I also have a white student named “Armani” – personally, I would interview John before I’d interview Armani.

An employer doesn’t care how black a name sounds, the employer cares if the name sounds stupid and ignorant. Because as an would be employee, you are proposing to represent the company. So, I don’t want to hire Cottonelle White as my press agent because I don’t think anyone’s going to take her seriously and I don’t want my company name associated with it. LaKeisha White, well, she might get the interview, but I am happier with Aliyah White because the name sounds sophisticated enough to represent me. As far as I’m concerned Aliyah White and Evelyn White have the same shot at the job.

When my daughter was pregnant with my grand-daughter, she and her husband came up with some bizarre names.

I told them that if they were going to give the child an  …unusual given name, then at least give the child a traditional middle name so that the child could choose which name they preferred to be called.

Actually, the person that I really feel sorry for is the singer Dido.

The name on her birth certificate is Florian Cloud de Bounevialle Armstrong.

I really cant believe some of these names. to add to the oranjello: twins orangella and the other name is lemongella (orange and lemon). Mytru Love (My True Love). I could add some crazy relatives names but Im not going to go there lol

It isn’t illegal to use a different first name as long as you’re not doing it for the purpose of fraud.  So if your parents gave you a silly name you can just rename yourself.

I can’t say for sure what I would do if I were black, of course, but I think I’d stay away from the made-up names. Honestly I don’t know if the aversion is so much that the names indicate that someone is black—because Aaliyah, Aida, Nkwame, and other traditional African names clearly indicate that but are not off-putting—but that the names seem to indicate parents of lower education. White people do it too, and it gives the same impression (to me, anyway). It’s just that with white people, the names themselves are a little different (lots of “en” sounds at the end, usually, like “Kryslynn,” “Kakinston,” “Taybryn,” etc.); every time I hear a name like that, I roll my eyes. I’m 100% sure there’s some definite racism that people with the black versions of these types of names have to face, but I’m also thinking that an Aida or Aaliyah would get a call back on a resume before a Quoshanique… and I bet Olivia or Alice would get called back before Kryslynn.

Back in the day a hood chick from my projects named her child Jodici (yeah, after the group) – true story

White boy named QuinC (Quincy)

My opinion, all these ‘unique’ and special names are stupid. Saying they are derivatives in some way saying, you either don’t know the orginial spelling or truly want it unique. In turn that causes confusion and laughter among the educated. Traditional african names are butchered or made up based on what people think are traditional. Talk to someone from africa and find out the meaning and correct spelling before you names your child a name they will live to resent you for. Why name a kid after a brand. I understand there may be historical value in the names themselves, like Hennesy, Remy, and Alize. But were the parents really thinking about that? i tihnk not, they were thinking about what they were drinking when they concieved or a night out. Not the historical meaning of it. Aceeptable in France for those names, of course, because they know them. Here,definitely not, the history isn’t beother to be learned. It just points directly to the materialism obsession in America. A person becomes unique by theirselves. Not by their name, and when someone can’t pronounce or spell a name, if they aren’t foreign or within a couple generations foreign, then that’s just plain stupid and causes more headaches. I’m usually the last one to say this, but just be normal like everyone else.