# Name Discrimination: Who thinks this is OK? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 2, 2008, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-discrimination-who-thinks-this-is-ok/436001 "2008-02-02T18:28:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-discrimination-who-thinks-this-is-ok/436001/81 "2008-02-03T17:48:32Z")
I find many of the “made up” names extremely musical and attractive. I’m not a big fan of apostrophes in names, but that’s my hang up. I do get annoyed at cutesy spellings, substituting Y for I, or AY for A, but that doesn’t ever strike me as a racial thing. A guy at my workplace has two kids and both of them have “white” names with absurd spellings. It makes sense, though, since the guy’s wife is named “Windie.” ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-discrimination-who-thinks-this-is-ok/436001/82 "2008-02-03T18:04:08Z")
[QUOTE=monstro] I actually think that the reason a name like “Quanda” sounds ridiculous to certain people is because they don’t know anyone named this. Or maybe they do know someone, but they didn’t like that person, and so therefore in their minds, the name must be “bad”. I know someone who’s pretty nice and normal with that name, so it doesn’t seem like a bad one to me. Why Quanda is any more ridiculous than Rhonda or Wanda is something I’d like to know. Does the “Qua” somehow adulterate the word? [/quote] I think part of it is familiarity. If people heard the name Quanda as often as John, it wouldn’t be an issue. To take your example, I’ve known someone named Quan since I was a child. The name still seems odd to me, probably because you don’t hear “Qua” names that often around here. Shouldn’t we be pleased when Cody or Detrell goes to college, then attempts to find lawful employment? Is this some sort of modern day equivalent to punishing people who are getting too uppity and trying to rise above their station in life? (Obviously, that isn’t going on in every case, but I wonder how much that element plays in this issue.) ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-discrimination-who-thinks-this-is-ok/436001/83 "2008-02-03T18:13:23Z")
[QUOTE=monstro] (Who knew that “Makala” was a lower-class name? Guess you learn something new everyday.) [/QUOTE] “Makala” is a perfectly fine Hawaiian name, with a consistent Romanization and its own etymology and history. All it would convey about the hypothetical applicant’s family is that they respect their heritage. “Mackayla” communicates the opposite - that the applicant’s progenitors either lack the ability to spell “Michaela,” or that they have no respect for the name’s history and meaning, and treat it as though it were no more than a sound on the air. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-discrimination-who-thinks-this-is-ok/436001/84 "2008-02-03T18:21:34Z")
Nothing like having a few sins of our fathers visited upon us. My parents were dirt poor when I was born, but Catholic so I got a saint’s name. Obviously, their faith also made them more successful later in life. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-discrimination-who-thinks-this-is-ok/436001/85 "2008-02-03T18:22:09Z")
[QUOTE=Omega Glory] I think part of it is familiarity. If people heard the name Quanda as often as John, it wouldn’t be an issue. To take your example, I’ve known someone named Quan since I was a child. The name still seems odd to me, probably because you don’t hear “Qua” names that often around here. [/quote] I’m betting if a person met an Asian guy named Quan, they wouldn’t dare think “What a horrible, ridiculous name!” And they wouldn’t blame him or his parents if his resume was tossed in the garbage. They’d say, “What a racist world we live in. Poor Quan.” But if they met a black guy named Quan, suddenly it becomes a different situation. > [@Omega Glory](#): > > Shouldn’t we be pleased when Cody or Detrell goes to college, then attempts to find lawful employment? Is this some sort of modern day equivalent to punishing people who are getting too uppity and trying to rise above their station in life? (Obviously, that isn’t going on in every case, but I wonder how much that element plays in this issue.) I don’t know, but some of the sentiments expressed here are bothering me. It seems to me that people would be _glad_ that black people have adopted many European names and made them popular in their community. The fact that these names aren’t found in the Top 1000 list seems to irk a lot of people. I don’t think I’ll really understand that. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-discrimination-who-thinks-this-is-ok/436001/86 "2008-02-03T18:40:14Z")
[QUOTE=Larry Mudd] “Makala” is a perfectly fine Hawaiian name, with a consistent Romanization and its own etymology and history. All it would convey about the hypothetical applicant’s family is that they respect their heritage. “Mackayla” communicates the opposite - that the applicant’s progenitors either lack the ability to spell “Michaela,” or that they have no respect for the name’s history and meaning, and treat it as though it were no more than a sound on the air. [/QUOTE] Or maybe they care more about it being phonetic than looking “correct”. Or are you are fan of Gwenhwyfar? It seems people can’t win. If they give their child a nonphonetic name (like Leticia or the variant pronunciation of “Deborah”), they have to endure a lifetime of correcting people. If they spell the name phonetically, so that it is pronounced and spelled correctly most of the time, they are accused of not knowing the history and meaning of the name. Caring about the history and meaning of the name is not a universal trait. People often choose names based on ancestors (your father’s name is Mustafa, as was his father’s, and so shall you be). Some people choose names simply because they are mainstream and safe (you can’t go wrong with “John”!) And others choose names because they like the way the name sounds “on the air”. Why should people esteem your naming tradition over anyone else’s? ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-discrimination-who-thinks-this-is-ok/436001/87 "2008-02-03T18:55:53Z")
[QUOTE=monstro] I’m betting if a person met an Asian guy named Quan, they wouldn’t dare think “What a horrible, ridiculous name!” And they wouldn’t blame him or his parents if his resume was tossed in the garbage. They’d say, “What a racist world we live in. Poor Quan.” But if they met a black guy named Quan, suddenly it becomes a different situation. [/quote] I don’t know if this is supposed to be directed at me, since I said Quan sounds odd to me, but I’m in favor of interviewing both Quans. > [@](#): > > I don’t know, but some of the sentiments expressed here are bothering me. It seems to me that people would be _glad_ that black people have adopted many European names and made them popular in their community. The fact that these names aren’t found in the Top 1000 list seems to irk a lot of people. I don’t think I’ll really understand that. If most people who’d toss Roshanda’s resume and keep Rochelle’s resume, wouldn’t also toss Rochelle’s resume after they got to Rebecca’s, I’d be very surprised. Saying that you’re trying to keep the “trash” out is more acceptable in 2008 than saying you’re trying to keep \_\_\_ race out. If the majority of the black people’s resumes happen to get thrown out, well that’s just unfortunate, but wasn’t intentional. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-discrimination-who-thinks-this-is-ok/436001/88 "2008-02-03T19:05:44Z")
[QUOTE=Omega Glory] I don’t know if this is supposed to be directed at me, since I said Quan sounds odd to me, but I’m in favor of interviewing both Quans. [/quote] Oh, I know. I’m just ventin’. 😉 > [@](#): > > If most people who’d toss Roshanda’s resume and keep Rochelle’s resume, wouldn’t also toss Rochelle’s resume after they got to Rebecca’s, I’d be very surprised. Saying that you’re trying to keep the “trash” out is more acceptable in 2008 than saying you’re trying to keep \_\_\_ race out. If the majority of the black people’s resumes happen to get thrown out, well that’s just unfortunate, but wasn’t intentional. :rolleyes: To balance it out, I think there should be businesses that reject applicants who have names on the Top 100 list. What’s their crime? Having parents who are too trendy and uncreative. I mean, what kind of worker would a “John Smith” be? No good, that’s what. ---
**Author:** ![Waenara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@Waenara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waenara)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-discrimination-who-thinks-this-is-ok/436001/89 "2008-02-03T20:44:43Z")
[QUOTE=Nzinga, Seated] I wish some people would give us _time_ to have our names become traditional. Some of the made up names are made up because as a young culture, (black Americans descended from slaves), we don’t know what our ancestors’ name are! We really were stripped of our identities, and we kinda had to start fresh. 1000 years from now, Keisha will be a proper traditional name. [/QUOTE] I’m sure that Keisha will be considered a normal name in far less than 1,000 years, but it’s difficult for the truly unique recently “made up” names to become traditional if they’re not just uncommon, but actually one-of-a-kind. Someone linked to [this article](http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Story?id=2463266&page=1) in the other thread about black names, > [@](#): > > “Thirty percent of black baby girls in a given year in California have a name that no one else has,” said Roland Fryer, an economist and assistant professor at Harvard University, who has taken a special interest in uniquely black names. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-discrimination-who-thinks-this-is-ok/436001/90 "2008-02-03T20:58:15Z")
Sorry, meant to post under **burundi** ---
**Author:** ![burundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@burundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burundi)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-discrimination-who-thinks-this-is-ok/436001/91 "2008-02-03T21:00:39Z")
> [@](#): > > **Originally Posted by Omega Glory** > \*Can you give some examples of middle class black names? I can’t think of any name that would make me think “black, but middle class” instead of just “black.” \* Some names that connote “middle class black” to me: Anita, Antoinette, Denise, Jacqueline, Jocelyn, Monica, Monique, Rachelle, Sherilyn, Tasha, Tonya, Yvette, Yvonne. For younger girls, Kaila and Jasmine. Obviously, there are plenty of white women with these names, too, but, in my experience, Denise is a lot more likely to be African-American than Allison or Julie. A white woman I know named Sharon Johnson used to work for WIC. She said that over the phone, black clients would often assume that she was also black, based on her name. Sharon Johnson doesn’t seem particularly African-American to me, but she said it happened fairly often. It’s harder for me to think of male names that seem both black and middle class, but Julian, Jerome, and Xavier all spring to mind. ---
**Author:** ![burundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@burundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burundi)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-discrimination-who-thinks-this-is-ok/436001/92 "2008-02-03T21:10:32Z")
In a more general vein, I work at a big fat hippie college, so it’s not uncommon for me to encounter students with names like Sage or Rain. One poor girl I knew was named Galadriel Guinevere. (She went by Wendy.) It’s not fair on my part, but I have to make a conscious effort not to assume that these students are more disorganized or have lower GPAs than students named Claire or Thomas. ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-discrimination-who-thinks-this-is-ok/436001/93 "2008-02-03T22:21:58Z")
Now I want to have a kid and name her Demonica. Thanks, Monstro. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-discrimination-who-thinks-this-is-ok/436001/94 "2008-02-03T23:10:32Z")
[QUOTE=Larry Mudd] What’s a grown man legally named “Ajay” going to do with his life? [/quote] :dubious: :dubious: :dubious: :dubious: :dubious: :dubious: :dubious: :dubious: :dubious: :dubious: :dubious: There are a lot of people named “Ajay” who have done rather well for themselves. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-discrimination-who-thinks-this-is-ok/436001/95 "2008-02-03T23:12:37Z")
[QUOTE=monstro] I mean, what kind of worker would a “John Smith” be? No good, that’s what. [/QUOTE] It’s not quite to John Smith, but I’m a Julie Carter. Hearing my name puts people in a coma. Kinda not the greatest worker, either. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-discrimination-who-thinks-this-is-ok/436001/96 "2008-02-03T23:16:17Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > What’s a grown man legally named “Ajay” going to do with his life? Seems to me you’re perpetuating a self-fulfilling prophesy. If you and everyone else reject the “Ajays” in your resume pile, they remain unemployed and confirm to the world that they just aren’t any good. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-discrimination-who-thinks-this-is-ok/436001/97 "2008-02-03T23:18:02Z")
[QUOTE=monstro] Seems to me you’re perpetuating a self-fulfilling prophesy. If you and everyone else reject the “Ajays” in your resume pile, they remain unemployed and confirm to the world that they just aren’t any good. [/QUOTE] > [@jsgoddess](#): > > It’s not quite to John Smith, but I’m a Julie Carter. I dunno. Julie Carter sounds like a thug gangsta name to me. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-discrimination-who-thinks-this-is-ok/436001/98 "2008-02-03T23:48:30Z")
[QUOTE=Gala Matrix Fire] Now I want to have a kid and name her Demonica. Thanks, Monstro. [/QUOTE] I’m a fan of two wonderful old fashioned, historic names you cannot possibly name a child and expect them to survive third grade, Dalmatia and Dorcas. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2008, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-discrimination-who-thinks-this-is-ok/436001/99 "2008-02-04T00:42:17Z")
[QUOTE=Gala Matrix Fire] Now I want to have a kid and name her Demonica. Thanks, Monstro. [/QUOTE] It is a real name. I’ve personally known two, ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2008, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-discrimination-who-thinks-this-is-ok/436001/100 "2008-02-04T00:46:22Z")
[QUOTE=monstro] I know a 3rd and he’s a nice guy. Why wouldn’t he be? I also know a lot of “juniors”. It’s irrational to assume they would be any different than anyone else. [/QUOTE] My father’s a 3rd and had I been born male, I would have been the 4th. (Thank god I wasn’t!) My father isn’t stuffy, nor does he have a sense of entitlement. I work with a 3rd. He has multiple piercings and plays base for a death metal band. Hardly the stuffy rich kid type. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-discrimination-who-thinks-this-is-ok/436001.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-discrimination-who-thinks-this-is-ok/436001.md?page=6)