# Quvenzhane and made up black people's names **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 12, 2013, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948 "2013-01-12T08:55:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/201 "2013-01-16T10:07:23Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > The fashion around here is for white people to give their children obscure Irish Gaelic names with pronounciations that an English-speaking person cannot possibly get correct unless they already knew the name or speak Irish Gaelic. > > Quite frankly, what the hell’s the difference between that and just making a name up? I worked with this black girl named Siobhan, pronounced, of course, Shavon. I wonder how many people snickered in ignorance at her name. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/202 "2013-01-16T16:21:44Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > I worked with this black girl named Siobhan, pronounced, of course, Shavon. I wonder how many people snickered in ignorance at her name. And I worked with this Latina girl (iirc she was Dominican but I don’t remember exactly) named Eurydice. She pronounced it Yuri-dice. And I did snicker behind her back, but not too loud because she was hot. I don’t know if anyone else there knew how it was supposed to be pronounced. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/203 "2013-01-16T16:41:43Z")
But worse than made up names or badly pronounced names is what my ex-sister in law did. She named her daughter Savannah. Which is ok on it’s own. But she made sure she told everyone she got the name from the porn star. ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/204 "2013-01-16T16:52:57Z")
My name is a non-made-up name that makes people assume that I am either black or Muslim. I am neither. Upon meeting me, people grill me at length about my background, intent to discover what they think I am hiding. When the first thing you find out about a person is that they are a racist with poor manners, it sets a negative tone. I have never been called for a job interview unless I was already known to the interviewer. My name has been an unnecessary hurdle and I cringe when I see people set their own children up with names that seem downright malicious. A friend of a friend named her daughter a word that means “weak and cowardly.” She probably still doesn’t know that it’s a word, and the child is six! Another friend thought he’d be clever and use a word in another language for his son’s name… Too bad he didn’t realize it’s already a name - a girls’ name! Google the names you consider, please! ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/205 "2013-01-16T17:14:45Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > I worked with this black girl named Siobhan, pronounced, of course, Shavon. I wonder how many people snickered in ignorance at her name. I’m friends with an Irish girl called Siobhán whose mother is Malaysian. She lives in England where the name is reasonably popular but said that occasionally people meet her and see her name written down and assume it is pronounced “Syo ban”. Obscure Irish Gaelic names are also very popular in Ireland nowadays which is a slightly more understandable trend than the Canadian one. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/206 "2013-01-16T17:20:53Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > But worse than made up names or badly pronounced names is what my ex-sister in law did. She named her daughter Savannah. Which is ok on it’s own. But she made sure she told everyone she got the name from the porn star. How long ago was this, and did your ex-sister-in-law realize that Savannah the porn star committed suicide? ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/207 "2013-01-16T17:30:53Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > I worked with this black girl named Siobhan, pronounced, of course, Shavon. I wonder how many people snickered in ignorance at her name. I went to college with a white girl named Siobhan. And we delighted in snikering in ignorance at her name. “See-obe-han, what a dumb name.” ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/208 "2013-01-16T17:42:29Z")
Yeah, I went to high school with a black girl named Siobhan. She was sure to point out the origin if someone was ever appeared confused by it, though, which I’m sure cut down on the snickering. My cousin has a name which is entirely unheard of in the States, but is commonplace in Costa Rica, where she was born, and in a lot of others countries. I’m sure a lot of people have muttered to themselves inwardly, “Another black girl with a weird name.” ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Girlfriend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.girlfriend/32/193_2.png) [@Dr.Girlfriend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Girlfriend)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/209 "2013-01-16T18:04:11Z")
My cashier at Walmart this morning was a Hispanic girl named Mari-Juana. I didn’t ask how she pronounced it. ---
**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:** [January 16, 2013, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/210 "2013-01-16T18:15:51Z")
Wouldn’t it be “Maria-Juana” ordinarily? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/211 "2013-01-16T18:17:03Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > How long ago was this, and did your ex-sister-in-law realize that Savannah the porn star committed suicide? Yep. The kid is about 16 now so the porn star was dead for just a couple years. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/212 "2013-01-16T18:23:54Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Yeah, I went to high school with a black girl named Siobhan. She was sure to point out the origin if someone was ever appeared confused by it, though, which I’m sure cut down on the snickering. My cousin has a name which is entirely unheard of in the States, but is commonplace in Costa Rica, where she was born, and in a lot of others countries. I’m sure a lot of people have muttered to themselves inwardly, “Another black girl with a weird name.” Was her name Sheriff Big-Titties Nice-Ass The Third? Because that would be totally unheard of in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/213 "2013-01-17T00:24:01Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Well, there’s “Nelson,” “Nilsson,” “Nielsen,” etc… > [@SciFiSam](#): > > Nah, that’s not a name white people would be unfamiliar with. I’m betting on Thabo, which is a cool name. I’m going with [Kwame](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwame_Nkrumah). > [@Dr.Girlfriend](#): > > My cashier at Walmart this morning was a Hispanic girl named Mari-Juana. I didn’t ask how she pronounced it. Meanwhile, you can click here for [Marijuana Pepsi](http://sports.rightpundits.com/?p=3736). ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/214 "2013-01-17T02:31:46Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > I worked with this black girl named Siobhan, pronounced, of course, Shavon. I wonder how many people snickered in ignorance at her name. I worked with a Siobhan/Shevon (white) too, and had heard her name spoken aloud many times before I’d ever heard it spelled. I assumed she was kidding. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/215 "2013-01-17T06:39:21Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > 😕 You call that an argument? I good mother-fracking one. Supposing that a made-up name follows similar phonoligical rules than others in the same community is a much greater possibility for the origin of the name than a nothern city, with a similar pronunciation, with no evidence a not even a case of the name bein used in its original spelling. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/216 "2013-01-17T06:52:16Z")
I see. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/217 "2013-01-17T08:02:28Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > The fashion around here is for white people to give their children obscure Irish Gaelic names with pronounciations that an English-speaking person cannot possibly get correct unless they already knew the name or speak Irish Gaelic. “Sean”? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/218 "2013-01-18T02:38:52Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > “Sean”? Hell, that’s too common to count. I mean stuff like “Aoibhean,” “Saorise,” “Aednat,” “Aine,” or “Niamh.” On Saturday my daughter’s invited to a play date with “Aoife.” ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/219 "2013-01-18T02:52:39Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Hell, that’s too common to count. > > I mean stuff like “Aoibhean,” “Saorise,” “Aednat,” “Aine,” or “Niamh.” On Saturday my daughter’s invited to a play date with “Aoife.” Looks someone spilled the Scrabble set. ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/220 "2013-01-18T03:00:48Z")
^ Better than calling your daughter Le-a 😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948.md?page=12)