try not to take this thread as something critical i am just trying to figure out how the change in naming started and if anyone really knows of any historical studies on this subject. and the names are somewhat anglo, but they are also from other euro nations and cultures too. also, this change in naming is relatively new so i am just trying to find information on why things changed. it's just interesting to me because a lot of the names are not stylized in a way that is african but instead they are combinations of euro names. it seems like it is pretty unique in naming history. also the names that sound like they are "made up" generally come from words of other languages or even dead languages, but as bruce willis said in pulp fiction "I'm American, honey. Our names don't mean ****."
I saw a book a while back while I was browsing baby names about naming in black culture. For the life of me, I can't remember the author or the title, so I can't help you much. The author was arguing that the perception that black names were just made up was baseless. He drew roots to the antebellum practices of naming slaves, which often used classical names instead of Christian ones -- Zeus, Hercules, etc -- and to a long practice of using French elements, and certain syllabic or pronunciation patterns from Africa that survived in American culture, like putting the stress on the last syllable, which is not uncommon in black names. He also talked about African contributions to the English vocabulary, though I can't remember what they are now.
Once I worked at a non-profit organization over the summer and there were two twin boys who were participants named Ansh'neill and Ansh'meill. Obviously it was confusing, I didn't mind either name in particular, but that just seemed cruel and unusual.
thanks for the segue. Kanye is an interesting name. Like he says alot of people still call him Kayne. I think alot of people name their kids after a round of drinks and a game of scrabble
Steve Levitt, author of Freakonomics wrote a paper that includes data on names of black and white children. He says that prior to the 60's, names of white and black children were basically the same, but since the Black Power movement, there was a radical shift. The Causes and Consequences of Distinctively Black Names (one white, one black author) Some interesting lists... The whitest and blackest girl names The whitest and blackest boy names Most popular white/black crossover names As for the actual origins of the names, I couldn't find anything about that. They are mostly invented, and I would guess they started out as a pop culture thing, and then departed from there. For instance, someone has a hit movie and suddenly there is a jump in babies named after the main character for the next year or two. That gets it going and then the hyphens get thrown in and you have a random generator for completely new names.
This thread seems the proper place to put this story: The story itself is tragic but the child's name is why I post the story. http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060424/NEWS03/604240347/1005 Oakland County Parents to sue over son's fatal fall Attorney: Southfield landlord at fault April 24, 2006 BY ZACHARY GORCHOW FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER The parents of a 16-month-old Southfield boy who tumbled out a window in his family's seventh-floor apartment and fell to his death last week say they will file a lawsuit against the apartment complex. The parents' lawyer, Arnold Reed of Farmington Hills, said in a written statement Saturday that the blame for the incident lies with the North Park Place Apartment complex, where Saviour God-Scientific Allah fell Thursday. Southfield police have concluded a preliminary investigation into the incident and ruled it an accident. No charges are expected to be brought against the boy's parents, Jennifer Holmes, 30, and Andrew Pitts, 26. Although Reed's statement said a lawsuit would be filed today, it was not immediately clear what the parents might allege. The family has not returned calls seeking comment, and the statement from Reed directed all inquiries to him. Reed could not be reached for comment on Sunday. Messages left for comment with representatives of the apartment complex also were not returned. According to Southfield police and witnesses, the boy was playing when his 7-year-old sister noticed a window screen had come loose and went to get her mother. When she left, Saviour climbed onto the windowsill, police said. His 7-year-old brother pulled him down and then left the room "to go tell on him." When the children returned, Saviour was gone. On Thursday, Patricia Anderson, vice president of property management for Bluerock Management, said she wasn't aware of any complaints about screens in the building. Police said last week there has been one other fatal fall at the apartment complex in the last two years. The 14-floor North Park Place Apartment complex complies with construction codes, according to the Southfield Building Department. Contact ZACHARY GORCHOW at 313-223-4536 or zgorchow@freepress.com. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Like I said, terrible story. But what were the parents thinking naming a child "Saviour God-Scientific Allah?"
A black girl in my high school biology class once sat at the desk making up names. She said it was easy, because she was going to write a BLACK BABY names' book... I am NOT KIDDING. I swear, she had 200 she had just made up; the ones I remember: Andreka Ankeya Alexaaya Shandrekya Shakeylia Dedreka and others... I still laugh while reading some REAL PEOPLE's names... there's this girl at the West Oaks Mall's Sears whose name is Loquita. I swear to God... her name is "Little Crazy Girl" if you read that in Spanish... Brevin Knight's name is a mix of both mother Brenda and father Kevin Knight. EDIT: I think it's absolutely DUMB.
Why is a unique, creative name DUMB while using the same old names over and over again SMART? How many people named James, John, Robert, Michael, William do we need in this world? I see nothing wrong with Brevin. Its unique, creative and sounds fine. I don't understand why people are so against coming up with new creative names and insist on using the same names over and over again.
That's not cruel or unusual. A friend of my father's is a kindergarten teacher in Florida. She had a student one year named, "****head." Swear to God. Pronounced "SHA - THEED"
I don't know... I kinda like "Brevin" like you; but, Shawnsheeka? C'mon... LeBron, OK... so-so... LeKeynyaleka, NO.
If you don't like LaQuita (or whatever) as a name, then the parents got their intended result. It is a way for blacks to differentiate themselves from the rest of the population. It is a source of pride. So the fact that many white people don't like "black" names is EXACTLY the point. So if you think the name is DUMB, then save your breath. That being said, having a black sounding name doesn't help them when they grow up and need to get a job.
My list of names (like the guy is really picking the baby name ): Boys - Samson Moses Saul David Solomon Girls - Delilah Mary Ruth Eve
That being said, trying to "differentiate" yourself from the rest of the population by giving yourself a funky name doesn't help with the racism/equality factor.
There have been studies done where false resumes with identical qualifications were sent to companies, but with different names. For instance Deshawn Williams vs Sean Williams. The results were that the "white" names had a 50% better response. From the same write-up on Freakonomics that I quoted above: There are two explanations for the hiring practices that I can think of. One is that racists won't hire black employees because they think that despite their qualifications they are not capable. The candidates with distinctively black names give the racists an quick and easy way to reject them. The other is that the names have low socio-economic connotations (which statistically they do) and are looked down upon, and you would see similar results if you tried resumes with Bud Williams vs Sean Williams. I personally think it is the second explanation since most companies large enough to have human resource departments are probably actively seeking to hire black, hispanic, asian, and female professionals.
if someone gonna be a racist or classist they gonne be that no matter the name There are alot of stupid commentary here discriminating against a person because of their name is stupid It is easy to disrespect Black names because the only thing they don't have is history why? because through out our history we didn't PICK OUR Names until . hhhmmmmm circi 1865 who picked the names before that??/ hhhmmmm why? hhhmmm Upon that time. . . black americans chose the names they knew best .. . the ones they always used NOW! they finally decide to have their own unique, personal and cultural names. . . and 'traditionalist' got an issue??? WOW! I'm so surprised the norse use to have their last names after their fathers ergo . .son of phillip . .was a phillipson son of jack . .was a jackson why is adding the mother's name and father's name such a stretch? Trust .. . if u in russia. . and you hear a russian litanny ending with Laquita u know they talking to the Black girl not the African .. not the Euro .. not the White American but the BLACK AMERICAN BTW there are plenty of funny sounding names in every culture why are black folx the most scrutinized and the most demonized? why the hatred? Rocket River
so black people should bow down and concede the the racist question why is black folx always have to bow and cower to the racist who are wrong instead of asking the racist to not be wrong? Rocket River
