"Stereotypical Names"?

Question

Do you think naming your kid something stereotypical will hurt, benefit or have not be an issue as they get older?
(Shaquan or Tyrone for black people, Becky or Billy Ray for whites, Carlos for Hispanics etc.. you get the picture.)
And its just a question, I am not even saying what my opinion is . So please curb your "you are ignorant" responses.

My children's names are Chelsea, and Jacqueline. I got chewed out by some black people because they considered them "white" names.......Oh the ignorance.

Answer 1

Sadly, yes. In an age where business employers hire via email applications, or faxed resumes, your name is the impression before the walk in interview. My name is vvveeerrryyyy stereotypical, and many of times have been told, "...you don't talk like your name at all..." Very offensive. Your name is sometimes your first impression, and how you obtain scholarship, or job, can be at stake. I treasure my name, and stamp out stereotypes whenever I hear surprised comments; we make our name, but on paper alone, we don't have the chance to do that, it's just a name. It's reality!

Answer 2

I think it would occasionally come to hurt them. It won't be as bad for white people -- not because they're white, but because they're the majority (assuming this is the US). For the most part, stereotyping is done on the minority group by the majority group. Take a white guy and place him in Japan and he will be heavily stereotyped on. Take a Japanese guy and place him in the US and he will be stereotyped.

But to answer the question. Yes, I think it could be hurtful.

If they see a stereotypical name, it will be an 'enabling factor' for other stereotypes. They might unconsciously or consciously get the idea that "if one stereotype is true, then the others must be true too."

Answer 3

i agree with tangerine. i kinda have one of those stereotypical names if u want to call it that. but my name is actually latin but i've only heard black people actually call it "ghetto". almost every white person i've met says my name is pretty but who know what some of themm could really be thinking on the inside. but i think it can be hurtful because a stereotypical name makes people automatically make stereotypical assumptions about u.
and for my kids. i was thinking about naming my daughter Jade and for my son i like Charles a lot.

Answer 4

Actually, it can sometimes be harmful. Studies have shown that resumes that are written by people with stereotypically "black" names tend to be passed over in favor of those written by people with stereotypically "white" names.

Answer 5

Yes, someone should name his white son Chang.

Answer 6

I think it may hurt, like if your name was Aquanetta or Bonquisha.
I'm naming my children uni-sex, multi-racial names, like
Shannon
Ryan
Brook(e)
..etc