Will a ‘Black’ Name Brand My Son With Mug Shots Before He’s Even Born?

My son will look like Trayvon Martin.

He hasn’t even been born yet — I don’t even know his name — but that’s one thing I know for sure.

The father of my child recently told me of his wish to name our son Keion, after his childhood best friend. I was nothing short of horrified. In my opinion, “Keion” is identified as a “black” name. My two best friends politely asked, in unison, “Don’t you think it sounds too ethnic?” And I cannot forget my brother’s blunt, stinging remark, “Hell, no … way too ghetto. You guys need to revisit the baby books.”

I decided to look up the meaning of Keion, mostly in preparation to battle against it. What I found won me over. Keion means “born of nobility” and “God is gracious.” It’s origins are eclectic: Hebrew, African, Irish and Hawaiian. I felt in my heart that this should be my son’s name.

I’d accepted “Keion,” but what about the rest of the world? I gave the name what I have now coined the “Google test:” I typed “Keion name” in the image search box. To my surprise, my computer screen loaded images of African-American young men posing for their mug shots.

Trying desperately to grasp at straws of hope for my baby boy, I tried a variant of Keion which is spelled K-i-a-n. The results were dramatically different. Smiling photographs of Caucasian males could be seen with every scroll of my mouse. I could not believe the change.

I typed in name after name, and the results were the same. Any name not strictly used by African-Americans brought up no criminal photo galleries. Smiling beauty shots for Jennifer and Amy, prison close-ups for Shaniqua and Laquisha. Same went for Keyshawn and Jaquan, but none for Shawn and Jason. Hispanics may have crime rates on par with blacks, but common male Hispanic names seem to be immune. Juan, Carlos, Jose, Manuel and Pablo surely pass the “Google test.” Needless to say, Devonte and Tevin resulted in my now-expected display of unsmiling mugs.

The assumptions regarding names aren’t new to me. As an African-American woman, my personal experience with my own name makes me fully aware of the “black name dilemma.” My first name, Nikisia (more usually spelled Nikisha and pronounced Nakeesha) originated in India and means “beautiful.” But at a young age I learned that my name was more synonymous with “black girl.” As a result, I chose to use my more “ethnically neutral” nickname, Niki.

I have come across other African-Americans who have also altered their names to a more acceptable form. In fact, this bonded me and my boyfriend when we first started dating. Early in life he also learned that Markeith was “black.” He chose to use Mark, and based on my “Google test,” he is not wrong. A quick image search of his name brings up a display of mug shots of men with a brown hue.

An image search might not be the only way a “black” name is a disadvantage online. When the Harvard University professor Latanya Sweeney set out to investigate whether race shaped online ad results, she found that searching for her own name on Google.com and Reuters.com, both of which rely on Google’s AdSense for online ad delivery, brought up an ad from InstantCheckmate.com that read, “Latanya Sweeney, Arrested?” and “Check Latanya Sweeney’s Arrests.” So-called black-identifying names were “significantly more likely to be accompanied by text suggesting that person had an arrest record, regardless of whether a criminal record existed or not.” (Her research, and responses from the companies concerned, were described in The Huffington Post.)

Reuters and Google have only made concrete an underlying issue that has always existed in America. Our president got into the Oval Office with the name Barack Hussein Obama, even during the War on Terror. Would he still be there had his name been Dequan Devonte Jones?

For me, the personal question remains. Should the name Keion be dropped? Unfortunately there isn’t even a shortened version that is “culturally neutral.” I could spring for the “white version,” Kian, but what does that mean? Choose anything but a “black” name or feel the wrath of Google!

We’re still undecided. But contemplating baby Keion led me straight to a a black mother’s biggest fear, mingling inside me along with the common aches and pains of motherhood. My unborn son, a seven-month old fetus, could have all the world’s unspoken marking s of a criminal — the wrong skin color and the wrong name.


http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/...smid=fb-nytimes&WT.z_sma=ST_WAB_20130919&_r=0

I don't even know where to start, I really don't because I loathed this person after the first sentence. Is she saying they all look alike? Anytime you have a black contributor and its a male there is a chance its going to look like Trayvon. Dont tell me that you cannot google Sean Smith and get arrest crap to pop up. I am sorry if you name your kids thugged out named like RonQuavis and Turquorius, and they acted crazy.



http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/...smid=fb-nytimes&WT.z_sma=ST_WAB_20130919&_r=0

 

This is a current event how?

 

Its in the paper TODAY.

 

The gross positive value of a black name VS the gross negatives of a black name makes this an easy call. But the 80 IQ crowd is unlikely to calculate the net.

Let's then just concentrate on avoiding 'LaTrina'.

 

I had lunch this week with an old friend who used to be in HR. The subject of 'different' names came up and she admitted odd names often get tossed out in HR depts... without a second glance. She blames parents for giving kids names theyll have to spell for others their entire lives. Cheyanne might sound cute to you, but it screams trailer park to everyone who hears it. Same with d'yann. Save your cuteness for your pet. Think of how your child's name would look on their nameplate when they make it to CEO.

Good advice.

 

I'd go with Cleon after the Athenian general, but that's just me.

 

I know a lot of companies want to be diverse so having a name like Turqurious could be an advantage as well to getting an interview.

 

Could be. Maybe not an exec vp job, but still...

 

my son's middle name is Tiberius.

 

I knew of a "Boonquifa Jackson" once. Probably the blackest name I've ever heard. What's worse, is she couldn't even shorten it to something else. "Boon"? "Quifa"? Neither work.

 

Keion is a great name if you want your son to have to repeat his name 4 times every he says who he is. Should make job interviews start uncomfortably. Ever hear that song "a boy named sue"? Might want to try that out. It doesn't sound ghetto though. To me it sounds like a hipster name. I would expect his parents to wear tie die at first guess. Give him a traditional name. If you are Christian pick a saint. That works well.

 

For a middle name that may be cool. I knew someone who had Hercules for a first name. He gre up to match it though. Probably had to lol...

 

Since this chick has an audience, why not use it to speak to the black people and teach them how to better their people? Plead for them to pull up their pants and stop drinking lean and having tons of sex and making little ones? But no, she is going to cry about her son who is going to be more privileged than 98 percent of the other black kids in the ghetto. God forbid her child is autistic, I can just imagine what she will have to say about that, and I have nothing nice to say because her throwing in the her son could be Trayvon appalled me.

 

I got stuck on her referring to the father of her unborn child. If he's not her husband, that'll be a bigger detriment than any name

 

And of course after going on how she had to white her name up, she writes this under her really black name, its just so stupid. She did not follow the Trayvon case, or did but thinks is ok to attack someone for looking at him, I mean if shes so worried about hes going to get attacked because hes black, what does it matter what she names him anyways? Just stupid. Dumbest thing I read all day and I have read some dumb crap.

 

Frankly, I've never heard of a black man with the name "Keion". And I'm a basketball fan.

 

his mother up and declared that his first name was going to be James and i that i may choose his middle name...big mistake there baby momma.



she changed her mind at the last minute and she went with Logan...it's still a win.

 

First off congrats on having a kid. Didn't know you were with child. Second, you have to remember this is a name that your son will have to live with for the rest of his life. With that said you can give him a cultural name as long as it's not some made up name that you picked with 3 or more syllables.

Personally I want to name mine either Wood or Supaflyninjabob.

 

Logan is a win. You should always retain veto power when giving another person a choice. That was we bad for skipping that, way to take full advantage.

 

As an employer, black thug names on resumes get immediately sent to the circular file.....since IQ is primarily inherited I can only assume the applicant is not very bright if his/her parents were stupid enough to give them such a name.

 

Obviously she is saying that black people with names like that are stereotyped in a similar way. Which has pretty much been confirmed by the other posts on this thread. She isn't saying the will literally look physically the same...

 

If this bold is true then why would you even suggest naming kids in such a manner? It obviously would make no difference since being not-black apparently cannot be proven.

 

Because not many people know that courts cannot prove one is either black, white or otherwise. Also most whites do not want their kids to claim they are legally recognized as black


By the way sir, the bold is not mine -- you put it into bold. Forum members should not be allowed to tamper and alter the posts of other members. In some cases, adding bold (or italics and color) font for emphasis can give a poster's message a meaning other than originally intended.

 

"everyone please welcome to the stage (at the shareholders' meeting) Porsche Washington our CEO" yeah, doesn't roll off the tongue.

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I'm sorry to hear that.

 

I think you are missing my point. If you can claim you are black and no one can say otherwise then what does it matter if your name is John Smith, or Brewskier's girlfriends name Boonquifa Jackson? Hint: It doesn't.

Good god man, don't get your panties in a twist. I bolded it so you would know exactly what sentence I was referring to.