Current Events > Where do African-American parents get their children's names from?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I'm genuinely curious, are they African kings and queens?
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Do some research or ask an actual black person if you're "genuinely curious"

DONT make race baiting topics on a message board.
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it's hard to tell, since there are so many different cultures, but from my experience, I don't think a lot of them do.

and because a lot of Africa is Christian or Muslim, a lot of people have at least one traditionally European or Arabic names.
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"Do some research or ask an actual black person if you're "genuinely curious"

Are there not black CEmen?
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From all over, same as many other races.

My name is Ryan. It is Gaelic. It means "Descendant of the king."
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Ryangrad posted...

From all over, same as many other races.

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My parents gave us biblical names so...uh, yeah.

Except for me... for some reason.
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Lots of them their parents invented back in the 70s and 80s

There's wiki articles on this you know

A lot of them seem to fit more as adults I guess, but it's weird to picture a kid saying

"Mom! D'Brickashaw stole Dontravius' juice box!"
"No one likes a tattle tale Shaquonda."
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Saw a Texas player last night named

Lil'Jordan. Honestly.
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Malcolm_Matar posted...

Lots of them their parents invented back in the 70s and 80s

There's wiki articles on this you know

I wonder if it's to break away from the white names they were forced to have as slaves brought over from Africa and forge their own identity as African-Americans, which is totally understandable.
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laTisha
LoQueesha

what?
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I banged a girl named Loquita before.
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They make them up because they want their children to have unique names. Literally Unique, of which there are many dozens of spellings. Uneek, Younique, etc.

I can understand the reasoning behind it but in today's world it's probably going to hurt them more than it helps them. Not everyone will judge based on stereotypes but some will and it could cost them valuable opportunities.
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Im black and my name is barack
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I knew a dude named Bok Malok.
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Well LeBron means king. Nice little play on words with King James lol.

Although it seems like a lot of names seem to have some sort of prefix, like "La" or "Da", or "De", like DeMarcus Cousins, LaDainian Tomlinson, LaMarcus Aldridge, DeAndre Hopkins, DeMarre Carroll, LeSean McCoy, or the double... DeMar DeRozan :3
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Probably the same place white parents are getting their children's names.

"Mom! Bode stole Cross' juice box!"
"No one likes a tattle tale Talon."

Stupid names is not unique to a single race. Its a snowflake generation thing.
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Chicken posted...

I knew a dude named Bok Malok.

Bok_Choi's black brother
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same places as everyone else: they make them up, they see them on TV, or its a name they've heard elsewhere from someone they know or have heard of.

SpiralDrift posted...

I can understand the reasoning behind it but in today's world it's probably going to hurt them more than it helps them. Not everyone will judge based on stereotypes but some will and it could cost them valuable opportunities.

Another problem to be confronted and remedied.
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SpiralDrift posted...

They make them up because they want their children to have unique names. Literally Unique, of which there are many dozens of spellings. Uneek, Younique, etc.

I can understand the reasoning behind it but in today's world it's probably going to hurt them more than it helps them. Not everyone will judge based on stereotypes but some will and it could cost them valuable opportunities.

So your argument is that they should conform rather than changing the system that oppresses people over something as silly as the spelling of their names?

Depends on what names you're talking about. Many of us have regular European or Biblical names.

Some names that are considered unusual are legit names from different parts of Africa or the Middle East.
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I don't think that argument was presented
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whitelytning posted...

Probably the same place white parents are getting their children's names.

"Mom! Bode stole Cross' juice box!"
"No one likes a tattle tale Talon."

Stupid names is not unique to a single race. Its a snowflake generation thing.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Hyman

Richard "Dick" Hyman (born March 8, 1927)
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Fam_Fam posted...

SpiralDrift posted...

They make them up because they want their children to have unique names. Literally Unique, of which there are many dozens of spellings. Uneek, Younique, etc.

I can understand the reasoning behind it but in today's world it's probably going to hurt them more than it helps them. Not everyone will judge based on stereotypes but some will and it could cost them valuable opportunities.

So your argument is that they should conform rather than changing the system that oppresses people over something as silly as the spelling of their names?

I'm only noting the real world ramifications, not arguing for what people should or shouldn't do. It's up to the parents to weigh the costs and benefits and make a decision.
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The fact that Key and Peele haven't been mentioned yet surprises me.
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Seems like a lot of names females end with "a"
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I just want to know where the name "Dameka" came from.
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La-a

Ladasha

For some. There was a joke years ago.
It's like the parents reach blindly into a bag of Scrabble tiles. Grab an entire handful. Throw them into the air and the however they land, in whatever order, that's what they go with.

I mean how else do people get names like Loqxitsha, Dahluxina, Q' L' Shaw or DeLatixisha?
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how do people get any name?

names aren't suddenly better because they've been around a long time, are from the Bible, or so on.
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Fam_Fam posted...

So your argument is that they should conform rather than changing the system that oppresses people over something as silly as the spelling of their names?

Yep. Because they're not actually changing anything except the ease with which people identify their children as african american, and according to most studies that causes the kid problems.
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Its a mix.

A lot of them are Islamic names like Khadijah/Malik/Taariq/Aisha/Hakeem etc. A lot are Christian names like Jordan,Christian etc. A lot are African tribe names like Ashanti etc. And some are just made up.

Maybe forty years ago, shortly after the signing of the civil rights act, there was a resurgence of efforts to recapture black identity as a source of pride among the black american community. You can see it, paging through popular fashions marketed to black men and women. Natural hair was also 'in.' People tried to trace their lineages back to countries and tribes in pre-slavery Africa (I have a hard time believing most of these results bore legitimacy given how few slave owners cared to keep track of that information, and given how mixed up all that would have been over three hundred years of tribal intermarriage and complete cultural erasure).

Part of that cultural movement involved parents giving their kids Afrocentric sounding names that sounded nothing like the common western names of the time. A couple generations later those naming conventions still persisted in a way, but were now less aware of that initial goal of reaffirming black identity and more about giving their kids unique names that distinguished them from others. A lot of these names have questionable basis in traditional African naming conventions.
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whitelytning posted...

Probably the same place white parents are getting their children's names.

"Mom! Bode stole Cross' juice box!"
"No one likes a tattle tale Talon."

Stupid names is not unique to a single race. Its a snowflake generation thing.

You forgot "Reality Winner". Now that's an absurd name.

Where do white people get their names from?
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The name Aiden annoys the shit out of me, but I do have friends with the name so whatever.
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