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"Fahrfurnugen". I'm series. |
Posted on 03/30/2006 12:41:35 PM PST by twippo
Someone needs to sit our people down and have a healthy discussion about the names we as African Americans are giving our children. We are hurting our kids and putting their futures in peril from the moment they are born.
That’s right, I said it. We are KILLING our kids and crippling their futures with the names we give them. Don’t you want your kids to get JOBS someday? Good jobs, and serious careers? With a name like Jaquez Ja’Quan Diante’, you’re dooming your sons to a life of drug dealing on some seedy street corner.
Our Black men face enough challenges. I do not subscribe to the notion that we are giving our children names that “convey pride in their African Heritage”. We’re way off the mark. I’ve got dear friends from all over Africa, and their children have beautiful cultural names like Akos, Ama, and Fia.
Notice how neither of those names had a “quita” in it? Or an “eisha”? Or more than four syllables? That’s because even in the motherland, they don’t give their kids the crazy names that we do in Black America. Many Africans even RESENT the implication that these names stem from their culture. I’ve yet to meet anyone from any African nation named Shaquandiniquah Takei’sha, or any other of the ‘colorful’ monikers we’re pinning on brand new precious lives.
Parents, we are stacking the odds against our children from birth. We’ve been doing it for generations, but we get mighty cross when white and mainstream America laughs and mocks us. With a name like Quieshianiquita (I know, I can’t pronounce it either), you’re dooming your children to employment at no better than a dollar store or the nearest fast-food joint.
You are automatically relegated in the minds of many to second-class citizenry, because when they hear the name, they instantly categorize you as ignorant, ghetto, incompetent, uneducated, and not worthy of much respect or basic human considerations.
We hear so often about African American students who excel in school, etc. and “beat the odds.” Well, guess what? Often times, the “odds they have to beat” is the tough challenge of being taken seriously in America with the atrocious name you gave them...names like Jaqui’sheia Sha’qu’an Tai’isha. If they can get someone to look past the name (and quit laughing), there is remarkable talent there in that person.
Unfortunately though, much of mainstream America isn’t willing to find this out. Come in with the wrong name, and you are nothing more than fodder for stereotypical, distasteful jokes. We as African Americans face enough challenges as it is. Our kids deserve a better start and a way better shot than this.
You’re angry with me? I can live with that. Now answer this: when have you ever seen an IBM Executive or a fancy New York office with a fancy highrise office door nameplate that says “Quandaniquah Roshel-Shaquita, Chief Executive Officer”? When? You don’t, and you never have, because the reality is, corporate America and a huge chuck of mainstream doesn’t have a high regard for those names. Quite frankly, you won’t be taken seriously.
I’ve been behind many a closed door with white corporate America. Oddly enough, many of them still see the Negro in the room as ‘non-existent’ or invisible, so they talked like I wasn’t even in the room. I hear everything they say. When Nakia Shaniquah-Quashiqua fills out an application, they have a field day in the office. Once they get their fill of ghetto and ‘weave’ jokes and ripping you to pieces sight unseen, they usually toss the application, or it gets stuck in the ‘bottom of the pile’. If they do hire you, you’re relegated to some meaningless, inconsequential task behind the scenes so they won’t be embarrased by you.
I’ve learned the harsh truth that right or wrong, no quality mainstream company wants someone named (oh just pick a name) representing them in the forefront. We don’t hear that, though. We just want you to get the name right, and look at you funny if you don’t. I recall a time a young woman got really cross with me because her name was LaShi’quita and I forgot to capitalize the ‘S’ and left the little accent mark off the first ‘i’ - how was I supposed to know? But lawd ha’mercy...what did I do THAT for? She was mad, hostile, and ready to FIGHT! It was a BIG ridiculously overblown embarassing ordeal (for her), and that’s OUR fault, parents.
She wouldn’t have such a huge chip on her shoulder and be so defensive, confrontational and mean if we had just given her a name that the average person can pronounce or spell. No spell check in the world can help, so most of her existence is spent correcting the spelling of her name, and feeling disrespected because people can’t get it right. We set her up for this constant and unnecessary battle.
I do not advocate naming all our children Bobby and Susie. But let’s do our babies a favor and keep the syllables down to a minimum, leave out the suffixes “quita”, “sheika”,“eisha”, “niqua”, “quan”...anysuffix with the letter ‘Q’. I could go on, but you get where I'm headed.And if you want your child to have an authentic African or other ethnic name, do a little research. Don’t just make up a name and expect the world to be able to spell and pronounce it. You're not being original or cute. That child has to LIVE with that horrible name, and that's not funny...or cute.
Amen. Now pass the cornbread.
Great thread- well written article- bumping for later reading.
Well, Jimmy was bigger than his older brother. West Texas, both blonds.
Here's a whole web site devoted to bad baby names.
http://www.notwithoutmyhandbag.com/babynames/
Gee, Ho and Bitch seem to be popular black words. Why not use them as names and save all the trouble!
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"Fahrfurnugen". I'm series. |
Gives a whole new meaning to "Its a small world", huh?
No, you didn't.
Well last names don't count. Back during the European immigration wave, people's surnames were cut short, and/or changed for convenience by government officials. Others did it themselves, because their last name was Capone or Kennedy ;-)
The author of this piece is pointing out the living horrors kids names have become. And that isn't limited to blacks. I've rolled my eyes at what my fellow white folks name their offspring. They think they're being crafty and original, but it comes off being illiterate. I named my kids after family and saints....which in my family is one and the same, lol!
Please don't take most of the posts as racist, Cyborg. Names such as the ones mentioned, are ridiculous, and pigeonhole the bearer. Would you name your baby Shaquandika, or Brytnee? Of course not! ((hugs))
You ever click on "view replies?"
You might want to try it for post #6.
Sounds like a name for a new analgesic.
Just one? You must not be from the Deep South. ;-)
It seems that as soon as a name becomes popular for girls, people quit giving it to boys. Besides Shirley, Lynn, Evelyn, Marion, and Gale used to be boys' names. We're not likely to see anyone giving their sons those names now.
My James & Jimmy were in south Georgia, & have black hair & brown eyes.
Or Utah.
I worked with a black woman (I'm retired now) that was always talking "my love" this and "my love" that. I thought she was just an extremely friendly person who attached "my love' in any given sentence. Then I found out that "my love" (spelled MyLuv) was the name of her kid! Boy, that threw my for a loop. LOL. Put a whole new light on my conversations with her.
It's possible that "Nikaule" is a variant from "Nicholas," which is of Greek origin. Lots of linguistic transmission in those days, and there were many Christian communities in Africa and Arabia.
my = me
Those names wouldn't occur to me but names like Leslie are popular for boys in England and the Caribbean. I want to name one of my girls Giovanna but Petronski disagrees. I am half Italian and love Italian girl names but people STILL think mafia. Doesn't matter to me. My father used to resent the famous Italians who would change their names just because of anti-Italian prejudice. Back to the thread topic at hand though. I've lived in a predominantly black neighborhood where there ARE people actually named Laquita. I'm used to it and so I don't get the whole 'black names indicate social disease' mentality considering many of the names are from the bible.
I have to say, I think they're mostly just trying to keep up with the surnames what some of us crackers are saddled with:
In my case a unpronouncable Germanic monstrosity that doesn't fit in any of the fill-in boxes for paperwork and spoken correctly sounds like it was produced by a consumptive bulldog with a speech impediment.
At least my parents refrained from naming me Helga in some kind of ancestor-worshipping sadism.
(I can't WAIT to get married...)
Interesting, so the Queen was from Greece, Arabia, or Ethiopia. I guess we just don't know.
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