What's In a Name?

I agree; there are still racist "tags" in the interview process! Most all of my grandbabies have non-traditional African American names: Jalynn (well, almost!), Brooklyn, Christian, Grayson...and then my baby girl, Akili - whose name is (I believe) Swahili.

Thank God their moms have a little sense!

DD

It's true Brenda but it is very hard for someone who isn't a high powered lawyer to overcome a "overly" ethnic name.    Like you and MM both said those resumes were trashed and it is all because of the name.   In the study for social science I did many years ago,  skill had absolutely nothing to do with it at all in almost all the cases.   There has been tv shows done about it and everything.

I'm not telling anyone not to name their kid whatever they want,  but it does have repercussions. 

We talked about this on 1/9. love to see that it still bothers people as much as it gets to me as well: Totally agree with Lee 

I totally understand. Today I was thinking of why people name their kids stuff that just isnt right. I come in contact with children everyday as part of my job, today's name that made me cringe when i read it "Annoreah" What comes to mind?

Last week, another child "Kleshay." I mean do ppl not think their kids will have to grow up and get a job one day? another recent one is S'emaj (Sa-mah-jay), its "james" spelled backwards. I mean creative at first, but she's not even with him anymore, now her son is stuck with this weird ass name for the rest of his life. I have even had clients go and get their social security card b/c they dont remember how to spell their kids names. This is just rude. I mean I barely made it being an 80's baby named "NaKeisha." My mother was really pushing it.

Thank God I will never know what companies turned down my resume on spot due to my name when I graduated from college, but it is always a question in the back of my mind.

Parents: name your kids something they can get a career or at least a Job with. Something that maybe they will have to guess what his/her race is and they dont get thrown off without a chance.

its funny though because when black women named their kids Ashley or Heather then they are said they are trying to give their kids "white names"...its irritating...

Thank God no one in our family didn't get over active minds.  The only one had different names was my older sister kids they dicied
to turn Muslin until she left the HB. but the name are Muslin with the iah on the last of the names.  I use to be able to spell them
for got the spellings. Ours kid are Kathryn Rena,Meredith D'Anna,  Erin Christina , Ariel Quinn .  Now Erin has kids with names I would not try to spell.  And like so many of the young ladies that name there babies after there daddies they are not together Hummm.

I hate it.  Far as I'm concerned it's child abuse.  I know someone whose mother has a friend...the friend's daughter named her daughters

Abracadabra Douche' (pronounced doo-shay)

and

Potpourri Sachet'

They can't be nothin but strippers when they grow up!  WTF??

Then another person who I'm actually very close with went borderline.  Her Son is Samai (not sure of the spelling, but it's pronounced Suh-my)

Her daughter is Gianni and the other daughter is Gallare (pronounced gallery)  She is not ghetto or trifflin in any way shape or form and the names are not horrible or ghetto per se, but they're definitely different. 

wait a minute--- I LOVE strippers!!!!!!!!!!


strippers are people, too.

Que

Back in the day when I was in college, I was telling some friends that I met a dude who named his daughter, Cash'Monay.  It was the most ridiculous name I had ever heard of.  I'm from Louisiana but I ain't never trying rep that hard.  Anywhoo, this girl pops up and wants to fight me because that was her cousin.  I told her, "sorry boo that is just too ghetto for me."  She eventually walked off and we all just continued laughing.

GOTS TO TELL THIS STORY.

I was hiring for a part time assistant in my office. Going thru resumes, I saw this resume: the name read "LeChocolate S. McClellan."

I said "Oh my God,, I GOTS to meet LeChocolate(even though there was NO WAY IN HELL I was going to meet her. I figured if she blew my socks off, maybe I would and we would call her Miss McClellan.

In walks this young lady, about 22-25 years old. I interviewed her(skills were NOT there, but anyways) I asked her about her name. She told me her momma named her after her favorite ICE CREAM!!!!!!!! I said,, "you lying,,,, whats your middle name?"


She said "Swirl---with a Y!!!"


LeChocolate Swyrl McClellan.


I laughed for 3 weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Que

My daugter's name is definately unique, but I also think her personality & credentials to date  make her just as unforgettable.

Sort of like our new president Barack Obama.......

Sometimes one of a kind names set folks apart from the norm. If they arent too far to the left  With her last name being common,  the unique first name kinda worked.

So to all you folks in HR -  somtimes its worth it to call a person and check them out before you go signing off on some preconceived ghetto-fied notion.