[Lisa22813]

Many of the names that sound odd to those of us used to European-sounding words may actually have African origin. A very good and reputable book ‘Black names in America: origins and usage’ by Newbell Puckett [1975] traces the origins of common proper and surnames among African-Americans. I’ve known two Black men with the name ‘Mookie’ and always thought it was a very odd name until I read this book–the author traces it to (if I remember correctly) a Yoruban men’s name, ‘M’buki.’ I’m sure that some names, like ‘Clinique’ and the name of one of my former supervisors, ‘Carterletta’ (her father was named Carter) are acts of creation, but we must keep in mind that many African-American names have a long heritage. Just smile and politely ask the person to spell their name for you, and then say it correctly. It’s what polite, non-judgmental people do all the time with my almost unpronouncible German surname.

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Name : Lisa22813, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, City : Chicago, State : IL, Country : United States, Social class : Middle class, 

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