I have a character who can control shadows and I was looking through names that meant 'dark' or 'shadow'. I found two that I really like (Chaaya and Sauda) but they are Hebrew and Arabic. If I choose one of these names, should I make sure she's from the respective culture? I don't know much about either one so I might need to choose a different name or learn a lot about the culture she's part of, as she's an important character.
Ok, so I think most or some of the Hebrew culture is based off of christianity, so if your christian, that shouldn't really be a problem, and if your using Hebrew, then you should atleast have some of the culture
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Usually, it's not considered okay to give foreign names to a character not from the respective culture, because then it seems like you're trying to go the "exotic" route. It's just not a good way to go. Now as @I'mWithYouUntilTheEndOfTheLine said, lots of Hebrew names are also considered "biblical." I'm white and have a Hebrew name, for example, but it's the name of someone in the bible. As for the name you have there, it's not anything I'm familiar with, or that I think anyone would automatically trace back to the bible if it's even in there (sorry, haven't read it, and even if I had, there are too many people to remember.) So I guess what I'm saying is that Hebrew name does not equal biblical/christian name, and in a case such as yours, the character should be Hebrew too, should you choose that name. However, I would not suggest building a character and choosing their culture based off of a name you like, not that you're doing that, but just be mindful. If you end up needing more help searching for names, though, I could certainly help.
The thing is that a character's parents generally are the ones giving them their name. I would imagine that this girl's parents didn't know their newborn daughter had shadow abilities, so they're unlikely to choose a name based entirely on that. Are there names from the character's current culture that also fit the meaning you want?
As for Hebrew names, many that are in the English translation of the Bible have already been anglicised and would probably not look 'quite right' to someone who only spoke Hebrew (and the pronunciation is totally off). Joshua is the English form for example, and the same name is Josué in French and (I think) Yeshua in Hebrew.
Okay, thank you. The parents are likely to know that she can control shadows, as the Shadow Weaver gene is hereditary, so there is the chance that they would name her after shadows. I'll look into more names and the cultures before deciding. Thank you!