[armydad3_8]

What do you guys think of the name Nosh.

It is native american, and means Father.

[Dawn Susanne]

Makes me want to look for food.

[XantheRED]

I don't know. It just doesn't really sound like a name to me, just strange...What about Nash? It's a surname that I think is pretty cool. A famous bearer is mathemetician John Nash.

[armydad3_8]

We were looking through Native American names (I am partially Native American, Cherokee in fact), and saw this name along with a few others that we liked.

[XantheRED]

Yeah, it's not bad. It could definitely grow on me.

[Xanadu]

"Native American" is kind of like saying "European." Do you know what culture Nosh is from? Also, do you know if it's used as a name, or is just a word?

It struck me originally as a kind of silly sound, but after letting myself digest it a little I can see its appeal. -osh is such a sweet, shy little sound. I see Nosh as a less familiar Josh. I get a much different vibe from XantheRED's suggestion of Nash, much more extroverted.

[BZ]

Nosh is slang for food for me. I'd prefer Nash.

[armydad3_8]

Nosh is from the Algonquin Native American tribe and it is a name they used, and the name means father.

[Xanadu]

Are there any Cherokee names you like? Using an Algonquin name to honor Cherokee heritage is like using a French name to honor German heritage.

[armydad3_8]

yeah there is one at least which is a middle name in the list of combos I have if you read the A & B list I have under the boys section the meaning of the names afterwards..... Here is a list of the Cherokee names we like (as from baby name world)

Ashwyn or as the Cherokee spelling Ashwin (Strong horse) (the one on my A & B list)
Chane (name of a god)
Ira (Watchful)
Jayant (Victorious)
Jayce (Strong)
Kavi (A wise man) (another one I have on the A & B list)
Mayon (but don't really like the meaning of the name) (The Black God)

Avani (for girls name) (King of the earth)
Bala (beginning part of my ending name in fact) (A young girl, also can mean just young, as in my indian name Bala Dyami, which means Young Eagle)
Chandra (moon)
Ira (Watchful)
Jayne (Victorious)
Sonia (golden)

[Xanadu]

These are all fine names, but none of them are actually Cherokee nor do they look or sound it, though the correct meanings are usually listed. Ira is a Hebrew name that means "watchful." Jayant, Kavi, Bala, and Chandra are all Hindi (that is, Indian-from-India and not native american) names that mean what you have them listed as; Avani is also a Hindi name that means just "earth." Ashwin is also Hindi; it is the name of a month in their calender and is used frequently as a given name.

Chane turns up no results on google as the name of a Cherokee god, a search for "jayce cherokee" turns up many baby name sites which say that it is "Cherokee" but don't have any references or explanation; given that Jay is a common element in Hindi names, I believe there is probably more Native American / Indian confusion here. I do not think Jayce has much history of use anywhere except in English speaking countries as a short form or feminine form of Jason. There is probably similar confusion with Jayne, but "jayne cherokee" doesn't show any results calling it a Cherokee name. Sonia has a long history of use in the Western world as a Russian pet name of Sophia, which means "wisdom" and not "golden"; I'm not sure where the interpretation of it as a native american name meaning golden comes from; even on babynamesworld.com, it's listed as "greek" and meaning "wisdom."

As a matter of fact, babynamesworld doesn't list any of these as native american. Perhaps they've updated their information since you've made your list?

http://www.bchealth.com/services/birthcenter/nativeambabynames.shtml : I don't know how reliable this site is, but for the most part the names look like most native american names look. Maybe you will find something you like there?

[Channelle]

In the traditional Native American, including Cherokee, a name of an ancestor is often chosen for a child to honor that person, or it is chosen with the help of tribal religious leader, but it is never chosen just because one likes the sound of it. So basically, you'd be honoring your heritage tons more by just using your mother/father/grandmother/grandfather's name, rather than some random name you saw on an internet site that has no real connection to you. But you, having an Native American name (by the way it's not an "Indian" name, its a Native American name, if you actually had a Native American name, you'd know that the word Indian is very disrespectful), should already know this!! You were given this name in a ceremony led by the religious leader, right?

None of the names you listed are even Native American. An online source is a really bad place to get inspiration, they just make up information and pass down wrong information from other websites. Also using a name from another tribe then your own is considered very inappropriate and disrespecting.

"If you want a traditional Native American name, you will need to speak to an elder or religious leader in the tribal community you are associated with. " You can find a tribe in your area, almost assuredly, you just have to google for it. Then you can request a meeting with the leader or elder to talk to you about names.

"Every Native American tribe has slightly different naming traditions. In most cases, a true name is not given until after a baby is born, not until the child reaches puberty in some cases. In other tribes babies must be given names from their parents' own family or clan. Traditional Native American names are often spiritually divined, unique to each individual, and/or related to an accomplishment, rite of passage, dream, or life event. Obviously, this is not something you are going to be able to replicate online, in a baby book, or from strangers. There is no way to get a traditional Native American name other than from an older family member, tribal religious leader, or an elder who has met you and probably your child in person.

However, if you are looking for an everyday American-style baby name inspired by your Native American heritage, you do have two simpler options available to you:

1) Use a Native American variant of a Hebrew or Christian name, for example, Kateri (Catherine) or Atian (Stephen). This is the Native American equivalent of Spanish names like Catalina (Catherine) and Esteban (Stephen).

2) Use or adapt a word from a Native American language. This is the Native American equivalent of Irish names like Colleen or Shannon (neither of which is traditional as a person's name, but they are inspired by Irish Gaelic words).

Native American-inspired names such as these are not traditional ones, nor will they be truly unique to your child (any more than Colleen or Catalina would be), but they may be interesting or attractive to you, and they may help your child make a pleasing connection with your heritage."

Here-this website could explain it all better than I could...

http://www.native-languages.org/baby.htm
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http://chanara.wordpress.com/

[armydad3_8]

By the meanings and the names I had up I was going by what babynameworld (not babynamesworld) had. No wasn't given the name in a ceremony by a religious leader, it was given to me by my uncle (a full blooded Cherokee)

[Saoirse]

I was going to link the very same page that Channelle did. (Oddly enough, it was in my bookmarks, but not as a name thing. I am only an amateur name nerd. It is just kind of a side effect of being a lingweenie... er... language nerd.)
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Saoirse or Mia, or whatever.