Last week singer Ciara and her rapper fiancé, Future real name, Nayvadius DeMun Wilburn welcomed their 10 lb baby boy who they named FUTURE! No not as a nickname, his real, legal name is Future Zahir Wilburn. While we all were left with the “WTF” faces after we heard the name, I asked are we really that surprised? One of Ciara’s BFF’s is Kim Kardashian, who recently named her daughter North West and of course we all know that Jay Z and Beyonce named their daughter Blue Ivy. Are celebrities just going for the shock factor now when it comes to naming their children and why are regular people following suit? And does your name affect your character?
When I was pregnant with both of my children I made sure that whatever name I gave them would be traditional, yet not super common. I didn’t want them to potentially have the same name as 2 of their other classmates, but it also wouldn’t be so different as to potentially be a burden to them in life. My son’s, whose real name is Antonio, was named after his grandfather. His entire name sounds very “Latino” so I am aware that his name may play apart in his future when he is sending off applications and even after he’s hired. Can he speak Spanish, will probably always be top of the mind when it comes to his employers, so he will take Spanish lessons. I always knew that whenever I had a daughter, her name would be unisex. Ashton was the perfect choice because it was like my name, but tougher and edgier. Maybe subconsciously I wanted her name to be tougher to help her grow with confidence.
Unusual names aren’t a new thing. They’ve been around for years. From adding waaaaay to many letters in it to trying to get fancy with adding hyphens to it. I even read that a couple in China tried to name their child @, yes the AT symbol and you also may have heard of someone naming their child Le-a, looking at it you’d think it’s pronounced Lea, but nope it’s pronounced LeDASHa, the – is not silent!!! In today’s age, with technology being so popular, names like Mac (which I named my dog) and Siri are also on the rise as well as the name Google,E xcel and even Hashtag (WTH!!?). When I was younger there was a girl at my elementary school named Yucifer, yup just like Lucifer, the devil. I’ve also encountered Anfernees why not just name him Anthony? I recently saw a news clip of someone named AIRWRECKA, why not name her Erica? Was that so hard to do?
My oldest niece will be 19 in a few weeks. Her real name is Diamond. I recently asked her if she feels prejudged because of her name and because I know that many in my generation and older immediately think about Lisa Raye’s stripper character in the Players Club, when they hear the name Diamond. Luckily for my niece, she says that she hasn’t received any backlash from her name, that she’s aware of, but once she gets into career as a doctor, she will professionally go by Dr. D.Coley, not publicizing Diamond.
As much as we want to say that a book shouldn’t be judged by its cover, or in this case, it’s title, it is. Sometimes I hear the names that people give their children and I think to myself, “they’ve set that poor baby up for failure” as soon as their names appears on a list for schools or jobs, before looking at their credentials there will already be a preconceived notion about them because of their name. In a recent article that I read it said, “studies have found that a resume submitted under a name perceived as African-American, such as Lakesia Washington, gets less attention from potential employers that the identical resuming bearing a more “Caucasian” name, like Mary Ann Roberts.”
In the cases of Blue Ivy, North West and baby Future, they were born to millionaire parents, so their upbringing and the judgement on them will differ from “North West” from DC or Future from Settle. Studies also show that kids with easier to pronounce names receive preferential treatment from teachers and eventually employers. And beyond the classroom there’s the playground and the real world. Kids are getting crueler and crueler by the day, having an odd name just adds to the plate of things to get teased about.
I do know that times are consistently changing and so are the common names that people name their children. In the 80′s and 90′s, Ashley and Brittney (Brittany, Britney) were very popular names, making my 1st and middle name are 2 of the world’s most common names. I am also often aware that people do have preconceived notions about me because of my very traditional name. Whether it’s conscious or subconscious so people view me as super sweet, quiet, passive or maybe even timid, due to my name, but quickly find that to be false once they know me, lol. I think that with me having such a common name, I’ve often felt the need to prove just how uncommon I really am.
When naming your child, think about your child’s future and the possibility that the name can hinder them. I understand that it’s 2014, so names like Ashley, Nicole, Mary and Jessica aren’t as popular as they used to be and some parents want to be creative, I get it. Having a fun, unusual or creative name could lead them down the same road as a Beyonce where their name isn’t such a burden at all, it helps them stand out and get noticed. BUT what if they want to be an accountant, a lawyer or doctor?? Would you decide to call Dr. Kiwi Green for a consultation or be eager to let Shanaynay Smith do your taxes??? Not saying that it can’t or won’t happen. Actually my doctor has a very unusual name, it was actually one of the reasons I chose her. But everyone is not me, willing to over look a name. There is and always will be prejudice.
But at the same time, as parents our job is to raise exceptional people, no matter what their name is! Who would’ve ever thought that a “Barack Obama” would one day become “The President Of The United States.”
