I've been in the HR field for awhile. First in corporate HR and now in the Staffing industry.
On the staffing side, I have seen highly skilled individuals passed over based on their names. I can almost see my customer's face cringe
when I send some of the resumes over for consideration.
In cases where I think the applicant may be receptive, I will gently suggest that they use an initial and middle name or simply their middle name.
I will also tell you that some recruiters will not call an applicant (no matter the credentials) if they can't pronounce the name. (That goes across the board, no matter the ethnicity).
On a side note, we had a Caucasian young lady come in yesterday and when I read her application, I smiled a bit at her name (now you know I can't use the real one) was Sara Latifah
Donovan.