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How many Black parents today are naming their children ACTUAL African names ? "Sharniqua'a Tahwumikaa" isn't an African name, it's a nonsense name. This has been an appalling trend since the 1960s and only condemns most of their children to a permanent position on the lowest rung of the socioeconomic scale. How bad is it when one reads an article about a criminal and because of the name, we instantly know their race ? I contend even naming these children as such is racist, and divisive... cultural apartheid.

By using the Kunta Kinte/Toby analogy, you've completely misunderstood and misrepresented what I've said. Nevermind that was a fictitious character to begin with, you're implying that by replacing a nonsense name (that has absolutely nothing to do with African heritage) with a mainstream name, that it equates to slavery. The whole point is to LIFT them out of the bondage that having such names keeps them in.

BTW, there is a "White" equivalent of that nonsense, with the children of hippies given such absurd names and amongst some today to go on bizarre orthographic expeditions on mainstream names (with the overdose of "e"'s "i's" and "y's").

They have done studies in America that show that if there are two equally qualified black applicants for a job, and one is named something like "Dayqyan Mfundo" and the other is named "Mike Jones", then "Mike Jones" is something like 5X more likely to get the job. Giving American born kids idiotic "exotic" names tends to hurt their chances of success and alienates them from mainstream society.

People will scream "racism!" if you crictize black people for doing it, but Field is right that I've seen the trend of ridiculous sounding names very common among white and hispanic Americans since the 1960s too. Some examples of idiotic names that rich white celebrities have given their kids include Pilot Inspektor, Fifi Trixibelle, Sage Moonblood, Memphis Eve, Blue Angel, Audio Science, Moxie Crimefighter, and Bronx Mowgli. Some of the American born hispanic names I've heard include Iker, Jerónimo, Jesús Concepción, Eustaquio, Casimiro, Melquaiades, Crisostromo, Rutilio, Humberto, Aniceto, and Luz (spanish for "light"). And examples of crazy black names include Aaja, Acacia, Ajeenah ,DaQuan, Diezel, Placenta, Lemonjello, Timphanie, Tryphenia, Tywana, Tzaddi and Tzavvi.

Notice I don't include "unusual" names, such as Claribell and Francis (for a guy). Those names are no longer common but I've met people with those names and they're actual legitimate names.

The problem is black people giving their kids faux "African" names they made up themselves, white people naming their kids after cutie objects and things that are not suitable human names, and hispanics giving their kids faux "spanish-sounding" and/or religious blasphemous names. Any of these is going to ostracize the kid in society, IMO.

I've been joking for years that since only Asians consistently give American born children "normal" names (John, Kimberly, Eddie, David, Jane, Molly, etc.), we should appoint a blue ribbon panel of asians to review baby names in this country and fine anyone $200 who gives their kid a retarded name. It sounds a bit fascist but this trend of Mackenzie's and Mackayla's (I know at least 3 women who gave their child that name, including my cousin) has got to stop. I even know a guy who named his newborn son "Rex". That should be a dog's name, not a person.

I was shocked when I learned that Iceland required the government to approve what can name your kid. Reminds me of an episode of that show “Dinosaurs” where a government official outright chose the name for the parents.

On one hand there are a LOT of stupid names I’d like to change. Though it flies in face of freedom my authoritarian side wouldn’t mind a panel that could veto ‘tarded names.

But actually requiring that your name be on a pre-approved list goes too far even for my authoritarian side. I fully support Blaer in her quest against this nonsense, her name is an Icelandic word so it doesn’t have any letters not in their alphabet.