As I've been watching several American movies and talk shows, and I´ve noticed that many black women have really unusual names, such as LaToya, Keesha, Aaliyah and Lutricia. Where do these names come from? And why don´t black men have these kinds of exotic names?
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Name : Elsa25334, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Religion : Lutheran, Age : 17, City : Helsinki, State : NA Country : Finland, Occupation : High school student, Actually, the practice of assigning black children non-mainstream names is common no matter their gender, but I agree that it's more common with girl children. Maybe it's because there are more names to choose from (or make up, as the case may be)with girls. As far as i've been able to tell, the unusual names in the black community are either African or African-derived (Swahili, mostly), Arabic (Aaliya, Latifa), or a mainstream name with a distinctive prefix added (*La*tricia). Sometimes, names are given that just sound nice to the parents, but that have never been heard before. Call it creativity run amok. The same guidelines go for boys, but rather than 'La' being the most common prefix added for distinction, 'De' or 'Del'(DeAndre, De/DelShawn) is often used. I'm not sure what the reason for the prefixes is; there's probably no more reason for it than the 'guilded lily' names among American white children. However, in the case of more African or Arabic-sounding names, I think it's an attempt to connect the child with their culture, or that of their ancestors.
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Name : Jennifer31026, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 31, City : Saint Paul, State : MN Country : United States, Occupation : Non-profit, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, First, you must clearly define 'unusual.' You wrote, 'I´ve noticed that many black women have really unusual names, such as LaToya, Keesha, Aaliyah and Lutricia.' It's logical to say that if 'many' black women have these names, that these names aren't unusual at all. Your name could be perceived as being a bit unusual, too, Elsa. By the way, I'm black, and my name is Julie. I have three sisters (also black): Joanne, Josette and Janette.
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Name : Julie, Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, Age : 31, City : Woodbridge, State : VA Country : United States, Occupation : Event Planning, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, that a lot of white people are naming their daughters all sorts of strange things lately, such as Brogan - who would name their kid after a work boot? Emerson is another strange name that I have heard white folks naming their kids. What is up with that? What is up is that different types of names appeal to different people for different reasons, and are popular within different groups. Why did every other parent who had a baby girl in the early '70s name her Jennifer or Heather? Because they were very popular names during that time.
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Name : Lucy22396, Gender : F, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), City : San Jose, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Engineer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, I'm neither black nor female, but from my understanding, some of the names are somewhat derived from African names. For instance, 'Kiesha' is Swahili for 'princess.' I'm told it was a baby-naming fad in the 70s that turned into a movement of sorts. There are also many black men who have been given Africanized or Islamic names. I suppose black women's names have just been the subject of more jokes (mainly from white folks who aren't hip to where the names come from).
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Name : Dan27380, Gender : M, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Religion : Pentecostal, Age : 23, City : Los Angeles, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, black men in the US also have `exotic' names. to name a few I know: devario, marquan, karon, khalil, jamar, kenan....
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Name : justme26898, City : new york, State : NY Country : United States, It has been said that this type of nomenclature is based on African names, but there is little if any similiarity to their African counterparts. So I think it is more of a matter of black expression and American black culture. I mean which gets more attention, Rachel, or Latisha? The latter sounds more as you say exotic and ethnic. And black men also have 'different' names, it's just that they are not quite as 'exotic' sounding as the black women's names. Jabari, Jerome, Jamal, and others are names that are common to black men but rare to whites.
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Name : Kristina, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 20, City : Washington, State : DC Country : United States, Occupation : Transcriber, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, It is found in those families that have memories of Africa. If you look at Names of women in Africa they are very similar to these names. LaQuisha, is a very well known name that in America is LaTisha, Many times the begining of name is remembered (La** Ta** whatever) when the rest of the name is forgotten. 'Keesha', and others can be found at several sites online,look up 'names' in a search engine. African names have wonderful meanings. And the Names for men are are also remenbered like 'Juwan'.
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Name : Gregory, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : Black/African American, Age : 53, City : Saint Paul, State : MN Country : United States, Occupation : IT Adminestration, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, Many of the names are associated with middle eastern and African names (Aaliyah is a good example of this). Also, there seems to be less stigma associated with unique names in black communities. Black men do have a wider variety of names than what is commonly seen amongst whites. Have you ever met a guy named Naseer or Khalil or Jarobi or Ola? Well, if you ever hear one of those names the person is probably black or African and probably (if African-American) they were born after the 60's civil rights movement when more blacks started giving children more African or African-sounding names.
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Name : C. Phillips, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Disability : lupus, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 25, City : New Orleans, State : LA Country : United States, Occupation : university student, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, Just beacuse names like Keesha,Aaliyah,Lutricia,LaToya are not names that you like or are familiar with that don't make them weird or exotic. To some one like you any name other then Sarah,Heather,Amber,Stephanie is exotic. LOL
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Name : Courtney31868, City : Not gona tell, State : NA Country : United States, I think Black people choose those names as an indication or a display of their culture. Undoubtedly, when you hear one of those names, you are almost certain that it's a Black person. that's the intention. Just as Japanese people give their children names that show that they are Japanese, so do some Blacks. Black men do have more 'ethnic' names. You'll hear names like DeAndre, Dontay, Trayvon. It does seem that it is more lower class Blacks who tend to give their children those names. I am in no way confining that activity to them, but that does seem to be a trend at that economic level. I'm black and my name is Kelly. So figure that one out.
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Name : Kelly R., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Catholic, Age : 25, City : St. Louis, State : MO Country : United States, Occupation : university instructor, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, As a black American woman, I'm very proud to have a 'standard' name that could belong to either a white or black woman. However, I've heard of studies conducted that state that many black Americans name their children unique and/or original names in order to have a sense of 'ownership.' This was especially popular in the 1970s when the 'Black is Beautiful' movement was big in America. Also, I notice that you're from Finland. Some of the names that might seem normal to us may seem unusual to you. Alternatively, some of the unusual names may actually be borrowed from African languages. For instance, black names like Nia and Imani translate into 'purpose' and 'faith,' respectively. (Sorry, I forget the precise language these names come from.) Oh, and black have been given such unique names (names like Marquis and Lamont come to mind). However, it's not as common amongst males as females. I personally think that this trend is dying down today . . . . Alot of these names are really just silly and they're an immediate identifyer. For instance, if your resume says Burkeesha Jackson, the employer will KNOW that you're black right away. Why give them a chance to form an opinion about anything other than your credentials before meeting you?
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Name : Lady-Bug26188, City : Washington, State : DC Country : United States, What may be unusual to one group of people may be normal to another. It's all about culture.
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Name : Marron-B22126, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Age : 24, City : Anniston, State : AL Country : United States, Occupation : clerical, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower class, Aaliyah, I believe comes from Arabic. I think it means a gift from God or something...or atleast that's what the VH1 behind the music says
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Name : James-W20873, Gender : M, Race : Black/African American, City : Baltimore, State : MD Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, MY PARENTS NAMED ME AS TO NOT IMPLY MY RACE OR GENDER. THIS HAS HELPED MY FOOT INTO COUNTLESS DOORS. I RECENTLY FOUND APPRECIATION FOR THE CREATIVE NAMES THAT MY CULTURE HAS INTRODUCED TO EACH OTHER AND THE WORLD. I WOULDN'T NAME MY DAUGHTER KEISHA OR MY SON MALIK, BUT I AM PROUD THAT THESE NAMES ARE ASSOCIATED WITH MY HERITAGE
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Name : TAYLOR, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Southern Baptist, Age : 18, City : MEMPHIS, State : TN Country : United States, Occupation : FULL-TIME STUDENT, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Lower middle class, 
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