Name that is also a racial slur- keep it or change?

So I recently wrote down the first few pages of an idea I had just on impulse. In it, the main character is Black and has been raised by a poor White couple under the name "Kráka." The problem is that Kráka is Icelandic and Faroese for crow, which I had a sneaking suspicion was a racial slur. This suspicion was confirmed with a few minutes of Googling. It especially refers to Black women. Now the thing is, the name Kráka comes from the original legend of Ragnar Lodbrok, and the original Aslaug was not Black. However this version of her is Black, and so I'm genuinely feeling uneasy about it. How common is "crow" as a slur anyway?

edited 30th May '13 12:44:06 AM by MorwenEdhelwen

well, Lovecraft had a cat named 'n****r' in one of his short stories, but then again he was a raging racist. I would probably only name your character that if raised by racist white adoptive parents or something, using the character as a slave, so it's intentionally racist.

Well in English, Jim Crow laws were laws that prevented black people from having all their rights. However I don't think most English speaking audiences would know what "Kraka" means.

How racist was naming a pet that back then? I mean a lot of people have pets named blackie or oreo and they don't really think anything of it.

edited 30th May '13 2:46:42 AM by ohsointocats

That's actually a good point and pretty much what will happen. (They give it to her because it was the name of the foster mother's mother.) In the original saga, Aslaug is made to do "all the worst work."

but to Americans/Canadians, even if they are unaware of the Icelandic definition, "Kraka" could be read like "Cracker" (referring to the verb of cracking a whip) to someone unaware on how to pronounce it properly.

For international tropers out there, let me explain. "Cracker" is a slur used in North America (it might also be used in other regions, but I'm unaware of it.) by blacks against white people and especially against racist whites.

That will add a layer of meaning you may or may not have intended; this Kraka family is white in a story with obvious racial themes and from your description they sound like they are indeed racist. IE: The Kraka family is actually made of Crackers.

edited 30th May '13 7:42:34 AM by SalmonPunch

I just had a mental image of a family made up entirely of saltines. And now it won't go away.

Any story in which a white couple adopt a black child will have racial overtones, no matter what name you use. You might as well make those overtones a part of the story. Why did you make her black in the first place? Is it an integral part of the story?

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who thought Cracker.

Anyway, to address the actual topic.

I'm not sure how that would be received. To most English audiences, it would probably fly over heads, but if it bothers you then you could change things.

@demarquis: Aslaug's black because Sigurd and Brynhild were Black.

And actually the foster parents change the girl's first name from Aslaug to Kraka. Her surname (biologically) would be Volsung. Kraka is (I think) pronounced KRAH-Ka rather than like cracker.

edited 30th May '13 4:16:26 PM by MorwenEdhelwen