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Names are powerful. They define who we are. They often precede us on school rosters, resumes, and applications of all sorts. People do discriminate on the basis of a name. In the book Beyond Jennifer and Jason, the authors cite a study in which the same essay was submitted to teachers with different names attached to it. “Ethel” didn’t do as well as “Jennifer”. Names carry stereotypes. Tell me, based on nothing else, who’s smarter – Bambi or Rachel? Now, you know, intellectually, that a name doesn’t make a person smart. But when you think of “Bambi” are you thinking “Here comes the next President of the United States” or “Now, appearing live on the Pussycat Stage”?
Names that don’t sound “American” (that is, white) can pose a basis for discrimination. In a 2003 study, researchers found that “Tyrell Jackson” was the least likely to get a positive response from landlords when inquiring about rental properties. “Patrick McDougall” was most likely to receive a positive response. Even “Said Al-Rahman” got more positive responses than “Tyrell”.
A post at the Digerati Life bluntly states: “… here are some specifics that prove that your name can wreck your chances of getting ahead, particularly if you have an African-American sounding name.“
Based on these articles, a friend of mine said that her social worker recommended giving a child a “racially neutral” name. Another woman in our group exploded, becoming very angry because she felt that the social worker was encouraging passing the child off as white. This woman advocated giving African-American children African names.
Personally, I’m somewhere in the middle. My son was named for a family member, but his name “Jack” could belong to anyone from anywhere. It’s a nickname that many people use for many different names, whether they sound ethnic or not. I never considered an African name because my son isn’t African. He’s American. (I’ve written before about the term African-American, and why I’m not a big fan.) His maternal birth grandmother is from Germany, and we have no idea where his birth father’s ancestors originated. And, how long do you have to be in this country before you’re just “American” anyway?
Furthermore, though there are names used on the continent of Africa, in the US, when some people think African, they think “ghetto names”. I got that term from my son’s birthmother, who refused to give her children “ghetto names”. I call them “made up names”. I suppose all names were “made up” at one point, but some are more made up than others. The authors of the book Freakonomics call them “Distinctively Black Names” and put forth that a person’s name isn’t an indicator of how educated he is, but an indicator of how educated his parents were. Thus, people with “distinctively black names” may fare more poorly because of their socioeconomic status.
I find all of this extremely interesting, and I don’t think there’s a right or wrong answer. I think parents should, in general, name their kids what they want to name them. However, I sometimes wish that the US had a naming board like other countries do. I mean, “JoyceLynn Aryan Nation”? “Toolio DeSac”?
To each his own, I suppose.
This post is part of Grown In My Heart’s Blog Carnival.
[Photo Credit: Robyn C. 2005. All rights reserved.]
A classmate of mine, Tameka, did a little experiment. She applied to the same positions under Tameka and Tammy, changing other info so it wasn’t the same. However, the skills on the 2 resumes were exactly the same. She logged all of the data and in the end, she received 65% more response for Tammy. I guess I can’t say I am shocked at those results, but that just means I am like everyone else when they think of a person behind a name. I don’t think I would ever personally discriminate due to a name (I try to leave discrimination out of my life) but sometimes, you do it unconsciously. This is an unfortunate part of our society. Add it to the list!
Absolutely love this post. I do think people are judged immediately on their names. I have a unique formal name and I NEVER use it, especially in social situations because the first thing out of people’s mouths is a quote from a major tv show from the 70’s.
Racially neutral names are probably difficult because even culturally neutral names are hard…cultures put meanings on names that other cultures may not know of.
I am actually doing research that deals with changing the names of adopted children without his or her consent. I go by Masha, but people call me Moesha, Mourice, Marsha, Mash, and so on, so now I just say Maria (Maria is a formal name for Masha in Russia), but now people ask me if I am from Spain????? So, next time I am just going to say ‘Hi, I’m Nancy.’