What’s in a name? For blacks, a job

MSNBC ^ | 28 Sep 03 | Justin Pope

[annyokie]

I hope so. I wasn't making a thing.

[Texas Eagle]

LOL! Thanks for proving my point. I said you ALMOST NEVER see a black man with a "Jr." after his name and you had to go back almost 40 years to come up with one.

[Joe 6-pack]

This looks like a job for the Louis Farrakhan African Name Generator.

Throw away your white man's name. Call me: Shuakhwe

[Katya]

I think this is more an issue of perceived class distinctions. The "black" sounding names tend to be stereotyped as ghetto sounding.
I'd venture to say that someone of the pale skin persuasion, named Billy Bob or Bobby Sue, is more likely to get hired at Costco than Nieman Marcus.

[Texas Eagle]

I think most of those black names are a compilation of all the possible fathers' names. Deandrelliam. Antwaynio. Stephantjamesio. Markdaviward.

[CatoRenasci]

Actually, the use of names which are traditionally surnames (e.g. Madison, McKenzie, Sidney) as middle names, and even as Christian names, is not at all uncommon among old stock WASPs, especially in the South, but also in England. Simlarly hyphenated names are seen in England and among some of the European aristocracies going back to the middle ages. My very Southern grandmother born in 1871 had "Henry" as her middle name, and her sisters all had middle names which were surnames of various ancestors. One of my great-great-great grandmothers (wife of a Revolutionary War veteran) had "Henry" as her Christain name.

I realize it has become a fad, which might be annoying, but at least in 1/3 of the cases I'm personally familiar with, the surname used as a girl's Christian name or middle name has family geneological significance.

[Hoosier-Daddy]

What about Syphyllis or Klamydia? Or Lysterine?

[South40]

My name translated to "Buckwheat".

Rather fitting as I am black.

[Agnes Heep]

Most of these supposedly black names are made up out of thin air anyway. They certainly aren't real African names. Can anyone recite a real African name, anyway? Kunta Kinte is about the only one I can think of off the top of my head.

Typical African names are Robert, John and Thomas.

[Hoosier-Daddy]

Buckwheat was cool.

[PennsylvaniaMom]

Shuakhwe...I'm Kwennoir. And I like it...

[South40]

[Salman]

In fact, most African Americans have ordinary English names.

[Joe 6-pack]

That's Saddam's 3rd son...Otay Hussein.

[annyokie]

If one is of Southern Ancestry, this is fine. However it is now an affectation to give one's children a surname as a first name that has nothing to do with one's family.

Thus my gripe about my nephew/neice Taylor, nephew Hunter, nephews Colby and Cooper. WTF?

Additionally nephew Mason Kale (what's with the food thing? cheese and veggies?) especially since the "Christian name" is Koop.

[Henrietta]

"Most of these supposedly black names are made up out of thin air anyway. They certainly aren't real African names. "

Exactly. They're just names that mom and (sometimes) dad made up to "sound" black, whatever that means. Really, they're just stupid names picked by people who don't want to fit into the American culture. You're right; I probably wouldn't want to hire the offspring of people who don't want to fit into the American way of life.

I heard once (although I don't know if it's true) that one woman in a big city (welfare mom) named her girl Gonnorhea (pronounced "Gone-a-or-ia" because she liked the spelling!

I do know for sure though that the black ruffian that lives next door to my sister is named Courvoisier. I kid you not.

[South40]

My name is Lawrence. I have brothers named Patrick, Gary, John, Neal and Maurice.


Pretty ordinary, I guess.

[radiohead]

hey cyborg -

You're absolutely right on this one. Nothing dooms a child to a life of struggle and the greater possibility of failure than being the child of an unwed parent - especially where the parent apparently makes a lifestyle choice out of bearing illegitimate children.

I'm not interested in the exceptions. There are far too many instances that fit the rule.

radiohead

[radiohead]

oh lord! call me cinque. there'll be blacks getting rid of their slave names all over the country before i'm thru emailing tonite. : )

[Hoosier-Daddy]

Is Scout in there anywhere?