# 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:** 9\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/241 "2013-01-21T00:58:11Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > How did the person pronounce it if not “Katrina”? “Kat-ri-owna”? Catriona Le May Doan is a famous Canadian speed skater. (She’s won several Olympic medals.). I’ve never heard her name pronounced any way other than “Kat-ri-owna”. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/242 "2013-01-21T01:22:44Z")
Is there any truth to the story that Billie Thomas, who played Buckwheat in the “Our Gang” series, converted to Islam, and changed his name to Akreem Dewheet? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/243 "2013-01-21T02:06:42Z")
I agree with **WhyNot** that her daughter’s name is obviously pronounced the same as if it were spelled “Kaylee.” “Leigh” is always “lee” and “Cai” can only be either “kay” or “kye”, and “kye,” the phonetic pronunciation, doesn’t make sense with Leigh, which is not phonetically pronounced. Plus, it’s a not uncommon spelling variation. It’s things like this where I think people overstate how haphazard English spelling/pronunciation is. There is a logic to most words, and you probably know most of the exceptions. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/244 "2013-01-21T02:22:55Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > If you’ve read that column then you know there’s nothing nonsensical about that. It came about though a standard English process of nickname formation. I did read it, and I think it’s a particularly useless column. “Because it rhymes” isn’t a reason. Firstly, “Meg” isn’t even intuitive from “Margaret”, so let’s just start there. And then, why not Teg or Deg or Neg or Keg? I mean, I don’t think there’s any better reason than, “It just is”, but if there is a better reason, it’s not in that column. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/245 "2013-01-21T02:30:35Z")
> [@Dublin11](#): > > Yet apparently this Riona’s name is pronounced Ren; rhyming with when or Ben or hen. > > Don’t ask me why. Not got the first idea. I’ve explained this before: Gaelic was first written down by people who had only the vaguest idea how letters sounded and how they were used.\* As a result, when I call the UK and see a name spelled “E-some random string of vowels-N-with maybe another E on the end” I have to check his address to know if it’s Ian or Ewen. If I can’t guess how the town or street is pronounced I call him “Ewen” because he’s probably Welsh. - - This is my personal theory so my post is my cite. ---
**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 21, 2013, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/246 "2013-01-21T03:36:41Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > I did read it, and I think it’s a particularly useless column. “Because it rhymes” isn’t a reason. Firstly, “Meg” isn’t even intuitive from “Margaret”, so let’s just start there. And then, why not Teg or Deg or Neg or Keg? > > I mean, I don’t think there’s any better reason than, “It just is”, but if there is a better reason, it’s not in that column. “Because it rhymes” IS a reason because rhyming was a way that nicknames were traditionally formed in English. Think about some of the most common English diminutives Bob, Hob, Dob, Dick, Bill, Hodge, Ted, Ned. And there’s a perfectly good reason that Peg and not Teg etc. … Because no one liked it enough to use it … And that’s basically true for any name that any human being has ever had. And who said that being intuitive had anything to do with it? It was a slow process of change that les from Margaret to Marge to Mag to Meg. That’s the way all human language works. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/247 "2013-02-25T22:44:45Z")
At first the name Quvenzhané made me roll my eyes, but after last night I’ve changed my mind. > [@warsan](#): > > give your daughters difficult names. give your daughters names that command the full use of tongue. my name makes you want to tell me the truth. **my name doesn’t allow me to trust anyone that cannot pronounce it right.** Bolding mine. Mother-lovin truth. A love letter to Quvenzhané Wallis - > **[A Love Letter to Quvenzhané Wallis](https://www.crunkfeministcollective.com/2013/02/24/a-love-letter-to-quvenzhane-wallis/)** > > give your daughters difficult names. give your daughters names that command the full use of tongue. my name makes you want to tell me the truth. my name doesn’t allow me to trust anyone that cannot… ---
**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:** [February 25, 2013, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/248 "2013-02-25T23:22:18Z")
I heard she was a cunt. I’m guessing with that name she thinks she a special snowflake or whatever and goes all Diva on her coworkers who just want to make a movie. ---
**Author:** ![Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunzio_Tavulari)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/249 "2013-02-26T05:16:44Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > My daughter’s name is Caileigh. Is she [funky](http://www.asklyrics.com/display/black-47/funky-ceili-kaylee-bridies-song-lyrics.htm)? I’ve seen the word written several different ways. Yours is probably the easiest for an American to grasp quickly. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948.md?page=12)