Why Do Blacks Come Up With Funky Names For Their Children?

Submitted by Dmitri Davydov on Wed, 2007-12-05 09:18.

Until the early 1970s, there was a great overlap between black and white names. The typical baby girl born in a black neighborhood in 1970s was given a name that was only twice as common among blacks than whites. By 1980s she received a name that was TWENTY times more common among blacks (boys names moved in the same direction, but less aggressively).

The most likely cause of the explosion in distinctively black names was the Black Power Movement, which sought to accentuate African culture and fight claims of black inferiority. A great many black names are unique to backs. More than 40% of the black girls born in California in a given year receive a name that NOT ONE of the roughly 100,000 baby white girls received that year.

The “blackest” names?

Girls
1. Imani
2. Ebony
3. Shanice
4. Aaliyah
5. Precious
6. Nia
7. Deja
8. Diamond
9. Asia
10. Aliyah
11. Jada
12. Tierra
13. Tiara
14. Kiara
15. Jazmine
16. Jasmin
17. Jasmine
18. Jazmin
19. Alexus
20. Raven

Boys
1. DeShawn
2. DeAndre
3. Marquis
4. Darnell
5. Terrell
6. Malik
7. Trevon
8. Tyron
9. Willie
10. Dominique
11. Demetrius
12. Reginald
13. Jamal
14. Maurice
15. Jalen
16. Darius
17. Xavier
18. Terrance
19. Andre
20. Darryl