Thursday, April 09, 2009
Ghetto Names, Sad But True
I can't even get mad at these guys for making fun of ghetto names because it is true. A certain population of black folks who, for reasons unknown, like to make up names for their children. Phonetics and spelling be damned, they are determined to come up with the most ridiculous name you could think of under the guise of being unique, different or dare I say sophisticated.
Making up ridiculous names for children is not cute. It's not cute when you put 'La' in the front or an '-isha' in the back. The poor children are branded for life and it's no surprise when Quanisha or DeVonte shows up for a job interview that they are black. No guess there, one look at the name is a dead giveaway. These names are ghetto as hell and there's nothing funny or cute about them.
Call old or call me square but I remember back when names meant something. I'm not talking about made up names either. In my husband's culture, names are very important, children aren't named until seven or eight days after they are born. The child's name is revealed in an all day naming ceremony and the child is always named after someone else, a family member or an esteemed friend. No one makes up a name to give their child ever and there's a good reason for not to.
There are other ways to express your creativity without branding your child for life. Ghetto names go beyond ethnic, Muslim or African names, they are in a class by themselves. As ridiculous as some of these names in the video sound, some people are out there thinking they will name their next daughter Watermelondria or Barackisha. It's sad but true.
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Yes, this is a big pet piev of mine! I actually know too many parents of children where I work that abuse this to the max. I have a girl with a name that ends with 's. Not `s. Her parent knows that she named her as a possessive noun but doesn't give a damn. People try to correct her but she doesn't care. I have Motown, Harlem, Henessey, Stormy, and every possible De` Da' -isha, -shanique, ___niques that you can imagine. Parents love this nonsense.
ReplyDeleteWe have come a long ways but we have even longer to go.
puh-lease i for 1 dnt see n.e.thing wrong w/ names like that. parents should be able to name there kids what ever they want. cuz i mean they ur juss makeing black parents seem cruel when they r juss try 2 b unique. n beside there are always reasons for names like that. like a moms name could be delila and the dads name could be shawn and they join it together and u get deshawn now tell me wat it wrong with that when they got white ppl with names like mckayla nd mckenzie
ReplyDeleteOK, I'm probably going to get some serious backlash for this but here goes. "Top (any number) ghetto names" is some sort of oxymoron. I don't blame AA's for wanting to give their children unique names. But if they really are on some top list than how unique can they be. The people who do this, think they are doing their children a favor, giving them a certain sense of identity. These tend to be matriarchal households where a persons surname is of secondary importance. Many of these kids have no idea who their father is/was and the rest are probably better off not knowing. Their fathers are either dead or in prison. So they are make the first (and only name) something memorable, that is all.
ReplyDeleteYou aren't going to get any backlash from me. I agree with everything you've said. The problem in the African American community is the large number of children being born out of wedlock to single parent homes. There is nothing glamorous about being a babies mama. These are all very selfish choices plus coupled with these memorable names, some of these kids don't stand a chance.
ReplyDeleteGhetto names are GOOD. That way when Whites hear a name, they will know who is coming.
ReplyDeleteIn the old days, we had to wait until we SMELLED her.
I'm entirely in favor of these ridiculous negro names.
ReplyDeleteThe entire concept of integration has been an abject failure-as well as extraordinarily costly. The negro was not meant to be part of
White Society. Naming their spawn with Christian/English names is just another fraud of failed integration.
The most salient issue is how many of the L'Squirtas would be alive at the age of 5 in the absence of YT's misguided charity. The answer: Far less than 5%.
Actually many of the names listed have actual meanings and are ancient. Devonte is an old name.. just because they fell out of use with European whites does not give anybody the reason to criticize them or brand them as ghetto.
ReplyDeleteI know of many middle Americans European in ancestry that use these names still to this day. Many of those names are also Arabic in history.. in other cultures outside of America the husband and wife will slam their names to gether to form feminine or male versions to label their children. Some African cultures and native american cultures often label their children for traits found in animals, poetic phrases, or for some characteristic.. but yet if it is Black ..its open for criticism. No one said nothing about the people that had names and labeled their product with those names.. it was the people after them like Tequila, Brandy that get criticised.. I think the people doing the criticizing should be addressed as the world's worst personalities..
ook ook muhdik muhdik gnomesain muhfuggah.
ReplyDeleteWhen you have people who articulate themselves in such a retarded way can you actually expect anything more than retarded names for their even more retarded offspring?
Send them all to Africa & let them starve to death like they deserve.
To the poster who said white people name their kids McKayla and McKenzie - I hate those names more than I hate ghetto names! And I'm white!
ReplyDeleteI don't like ghetto names but I ALSO don't like surnames for girls (usually whites) that name their kids mckenzie, hunter, reilly, etc-these names are very UNFEMININE--Blacks who were raised in churches would name their kids CHRISTIAN NAMES until the SEX REVOLUTION which took the father out of the home
ReplyDeleteI find those asexual surnames as first names annoying too. All of the Tylers, Hunters, McKenzies, Tuckers, etc. can be just as off putting as names that defy basic grammar and English.
ReplyDeleteI would have to disagree with you about the Christian names though. All the sexual revolution did was challenge and change long-held ideas about sex. Sex is neither dirty nor bad but I believe it has given way to the widespread acceptance of babies daddies instead of husbands and fathers.
Hey guys guess what. I am black and I get straight A's. I consider myself rather eloquent. Guess what, my name is Da'nell. You should be ashamed of yourselves. Racism and prejudice are what cause many of the world's problems today. So while all of you white supremacists are making these snide comments, know that you have no heart and no life.
ReplyDeletehey check oout this video for ghetto names its freaking funny. this chick is crazy with her ghetto names http://youtu.be/ZWCn8pkfZMs
ReplyDeleteI almost pissed my pants as they went through the list on the video. Add to that the twins "Le Monjello" and "Oranjello" (The mother saw Lemon Jello and Orange Jello on the lunch menu, so goes the story. Pathetic. And I swear to God I heard an African American mother screaming for her little boy who had gotten away frmo her in a grocery store: YOU NEEK! YOU NEEK! YOU NEEK! I guess she wanted to give him a "unique" name! LOL. Oh the humanity. Oh, the poverty of education. They are not good names. They are names that cry out the lack of education and the lack of class. They cry out the lack of care and concern for the child's future. A branding iron would do far less damage in the long run than giving your child a ridiculous name. And I agree with the person who said that names like Tyler and McKenzie. They are silly, white trash trendy names. They will only serve to date people down the road when people realize they are just plain silly.
ReplyDeleteAlso makes it harder to get a job. There have been studies done on this. When employers have a stack of resumes in front of them, the weird La-, Da-, Va-, or end with -sha, etc, names are more likely to end up in the trash. Some of the names are fucking awful, quite frankly, like "Da'Nell".
ReplyDelete