# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/141 "2013-01-14T20:03:32Z")
nm, read it wrong… ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/142 "2013-01-14T20:11:04Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > More on Wisconsin demographics[:](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisconsin#Demographics) > > "African Americans came to Milwaukee, especially from 1940 on. Menominee County is the only county in the eastern United States with an American Indian majority. > > 86% of Wisconsin’s African-American population live in four cities: Milwaukee, Racine, Beloit, Kenosha, with Milwaukee home to nearly three-fourths of the state’s black Americans. In the Great Lakes region, only Detroit and Cleveland have a higher percentage of African-American residents." > > Chenequa is less than 30 miles from central Milwaukee. So if I ask someone named Shaniqua where the name comes from I’m going to hear “white pine”? ---
**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 14, 2013, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/143 "2013-01-14T20:18:28Z")
You’ll probably hear “It’s a fairly common name, and my parents liked it.” If you asked a girl named Mallory where her name came from, she’d probably respond, “It’s a fairly common name, and my parents liked it.” But I dunno, she might say, “Well it means ill-fated, or unlucky. Why?” I’m not sure what your point is. Shaniqua has been a common name since forever, and some people know its origin, and some don’t. You know, like every name there is. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/144 "2013-01-14T20:23:38Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > You’ll probably hear “It’s a fairly common name, and my parents liked it.” If you asked a girl named Mallory where her name came from, she’d probably respond, “It’s a fairly common name, and my parents liked it.” But I dunno, she might say, “Well it means ill-fated, or unlucky. Why?” > > I’m not sure what your point is. Shaniqua has been a common name since forever, and some people know its origin, and some don’t. You know, like every name there is. Well done. 🙂 Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/145 "2013-01-14T21:03:46Z")
I’ve always been taught that Shaniqua is a “qu” derivative of Shakina, which is a Bantu name meaning “young person from the wilderness”. I’ve never heard of it being a creative respelling of Chenequa. An example would be Chief Shanika of the Ovandgajera Tribe, recorded in a Colonial report to the British House of Commons in 1918: > **[Parliamentary Papers](https://books.google.com/books?id=BuEOAQAAIAAJ&lpg=RA1-PA142&ots=8Kgw910TY3&dq=shanika%20Ovangandjera&pg=RA1-PA142#v=onepage&q=shanika%20Ovangandjera&f=false)** ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/146 "2013-01-14T21:10:59Z")
To quote Bruce Willis in _Pulp Fiction_, “I’m American. Our names don’t mean shit.” ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/147 "2013-01-14T21:27:41Z")
> [@Dorjan](#): > > Shakina > > Chief Shanika You spelled that two different ways. Which is it? ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/148 "2013-01-14T21:32:07Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > I’m not sure what your point is. Shaniqua has been a common name since forever, and some people know its origin, and some don’t. You know, like every name there is. We have the internet now. Is there really anyone on Earth who hasn’t looked up the origin of their name? ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/149 "2013-01-14T21:36:42Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > You spelled that two different ways. Which is it? Shanika. Shakina is a typo :smack: ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/150 "2013-01-14T21:45:30Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > To quote Bruce Willis in _Pulp Fiction_, “I’m American. Our names don’t mean shit.” LOL, for truth. I have an extremely unusual first name. Not made up, just not at all common, and to this day I have to carefully spell it out for people. Usually twice. I survived. 🙂 I used to have a somewhat negative view of “made up black people’s names” but mostly because I thought that giving kids very stereotypical or odd names would be a hindrance in their potential scholastic and professional lives. Besides being at times quite silly (the OP’s link was very funny as was the link to Mormon names) but on reflection, names like “Brandi” and “Dakota” and “Jayden” and other trendy names are no less silly. And yet, kids mature and persevere and become Oprah or Condaleeza or even Barkavious. So, carry on. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/151 "2013-01-14T22:10:50Z")
Poor little Weavequisha is probably SOL, though. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/152 "2013-01-14T22:26:43Z")
Welp now that I think of it, I was in a bank a couple of years ago and the teller’s name (pinned to her chest with a plastic name tag) was Vageena. Or a close spelling thereof; I don’t recall exactly but the only logical way to pronounce her name was “vah-gee-nah”. I kid you not. And yes, she was black. I remember thinking at the time, for the love of all that is holy, woman, why do you not change your name at least for professional reasons or at least tweak the spelling somehow. Maybe she was just being defiant about her given name and if so, good for her and she’s probably braver than I would ever be. But still. ---
**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/153 "2013-01-14T22:39:18Z")
There was a cashier at Kroger today with the name on her nametag of Zippy, but I assume that is a nickname? ---
**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 14, 2013, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/154 "2013-01-14T22:44:42Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > How are all names not just ‘made up’? This. My only concern about names is that they should be spelled with the letters of the alphabet from some single language and have a pronunciation that flows from the orthography of some single language (i.e., not from names of letters or figures). > [@DMark](#): > > Far more common, but still rather bizarre to me, is naming your kid Jesus or Mohamed. > I know this is often out of respect and devotion to religion, but wow - talk about lofty goals for a kid to live up to… Almost every Hindu name is the name of some god or goddess. The names of most important deities – like Vishnu, Shiva, Krishna, Ram, Durga, Lakshmi, Sarasvati, Parvati, Devi, Ganesh, Varun, etc. – are amongst the most common names. And most other names are associated with one of the gods. For example “Shankar” is “Shiva.” ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/155 "2013-01-14T23:25:07Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Let me guess- are you a fairly middle class white guy? Is it surprising that you (not “everyone”, as I don’t think you have real insight into what names “everyone” knows how to spell) are able to recognize a list of names from your culture? Is it surprising that your family member’s names would also be on a list that largely reflects your culture? > > US demographics have changed, and subcultures within the US have changed. Names common among the white middle class have stayed somewhat steady (although if you trace a lot of today’s top 100, many of them won’t turn up on yesterday’s top 1,000 list), but in other parts of America there have been different changes. > > In any case, normal =/= what Chronos’s particular family or culture tends to do. Normal is what is normal in your family and your community. Many families and communities don’t really care what WASPs are naming their kids, and have no reason to consider these names “normal” or “standard.” First of all, re-read what I wrote. I said that all of those family members were _not_ on the list of Top 1000 names, meaning that it’s quite possible for a name to be both recognizable and uncommon. Second, that’s not a list of names of middle class white people; it’s a list of names of Americans. To the extent that it’s representative of anyone’s culture, it’s a culture that most of us in this thread share, and which encompasses many different races, ethnic backgrounds, and socioeconomic statuses. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/156 "2013-01-14T23:36:22Z")
> [@April\_R](#): > > There was a cashier at Kroger today with the name on her nametag of Zippy, but I assume that is a nickname? I used to know someone named Ziggy. That was her real birth name. ---
**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:** [January 14, 2013, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/157 "2013-01-14T23:46:26Z")
I have a very common given name (Julia), use a very common nickname of that given name (Julie), and had a difficult to spell and pronounce German surname. There is no such thing as a name that will not be mocked, misspelled, mispronounced, butchered, spindled, and mutilated. I grew up in an area where “Julie” rhymes with “goalie.” It makes me cringe, but whatever. Now I live in an area where “Julie” is a bit of a trial to the native Spanish speakers. Again, whatever. Choose a name that reflects what you want to call your child for the rest of your life, and off you go. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/158 "2013-01-15T00:03:57Z")
No, choose a name that reflects what you want other people to call your child for the rest of your child’s life. Their name is the first item of their inheritance, and it’s supposed to benefit them, not you. You’ll love them whatever their name is. ---
**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:** [January 15, 2013, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/159 "2013-01-15T00:07:21Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Their name is the first item of their inheritance, and it’s supposed to benefit them, not you. That’s putting way too much importance on it, in my opinion. My name isn’t to my benefit. It’s just a word that I’m trained to respond to. ---
**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 15, 2013, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948/160 "2013-01-15T01:00:20Z")
> [@April\_R](#): > > There was a cashier at Kroger today with the name on her nametag of Zippy, but I assume that is a nickname? I know a couple who named their daughter Zipporah, and they call her Zippy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quvenzhane-and-made-up-black-peoples-names/646948.md?page=9)