[wideawake]

For two reasosn:

(1) The study was conducted in the months following 9/11. I don't know how many people were itching to hire someone named Jamal or Rasheed at that time.

(2) Made-up African names and Muslim names sound low-class to many people. I would probably call Kristen or Susan back before I called Candi or Ginger Ann. That isn't racial - it's class oriented.

I don't thing some named William Dubois MacFarlane would get rejected, and I know I guy by that name who is a black militant.

[fightinJAG]

I think you're right about the class-oriented angle. The names of people reflect upon their parents---and their parents' class (or lack thereof), education, sophistication about the world, etc.

I find it especially troubling today that, in addition to so many simply made up names, people have gotten the notion that it is cute (or something) to come up with "creative" spellings for every name under the sun. I'm sorry, it often makes it seem as if Jr. were likely to be raised by an illiterate or was the offspring of an adolescent who had read too many Teen People mags.

[Newbomb Turk]

You mean like to cool lady in my city who named her kids Orangelo and Lamangalo./ Orange Jello, Lemon Jello. Poor kids.