PDF LIFESTYLES Importance ^^ Name - Napa Valley College

LIFESTYLES

Importance ^^ " Name

The first thing that you learn about a ents be more cautious in naming their person is his name. It's also some- children? Just how important is a name?

thing that you usually remember.

Roland Fryer^ Jr., assistant pr'ofessor

Black people have been noted for o? economics at HaJ"vard University and

their unique-sounding names with assistant director of Harvard's W.E.B.

accompanying odd spellings. It has been DuBois Institute for African and African

observed that names beginning with the American Research, co-authored the

La sound and end or begin with the Sha study, The Causes and Consequences of

sound are very popular with Blacks.

Di.stinctly Black Names. Tn conducting

Names like LaShara, Dasha, Sha- research, he says no negative causal

Juan, Quantell or DeQuan are consid- impact on life outcomes were found from ered "Black" names because Blacks are having a distinctly Black name.

most likely to use them. Some even ai^ie The i-eport used data covering evei7

that having a "Black-sounding" name child born in California over a four-

could hurt you in the long rim.

decade period. In addition to looking at

Is thi.s really true? Can a name keep names, gender, race, birth weight, and

you from getting a parents' marital status, it also focused on

J^

job or affect you at more telling factors like the parents' zip

/

\ school? Should par- code, wliich hidicates socioeconomic sta-

LAND FRYER. JR.. assistant professor ot economics at Harvard University, found in his

tus and a neighborhood's racial composition.

"It's not your name that

study, The Causes and Conse-

matters, but it's the type of

quences of Distinctly Black Names, that socioeconomic status matters. Names don't.

neighboi'hood that you're born into. That is much moi'e important in predicting your futui-e

"It's not your name that matters, but it's the type of neighborhood that youVe born into,"

I found that as I was doing the research for the book that irican-American parents want names that have pretty ^ ??"ds to them. So there is really a lot in a name." ^

outcome than what your name is," says Fryer, who co-authored the study with economics professor Steven D. Levitt of the university of Chicago.

He adds, "(Distinctly Black) names seem to have a negative association with economic outcomes, but it's not the names that are causing that. It's the bbth circumstances under which they came."

A 2008 Massachusetts Institute of Technology/University of Chicago study repotted that after sending out 5,000 fictitious r?sum?s, applicants with White-sounding names were 50 percent more likely to be called for initial interviews Ihan people with Black-sounding names.

"I just think that it becomes clear that names can only matter at certain points in the hiring process," says Fryer. "For example, suppose there is a difference in call back rates, how big could that actually be given that 50 percent ofjobs arefilledthrough friends and networks? The percentage ofjobs filled by sending an anonymous i-?sum? to someone in a newspaper is very small."

Professor David N. Figlio, Ph. D., of the University of Florida's Warrington College of Business, Department of Economics, conducted a study which found that teachers subconsciously create a

level of expectation from Black students based on their names.

"1 found that teachers respond negatively to low-status names," he says.

Figlio, based on hisfindings,cites different statuses for Black names. Ebony is considered high-status, LaKeisha is considered mid-status and La'Quineesha is considered a low-status name.

Expectations, once formed, says Figlio, are hard to alter.

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LIFESTYLES

MARGARET & U E , PH.D..

professor of Engiish and linguis

" at Hampton Universi'

"Tf a teacher thinks that a student isn't getting help at

: a name IS important believes that people preji certain names.

home, he or she might expect

less of that student," he suys.

sive assortment of populai-

"And the name is the first

Biblical, African, European

thing she knows ab(.)ut the stu-

and African-American names.

dent. The evidence suggests that expec- Dinwiddie-Boyd says that a name is

tations form very quickly."

important because it begins to give a jwr-

Overall, the researcher suggests, son an identity. She says that a name is

"Give your child a name that you love! not all that you are, but it is certainly

But be aware that some names may lead what you are first known by.

your child to be judged dilTerentiy."

"Parents do need to take into con-

Nigerian-born Oganna Chuks-orji sideration, certainly in elementary

wrote the 1972 groundbreaking book. school, that historically kids have been

Names From Africa: Their Origin, Mean- teased when they had unusual, different

ing and Pronumation (Johnson Pub

or odd names," says Dinwiddie-Boyd.

Company). In it he discussed how

"Kids get teased about names. We, as

names is of great importance in Africa. parents, and we, as African-Americans,

"People are named after events, do have to consider what role we're set-

happenings, great things, the days of ting our children out on."

the week, or the order in which they

She says that people often change the

were born," he wrote. "For example, if a spellings of traditional names and select

couple had loi^ wanted a son, in Nigeria, unique names for their cliildren, because

they may call him Ayinde (Yoruba), it's about seeking identity and individu-

meaning the one we prayed for. In ality for their offspring.

Ghana, if a boy is born on Saturday he is "Names can describe you in so many

called Kwame (Akan). In Tanzania, the ways," she says. "I think parents want

second born of twins will be called Doto names that give them family history. Par-

(Zaramo)."

ents want names that give cultural histo-

Elza Dinwiddie-Boyd, dean of the ry. I found that as I was doing the re-

School of New Resources, College of search for the book that African-Ameri-

New Rochelle in Nevif York, WTote 1994's can parents want names that have pret-

Proud Heritage: 11,001 Names For Your ty sounds to them. So there is really a lot

African-American Baby. The book was in a name."

noted as one of the first of its kind to fea- In the ever-changing world of enter-

ture the most complete and comprehen- tainment, it isn't uncommon for singers

261

v?gat?ng betwe flective in our name choices as weli. Wliether or not to reach

md embrace our Black, African heritage and culture or ;her weVe going to assimilate into mainstream America nd therefore select so called traditional European names.'*

and actors to trade their birth name for ent in our culture. A name tbat sounds

a stage name that better suits their good, regardless of how it's spelled or

image as a performer.

what it means, sometimes dominates the

Grammy Award-winning musician choices parents make in terms of naming

Prince takes his work and his name very their children."

.seriously. In 1993, he did something that the Lee, also a member-at-large, executive

music industry had never seen. On his 35th council of the American Name Society,

birthday. Prince changed his name to an wrote an overview article on the history

unpronounceable glyph that incorporates of African-American names and naming

the male-female symbol. He denounced the practices tbat will appear in the Encyclo-

name Prince due to a dispute with his pedia of Southern Culture this fall.

record label (JET, April 26,2004).

In conclusion, she says of the impor-

The performer, in 1992, began writing tance of a name: "I think in terms of tbe

"slave" on his face because he felt like a African-American community, it's im-

slave to the music industry, observing portant to look at the fact that we're still

that record companies customarily own affected by what W.E.B. DuBois called

the master tapes of works on their label. in the early part of the 2()th century,

"If you don't own your master tape, double consciousness. African-Ameri-

your master owns you," he once told JET. cans sort offlowedbetween two cultures

"And you might as well write slave on in America. We're Africans and we're

your face too. It's all about ownership." also Americans.

When his contract expired on Decem- "We're always navigating between

ber 31,1999, he said that it emancipated the two worlds and it's reflective in our

his birth name. He then reclaimed the name choices as well. Whether or not to

name Prince.

reach out and embrace our Black, Afri-

Margaret G. Lee, Ph. D., jjrofessor of can heritage and culture or whether

English and linguistics at Hampton Uni- we're going to assimilate into main-

versity, says that a name is a part of stream America and therefore select so-

being who we are.

called traditional European names. It's

"First and foremost, we're based in an those two worlds that we're navigating

oi-al culture," she says. "The African- allthetime." G

American oral tradition is still quite pres-

-Margena A. Christian

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