They don't always have unusual names, but I do know what you're talking about and it is a rather novel development, an outgrowth of the Black Power movement of the '60s/'70s. Before that time, you won't find many blacks with the names you're thinking of, but after that there was a growing sense of cultural identity and a desire to break away from many of the Anglo traditions that had been forced upon us, including names. Freed from the shackles of traditional designations (such as John, Michael, etc.), black people felt comfortable in bestowing new, unique and original names upon their children, some of which had their roots in Africa, and others that sprang wholly from the minds of black parents. It's a way of saying that the child is special. Also, by way of defense, have you met any black children named Apple (Gweneth Paltrow's daughter), Zowie (David Bowie's son) Moon or Dweezil (Frank Zappa's kids)? As you can see, blacks don't have the monopoly on weird names.
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Name : Kevin26338, Gender : M, Race : Black/African American, Age : 35, City : Houston, State : TX Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, Corporate America is still primarily Euro-centric and thus the results of a study showing that there is a distinct bias against 'black' names on resumes. So by parents trying to give their children a unique identity, they may also be contributing to holding the kids back when they are adults.
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Name : Anita, Gender : Female, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 49, City : Indianapolis, State : IN Country : United States, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, I am black and my name is Julie. Sisters: Joanne Elizabeth, Josette, Janette. Brother: Joseph. Uncles: Mark, Daniel, Ezra. Aunts: Eva, Emiline. Nuff said.
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Name : Julie, Gender : F, Race : Black, Age : 33, City : Woodbridge, State : VA Country : United States, Occupation : Gov't Contracting, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, I'm black and I hate all of those weird 40-syllable names. I think it may be more accepted or even expected among some lower class African Americans. Very rarely will you meet an upper class black child with a long or unsuual name like Nepateria, Artravious, LaBriannica or Marquavious.
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Name : Tasha27430, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 30, City : Olive Branch, State : MS Country : United States, Occupation : Educator, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, We too in the African American community scratch our heads when we hear these unique.....nah, CRAZY names. This really has nothing to do with Africa, but a lot to do with 'uniqueness' or stupidity. Should you meet a black guy named Kunjufu, Obeme, or Omala, then you're dealing with someone from a country in Africa. When you meet Sharquita, Diamante, Catajia, then you're dealing with someone whose parents are scarring their children in a feeble attempt to be unique. I don't know how many of these parents can say they've ever been to a country in Africa much less know of any names that derive from a spoken language on that continent. It is a truly stupid and useless practice by some in the black community, and if recent reports of name discrimination haven't done anything to deter this from happening, nothing will. Your child is unique in the sense that no one else will have his or her personality. You don't need a name to stand out. At least allow your child to get a job interview.
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Name : Rick29769, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Age : 32, City : Atlanta, State : GA Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, They are derived from a number of different sources. First and foremost, some combination of any names that are African sounding, some combination of some family members' names that are different from all others, the kind of car their OB drives, any name plucked from the credits of a Spike Lee movie.
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Name : Basil Moreau, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, City : New Orleans, State : LA Country : United States, Occupation : Consultant, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, Black people tend to name their children after African tribal names to make them unique. Like Shanequa or Tibatoo.
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Name : Jackie21223, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : Native Hawaiian, Religion : Bahai Faith, Age : 45, City : Washington, State : DC Country : United States, Occupation : Doctor, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, I chose to name my kids non-european names partly because as you know most of our history of our original names,language and religon have been stolen from us, buy mostly I chose to give give them islamic names because of my being influced by my muslim best freind. I also chose islamic names because of the beautiful and powerful meaning of the names.Now i do find it kind of annoying when some kinds have outragous names for example 'laquita or shaquanda' and they have no meaning at all and also names like 'hunter and forrest or the trend I notice of a lot white kids given last names as there first names like 'kennedy or connor for example . But all and all its an identity issue
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Name : angie7519624, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, City : san diego, State : CA Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, I was raised in white bread rural Texas, and I can tell you rednecks give their kids some pretty weird names. Like the girl who was named Dondi- after her father. There were 2 'Dusty Rhodes' in my school and 2 Joe-Tom's. There was an Ole, a LaSean, a Ty, and a half a dozen Candy's (Try finding that name in the Bible!). 'C Dub' is also pretty common. It's short for C. W. apparently.
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Name : Sean, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 35, City : Dallas, State : TX Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, My kid goes to a hippy private school, mostly white and Latino, and half the kids there have made up or way pretentious names. DaVinci, Trueheart, Mindanao, etc. And don't forget all the weird white trash names in the world: Ashlee, Brit'ni, Caycee, McCayla, Shayla, Shyla, et al. My two closest black friends are named Deborah and Angela. Their siblings have names like John, David, Carolyn and Joe.
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Name : Dot, Gender : Female, Age : none, City : L.A., State : CA Country : United States, Social class : Middle class, 
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