Ghetto/Hippy Baby names, WHY?

THAT'S WHAT MY PARENTS THOUGHT BACK IN 1973!!!!!! I'M STILL WAITING!!!

I saw that episode of 20/20. They took people with unique names. They posted their resumes on job-searching websites like monster.com. For each person they would post their real resume, with their real, unique name. At the same time they also posted one that was their resume, identical in every way, except that they changed the first name to something traditional. The Govindas, Freedoms, and Shaniquas didn't even get called. The Jennifers and Melanies and Davids got tons of calls.

So, it is possible to test the belief that names make a difference. 20/20 did. And they do.

Govinda

 

Wow what a compelling argument! From now on I will conform to society's ideals of naming one's child and disregard the names that I personally love. I certainly don't want to end up with a 31 year old cry baby, throwing a fit at me because his name isn't like his friends' names, and it's holding him back from being rich like he knows he could be if only he didn't have god damn hippies for parents!

 

LOL my thoughts exactly


Of course as a backup plan said sons will have 'normal' middle names. So they can use those.
Not sure about the girls, girls tend to have more unusual names anyway and they're tough, so it should be fine.

And hey there's always deed poll. I won't be (that) offended if they take that offer up.

Hey just had a though, what about all the actors/actresses with unusual names? Never seems to stop them getting jobs and earning shed loads of money. Can't imagine they're scarred for life.

 

mY DAUGHTER'S name is Saige Noelle .
She was due on xmas so I thought I'd put the Noelle in there

I like Jude,Willow,Karma,Zoe,Aiden,Kale ~

I love unique names ~ my name is Kendra ,,,, I can't imagine getting called in class and NOT KNOWING if it was for me? When someone sayd Kendra I know they are talking to me

 

You know what? It DOES matter. It is a good idea to try to give your children opprtunities to succeed. I was raised in a hippy family, very unique, total poverty. Yippee. It sucked. Yes, as a parent and an adult I do want to be able to get jobs. I want my kids to have the things they need- and, dare I say it- maybe even some things that are nice. With a freaky name on my resume I am not even given the opportunity to show up and prove myself in person.

It's really easy to talk about not conforming. It's another thing to realize that there are some things that really are more important than others. Maybe at one time my mom's friends thought wearing a bra was oppressive. (An example off the top of my head.) Then they had kids to support. Was going without a bra and being unemployed and hungry worth it? They decided it wasn't. When we have responsibilities we have to prioritize.

I have grown up knowing other kids with weird names who were not happy about it. My whole upbringing was an experiment in counter-culture, so don't tell me how superior that is. IT'S NOT NECESSARILY.

If you love freaky names change your own name. It's very selfish to do that to your kid. You don't know if they'll be happy with that when they're older. I am certain that it's harder to go to school with rednecks when you have a freaky name than it is to be one of two Jenifers in a class. I don't mean to alarm you, but not all kids grow up to have exactly the same values as their parents! Believe it or not, you may even regret naming your kids names like Karma some day. Poor kids.

 

You have a PM, Levi.

 

none of my peers, and I have many in high ranking positions in financial institutions, lawfirms, hospitals - could give a shit what a person's name is. I'm sorry Shane, but you are wrong. I've lived in ten different states, so I have a pretty wide knowledge of this nation and the trends in different areas. The fact is that it is often hard to find the right fit for a certain position, so what a person's name is does not matter to the MAJORITY of employers. This might sound odd considering the high rate of unemployment, but its true. Fact is that most employers are very concerned about being sued for discrimination - so trust me, a name doesn't sway opinions.

I can appreciate a concern for ridicule amongst children by giving a child an off-beat name, but this is a minimal problem in the work force.

 

"but this is a minimal problem in the work force."
But this is also a huge problem for school. Especially in places similar to where I live. Anyone named "moonshine" would be ridiculed endlessley by conforming assholes. I understand the desire to be different and to make your kid stand out, but because of the state of society today (a chronic hatred towards anything unusual) you'd be screwing your kid by giving him or her one of these names. For the love of the motherfucking jesus, think of the children.

 

read up:

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/2020/Business/Black_Names_040820-1.html

 

They say:

Well, I am not raising conformist children. I was not raised to be a conformist, either. Maybe that is why my veiw is so tainted. I have always wanted, and have been happy to stand out. Not so much to call attention to myself (I dislike being the center of attention,) but to be seen as different from the masses. I expect the same from my children.

 

"i was lookin at a script one tahm, and two of the charactas names wuz lemon jell-o and orange jell-o. and then the director corrected me,"lemanjalo and oranjalo"

anyone with a hippie name like rainbow or freedom sky or someting would probably get the shit beat out of them at my school, or just laughed at if their lucky
"whats your name dude"
"moonbeam"
"for real man, whats your name"
"moonbeam"
(whole class busts out in laughter)

 

I find it sad that people are being told to name you kids to the "typical norm" for a better life. Wow, I sure hope the the people who take names from their culture and their heritage push that all aside so that their kids can be like everyone else.
My name is Amber Christine and I hate it. I realize that it's a normal/hippy name, but it was too common for me. And also it had some people believing I was caucasian.
Passing judgement on someone based on thier name is just as bad as passing judgement on someone of color (like me ). But accepting that discrimination is just like saying every other discrimination is okay.
No upper class , white american study is gonna tell me to name my kinds conventional names so they can succeed in life. Oh yeah and ghetto names sounds really wrong since most of those names are derived from African names passed down for generations.

edited to add.
You can name your kid the most conventional of names, People are still cruel and will still find a way to tease. You can't use that argument with me.

 

Totally agree

My given name is perfectly normal, and I hate it too. Hence the change.

Why is there a belief that werid names must prompt teasing, as if 'normal' names don't.
My given name is the 11th most common [girls] name in America, ergo very 'normal' and yet it has infinte teasing potential.
On the other hand my chosen name has no teasing potential.

 

I saw that episode of 20/20. They took people with unique names. They posted their resumes on job-searching websites like monster.com. For each person they would post their real resume, with their real, unique name. At the same time they also posted one that was their resume, identical in every way, except that they changed the first name to something traditional. The Govindas, Freedoms, and Shaniquas didn't even get called. The Jennifers and Melanies and Davids got tons of calls.

So, it is possible to test the belief that names make a difference. 20/20 did. And they do.
So give your children common names and give in to ignorance?
Sounds pretty pathetic.

 

another thing..
if you truly want to succeed in life, nothing will stop you. Blaming non success on your name is just silly. Is it really worth changing who you are to fit another person's opinion of you?

How many people were forced to change their name so that people "pronouce" it?

 

I assume this was directed at me, because of my comments. I would just like to say that just because my teenage parents on acid liked the name Govinda Starchild, that doesn't mean that's who I am. My parents and I have some very different ideas. I am certain that some other people on these forums also have differing values and ideas than their parents.

Just because they named me something unique, that doesn't mean I had a euphoric hippy childhood. If anyone is thinking that the two are somehow the same, or that my parents made a thoughtful decision because they were just so devoted to their culture, they are just being naive.

If you knew me you'd know that I don't sit back and just let obstacles bring me down. I am a disabled single parent in college. I have the option of staying home all day, every day, because of my epileptic seizures, but I choose not to. I don't give up easily.

Having a name like mine has meant being harrassed by rednecks and religious devotees. It has meant being disrespected by teachers, cops, bankers, employers, coworkers. I am on here telling people what it is really like to have a freaky name. It really, in reality, does make a difference. I know because I have always lived with it. If people want to be silly and believe that in the future more people will have hippy names than not, or that their kids should fight the power and succeed even with the obstacles that their parents purposely and knowingly made for them, I guess I can't stop anyone. It's selfish, though.

If anyone here thinks I'm full of it, in spite of actually living with a really stupid name for 31 years, I dare you to change your name to something just as unusual, freaky, and 'unique'. I don't mean a nickname. Change it legally. Then go about your life trying to get work and rent apartments and cash checks.

You know what else? Not all of us want to work in head shops forever. I don't know what the hell my parents thought I might be doing by now, but I would like to be able to be taken seriously when people look at my resume. There's nothing wrong with that.

 

I was named after one of my mother's friends from her high school, so I have the normal name "Cheryl". Then for the last 2 1/2 yrs, a friend's daughter has been calling me "Sunshine" (long story). Whenever I get a new job since then
and the boss asks what name to put on my nametag I tell them Sunshine. Everyone assumes that it's my real name and they usually will tell me that they
like the unusual name.
I also have a sunshine tattoo on my arm now which is like having my name on my arm.(pic of the tatoo is on my gallery) For $25 and 10 minutes with a judge here in NH, I could legally change my name to "Sunshine". I have nothing against the name Cheryl, but the name Sunshine has more of a special meaning to me.

 

can i just say that it might be that way in America but in england ive never heared anyone have the piss taken out of their name once they get past the age of about 10.

I grew up with the name
Elise Malay Maynard. i didnt like it as a child, and i still dont like the name Elise for me. Its a nice name but persoanlly it doesnt suit me.
I use my nickname as my real name "fleassy". I get just as much confusion as to what my name is with this name as i did with my old name, however im comfortable with this name. I introduce myself as it, and thats what i lvie with. Even my lecturers and parents now use it. If i got to an interview (for instrance my uiniversity interview) when they say "elise?" questioningly asking if thats me i say "yes but id rather be called Fleassy thank you"
Yes i uderstand that you might have some problems with your name, but not everyone has that problem. I was going to be called Ayesha, which is not a caucasian name infact i think its hindu, i dont think that would have held me back in life either.

i respect that my parents chose a given name for me which they liked. I grew up and found that name didnt suit my persoanlity, so i changed it. Everyone has the right to re-name themself, everyone has the right to name their children what ever they please. Yes i think joke names like Mary Christmas, and Happy Valentine are a little bit cruel because they are given knowing a definate joke for life. However at my school there were names such as...
Hera (boy), Candy, Catina, Angaharad, Elle, Chantell, Alana, Selina, Omar. I know someone else called Oleg. If you think about it in somecountries names which u find odd really arent that odd at all. Someone said they know hardly any Natalies... here thats an incredibly popular name.
In Holand (i think its holad) the namd Fucka (its not spelt like that but it is said like that) is a common name, infact we bought a horse from there with that name and when we told the preveious owner wher it meant in endland she was incredibly shocked.

you think in some countrys the name Joe is common? Where as names like Ishmael, Hera, oleg, Corrina, Arina are all popular names in the countries they origionate. In such a multi race, multi comunal world we live in now names are nothing but a label to declaire who you are. I am not an Elise anymore, Im a Fleassy.then again people call me fleece, flossy, fluffy, bubbles etc i dont care. Its a tag word. thats all.

 

I have to agree with Levi on this one. As has been said before..if you love unusual names, change you're own name.

I don't think that choosing your kid's name is the time to be making statements about your personal ideologies/politics or changing the world. When the kid is old enough to decide on a different name so be it but don't label him/her.

I agree that the world should be a nicer place but the reality is a highly unusual name will result in someone being judged before they can put themselves forward.

 

Good theory, but I had to laugh.
What do you mean don't label them, a name is a label.
Naming is ultimatly the time to make statements about what kind of a person you are and think your child/ren will be like. Most of the time people don't even realise they are doing such a thing.
Having studied them for years I know that every single name in world has significance and creates an impression. Even totally common names like John.
It is impossible to predict what your child shall be like. So naming them shall always be a leap of faith.

Fleassy, that is such a great story. I've have exactly the same problem with my given name, and plan to go by something else (in the fashion you have) at university.
So I shall go by Sage and see what happens. Consider it a sociological experiement.