken from me to be able to grow with the nation, so I did pass on what I felt was a great and noble name. I don't think it's wrong to name a child Cherokee. I gladly say that I am Native American to put a person down because they say "part" is wrong and hurtful. The name to me means "strong, determined, leader".

原That can be said about the name Cheyenne as well, right?

原Why do people use this as a name? It's a TRIBE. These same morons like to claim "we're part Cherokee" (and never are) to get away with it. People don't name their kids Italian, Arab, or Chinese, so why should they use names of Native American tribes?

原I don't see why people name their kids things like Cherokee and America and Asia and Africa. Leave nouns as nouns!

原This name sounds weird on people who aren't Native Americans, but it sure sounds weird on people who ARE Native Americans. It's a group name, not a name for a person.

原For me, being the uncultured person I am, the first thing that came to my mind was the children's clothing range at Tesco! Well I guess it kind of works as a name. I mean, Asda had a range called George.

原If you name your child Cherokee I feel it is not respectful of the Native American tribe. I agree, it is like naming your child German or Russian.

原Naming a child Cherokee is like naming your child English or Japanese.

原I'm part Cherokee and I don't find it very fitting on someone not of Native American ancestry. It's kind of odd.

原I find this name very nice! I really like it!

原I find it interesting that 1. Nobody names a kid Polish or Bantu or Mongol. 2. I have never met an actual Cherokee who was named this or named their baby this. From what I've seen, the kind of people who WOULD give the name Cherokee to a baby are the kind of would love to say "I'm part Cherokee" when the only "part" of them that's Cherokee is the part of their butt that touches the seat of their Jeep Cherokee. As an actual Cherokee I find this irritating and amusing at the same time.

原I agree that naming a non-native child this is disrespectful. The kid may also be teased, because in it is a sweatshirt brand.

原I'm part Cherokee. I have to agree that this just doesn't feel right as a child's name. My dad used to have a horse named Cherokee.

原I think it is disrespectful to the Cherokee tribe to name your kid Cherokee especially if you're not Native American. In New Zealand if you called your kid after a Maori tribe, e.g. Ngai Tahu, it wouldn't be seen as right.