ABC News 20/20 Report: White and Black Names

[DSTCHAOS]

Originally Posted by shinerbock

Consider it from a business standpoint...Which sounds better, "hey this is our new Director of ______, David Smith" or "hey, this is Sen'Derrick..." Just do your kids a favor and give them a reasonable name...or don't, but they may pay for your decision.

Never met anyone named Sen'Derrick. A person given such a name might go by "Derrick," anyway.

For an increasingly diverse industrialized nation in this global economy, it is funny that "David Smith" still sounds better and creates images of competency and professionalism. When I call Microsoft's helpline I get connected to a support group overseas, I don't hear any David Smiths or talk to anyone who remotely SOUNDS LIKE a David Smith. I guess that's fine as long as the big time decisionmakers in the boardrooms are still David Smiths.

[DSTCHAOS]

Originally Posted by AlphaFrog

For the record, people do this to themselves, too. It's not just parents.

I worked with two CNAs from Africa. Their African names were unpronouncable to most Americans, so they changed their names. One changed her name to "TutuGirl". The other changed his name to "Blamo". Not joking.

Idiots aside, this topic is not just about people being given funky names.

It's about the outcome, which is what discrimination is based on. Outcome and not intent (since we can't prove people's intents).

[xo_kathy]

Originally Posted by macallan25

those names will never come across to me as "white people" names......I don't care where I am. You can roll your eyes all you want.

But you said you'd never "met" someone with those names. If you were in other areas long enough, you would probably meet people with those names. That might make you start to think of them as just names, not "black people" names.

Originally Posted by shinerbock

Consider it from a business standpoint...Which sounds better, "hey this is our new Director of ______, David Smith" or "hey, this is Sen'Derrick..." Just do your kids a favor and give them a reasonable name...or don't, but they may pay for your decision.

Because Billy Joe is better?! My husband is the Head of HR for his company and his name is Orlando. He makes more money and has a better job than any of the people in my family named Bob, Bill, or Tom. It's never held him back. Maybe it's a NYC thing that people are just used to different sounding names...

[shinerbock]

Billy Joe, yeah, thats a common white name...

[Exquisite5]

Originally Posted by shinerbock

Consider it from a business standpoint...Which sounds better, "hey this is our new Director of ______, David Smith" or "hey, this is Sen'Derrick..." Just do your kids a favor and give them a reasonable name...or don't, but they may pay for your decision.

You only think it sounds better because its what you're accustomed to. I was guilty of the same thinking at a time.

When Secretary Rice first came to national prominence I though to myslelf, "what is Condoleeza- where the heck did her parents get that from?" However, now, I know its from the Italian meaning "with sweetness" and I don't even question it. To me, its now common to hear of a woman named "Condoleeza," and never would I say that it would sound better to say Secretary Connie Rice vice Secretary Condoleeza Rice.

Just like I don't think it "sounds better" to say Justice Thomas Marshall than it does to say Justice Thurgood Marshall or Stanley Robinson than Spotswood Robinson.

Now, I still won't advise anyone to name their child a made up name of the Shakalamarshandria sort, simply because as shinerbock is proof- some people can't get past it.

[AlphaFrog]

Originally Posted by shinerbock

Billy Joe, yeah, thats a common white name...

I worked with a white guy named Billy Joe. It was at Walmart, when I was in highschool....although he was a Walmart lifer.

[Taualumna]

Why is it perfectly acceptable for a person of east Asian descent to have a name like Jennifer (almost every Jen in my grad class in high school was Chinese) or Michael, while people of other ethnicities have to have a name that "reflects their culture" and that it's "wrong" not to do that?

[adpiucf]

Originally Posted by Taualumna

I legally went from Cindy to Cynthia a few years ago because I thought that Cindy was too cutesy and I wouldn't be taken as seriously had I kept my original name.

I thought about this a lot when I was younger, too, but in the end I decided to keep my "nicknames." Both my first name and my middle name are a derivative of longer names. My dad dropped his middle name, and my mom has a longer first name that she never goes by (hence my pre-shortened names).

[adpiucf]

Originally Posted by Taualumna

Why is it perfectly acceptable for a person of east Asian descent to have a name like Jennifer (almost every Jen in my grad class in high school was Chinese) or Michael, while people of other ethnicities have to have a name that "reflects their culture" and that it's "wrong" not to do that?

Good point-- I have seen a lot of ethnic minorities with Westernized nicknames at school, but their legal names are very different! But there's a difference when Ahn Ng is going by Ann, and Julie Chan is really just Julie!

[shinerbock]

I'm really surprised some of you can figure out how to turn on a computer.

"people like you"--Are you kidding? I simply said businesses will likely hire people with safe names becase customers and partners are more comfortable with them. Simply because someone decides to name their child Letravious doesn't mean the rest of the world needs to rush to accept it as normal.

[TonyB06]

Originally Posted by shinerbock

I'm really surprised some of you can figure out how to turn on a computer.

"people like you"--Are you kidding? I simply said businesses will likely hire people with safe names becase customers and partners are more comfortable with them. Simply because someone decides to name their child Letravious doesn't mean the rest of the world needs to rush to accept it as normal.

shinerbock,
I see the point you're making, but consider this scenario. Say , you run shinverbock, inc. and you're making a hiring decision between Letravious Jones and Larry Jones. Both are reasonably strong candidates, however Letravious grades out slighty higher than Larry.

Conventional thinking, as you see it, suggests you would hire Larry. Do you do it, and if, so, do you have any recriminations about the fact that Letravious could go to a competitor and come back to haunt. Or do you hire Letravious?

curious as to your thinking.

[shinerbock]

It would obviously depend on the person. Despite my distaste for minority popular culture, I generally love to see people from unfortunate backgrounds do well for themselves. I think they're often the most motivated and they've worked the hardest to get there. If Latravious or whoever we decided the applicant was...was well spoken, clean cut, and fit the requirements better than other applicants, I imagine I'd hire him.

Note- I'm not saying all people with "blacker" last names are from rough backgrounds, but I imagine we can agree that some of them are.

Other Note- Part of the reason I feel this way is from family experience...My dad hires a lot of people on a regular basis, and he's run into problems before where there is a really well qualified minority applicant, good scores, etc...but they don't speak well or present themselves as professionally as the company expects. Thats where I think presentation does matter.

[OtterXO]

Originally Posted by shinerbock

It would obviously depend on the person. Despite my distaste for minority popular culture, I generally love to see people from unfortunate backgrounds do well for themselves. I think they're often the most motivated and they've worked the hardest to get there. If Latravious or whoever we decided the applicant was...was well spoken, clean cut, and fit the requirements better than other applicants, I imagine I'd hire him.

Note- I'm not saying all people with "blacker" last names are from rough backgrounds, but I imagine we can agree that some of them are.

Other Note- Part of the reason I feel this way is from family experience...My dad hires a lot of people on a regular basis, and he's run into problems before where there is a really well qualified minority applicant, good scores, etc...but they don't speak well or present themselves as professionally as the company expects. Thats where I think presentation does matter.

So all other things being equal you would assume that a Brad or Larry would present better than the well qualified minority?

[Jimmy Choo]

Originally Posted by Munchkin03

There's a little-known book called Freakonomics that came out last year with an entire chapter devoted to this topic! Apparently, women more likely to saddle kids with certain names tend to be young, unmarried, non-college degree holders, poor, and they usually have a name like that themselves! Imagine that!

I probably wouldn't name my child any of those names, but I probably wouldn't name my kid any of those redneck stripper names that some Southerners hold so dear either.

I read that book!!! It was very eye-opening!

[shinerbock]

Otter, I'm not sure what you're saying. If they're equal applicants, and the both speak well, present themselves well, etc...I have no idea who I'd choose. Probably whoever went to a college I don't hate.