# On the origin of African American naming traditions **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 23, 2009, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-origin-of-african-american-naming-traditions/511309 "2009-09-23T23:53:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-origin-of-african-american-naming-traditions/511309/41 "2009-09-28T23:00:15Z")
> [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > If I shared the name “Treemonisha,” I’m sure most people would figure it was a made-up name by a young mom, but in fact, it has a significant cultural meaning: [Treemonisha - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treemonisha) :dubious: Interesting bit of trivia but hardly a “significant cultural meaning.” I could draw just about equivalent cultural significance in naming my next two kids Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-origin-of-african-american-naming-traditions/511309/42 "2009-09-28T23:12:47Z")
> [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > If I shared the name “Treemonisha,” I’m sure most people would figure it was a made-up name by a young mom, but in fact, it has a significant cultural meaning: [Treemonisha - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treemonisha) I see different extensions used such as “isha” but it seems to hard to pass down. Effectively you can only do it once (versus Treemonisha the 2nd, 3rd etc…). ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-origin-of-african-american-naming-traditions/511309/43 "2009-09-28T23:42:56Z")
I’m just thinking over the names of Black TV news reporters… (male) Don, Dan, Tony, T.J., Wendell, Kelly, Joe, Lester (female) Christina, Lisa, Fredricka, Tamron, Harris, Dari, Lori, Sue I can’t think of a Treemonisha or Xyquavious on the air anywhere. Maybe ex-athletes doing color. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-origin-of-african-american-naming-traditions/511309/44 "2009-09-29T01:45:41Z")
The lower your socioeconomic bracket, the more likely you are to pick unique names. I believe _Freakonomics_ discusses this. A lot of so-called black names are of European orgin, just with a prefix or alternative spelling. Especially “La”. Latisha, Lawanda, Lashawn, Latanya, Latasha. All of those are based on pretty normal European names. Black people are also more likely to choose names like Darius, Marcus, Maia, Kendra and variations thereof (like LaKendra or Demarcus). Then there are names that just creative and unique. I went to school with someone named Valdesha. She’s a succeesful physician now, so I don’t think her name held her back any. Black Americans actually do choose names with real African or Arabic orgins. Like Aeisha, Monifa, Kimani, Khameela, Hakeem, or Jamal. Some names are chosen that have an Afro-Arabic flavor, like Sharita or Sharika. My experience is that parents who chose authentic African/Arabic names tend to be more middle-class and educated than parents who construct names from scratch. Names like Temika and Keisha are so common now that they are almost like the Jennifers and Elizabeths of the black American world. Sometimes it’s as simple as picking names that you often hear and reasonate with your culture. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-origin-of-african-american-naming-traditions/511309/45 "2009-09-29T01:49:13Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > :dubious: Interesting bit of trivia but hardly a “significant cultural meaning.” I could draw just about equivalent cultural significance in naming my next two kids Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer. Not sure why you’re disputing this. It was the first opera written, AFAIK, by an African American focusing on education as the salvation of the race. And if one is an Eliot fan, I’m sure those names hold meaning. The point is, someone who names their kid Treemonisha probably has an appreciation for the arts and culture, probably a little more than the one that names their kid LaQueensha. Personally, I love what Treemonisha stands for… I just don’t like the name. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-origin-of-african-american-naming-traditions/511309/46 "2009-09-29T03:34:54Z")
> [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > And if one is an Eliot fan, I’m sure those names hold meaning. Well, it’s no big thing, but if I ran across kids with those names I’d figure it’s more likely that the parents were fans of Andrew Lloyd Weber post-1982. Likewise, the play you mention seems to have been utterly obscure until the 1970s, when all these other la- and -isha names were popping up anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-origin-of-african-american-naming-traditions/511309/47 "2009-09-29T03:51:06Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > Well, it’s no big thing, but if I ran across kids with those names I’d figure it’s more likely that the parents were fans of Andrew Lloyd Weber post-1982. Likewise, the play you mention seems to have been utterly obscure until the 1970s, when all these other la- and -isha names were popping up anyway. Still don’t get what you’re driving at. Even if you’re a fan of ALW or if you only know Treemonisha (opera, not play) from a history book or its first performance in the 1970s, that’s still culture and knowledge - not inventing a name out of thin air solely because it sounds “unique.” I’m not a fan of the “creative name” craze, which it seems like you’re assuming. I just pointed out that occasionally, a name that might be assumed to be “made up” actually has a deeper meaning. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-origin-of-african-american-naming-traditions/511309/48 "2009-09-29T04:54:43Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > Well, it’s no big thing, but if I ran across kids with those names I’d figure it’s more likely that the parents were fans of Andrew Lloyd Weber post-1982. What, no love for [Mungo Jerry?](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mungo_Jerry) ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-origin-of-african-american-naming-traditions/511309/49 "2009-09-29T11:27:25Z")
> [@dracoi](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > Originally Posted by **njtt** > > I have wondered about the liking for what appear to be French articles - Le, La, De - added to the beginning of names. Is there any particular affinity between African-American and French culture? > > Sure there is, though affinity might not be the word of choice. Many African nations were former French colonies and still speak French today. New Orleans and creole/cajun cultures are a mishmash of things including black slaves and the French. Parts of the Caribbean, Mexico, the Guyanas, etc. were all French-influenced with black slaves. Well yes, but much more of Africa and the Caribbean, and, indeed, the Americas, including most of the places where African slaves were brought, were controlled by the British, or English speaking Americans. (Come to that, a lot more of the Americas, in the heyday of slavery, was controlled by the Spanish and Portugese than by the French, but to the best of my knowledge African-Americans have no particular penchant for Spanish or Portugese names.) In any case, the names I was thinking of are not really French names at all. They consist of what appear to be French articles stuck on the beginning of what are often otherwise regular Anglo names, as in LaDonna, DeCarla, LaShondra etc. (My impression is that this is more common for female names, but there do seem to be male examples, like Lebron.) I do not think names like that are common except amongst African Americans. ---
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-origin-of-african-american-naming-traditions/511309/50 "2009-09-29T12:40:08Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > Good question. Because famous people started doing it and we’re a bunch of suckers for being “just like them.” (Not me… the names I have for my kids are classics.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-origin-of-african-american-naming-traditions/511309.md?page=2)