Racial Profiling Based on Your Name?

[Bini]

How much thought did you or will you put into choosing a name for your child? Have you yourself experienced racial profiling based on your name?

I'm Asian but my parents and siblings are Caucasian, with the exception of a younger sister that is adopted and also Asian. We have first names that are mostly associated as Caucasian names and a maiden name that is old English. So naturally, when applying for jobs and then going into interviews, we did get some awkward reactions from the employer, followed by "You don't expect many people like you to have a name like that". Obviously they were expecting someone else..

So surely this goes the other way around as well. Employers setting aside applications from individuals that have foreign sounding or ethnic names. My married name is Dutch but consistently people misread and mispronounce it, making it almost sound Hispanic. When I show up for appointments, I have been greeted in Spanish but when my husband is with me, people just find it odd that a white guy would have such a "non-white" surname. Lol.

[Wingnut]

There are two chapters dedicated to this very topic in the book Freakonomics, focusing specifically on "black names" vs. "white names." It's an interesting topic.

[talisyn]

I picked my daughter's name based on how easy it would be for a 4th grader to mess it up and tease her. I thought I did a good job until one of my nephews called her 'Genie Coconut'. You can do your best with the first name but you just can't do anything with a surname

[hordak]

I picked my daughter's name based on how easy it would be for a 4th grader to mess it up and tease her. I thought I did a good job until one of my nephews called her 'Genie Coconut'. You can do your best with the first name but you just can't do anything with a surname

No doubt. variation of my first name combined with the mispronunciation of my last is a disease. Grade school was not fun.

[NeuroTypical]

Not racial profiling, but class profiling. Some people and kids as I was growing up would assume that I was rich because my name was Loudmouth Gehosiphat Mormon III. Apparently, that "the third" meant that I was an heir to some family fortune.

LM

[hordak]

You know i don't know if there is any truth to it (and i certainly would not recommend judging an applicant based on their name) but i read somewhere that there is a correlation between a persons name and their type of upbringing.Generally speaking

Someone from Harlem NY who was named Tupac, (for example) was more likely to be raised by militant black panther criminal and have a step father on the FBI top ten list, then someone from South Central LA , named Larry, who grew up to be an Attorney, author, radio and tv talk show host.

The name didn't make the circumstances but were a reflection of them.

[Guest]

There are two chapters dedicated to this very topic in the book Freakonomics, focusing specifically on "black names" vs. "white names." It's an interesting topic.

Bill Cosby said that exact same thing about black names!

My brothers and sister were named after space programs...

I can tell if the person calling is a telemarketer by the way they mangle my name. Hello, is this ay-na, er, ana', er, ay-na-teez? Click.

I named my kids after angels. My husband wanted to name my firstborn Maximus - he quickly dropped the idea after his boss told him he'll be called Glutius through middle school. I'm sure somebody in my kids' school will eventually come up with a way to use their names to tease them. C'est la vie.

My husband refuses to name my kids after him - no Juniors, not even just middle name. He says he is the only one of that name in our house and that is how it has to be.

I had a friend named Forest. He was in high school when the movie Forrest Gump came out. He was not happy.

Desktop support techs got outsourced to India at one point. They gave all of them names like Amy Ray for Assamese Rajkumar.

So, yes, names can cause prejudice. I mean, people just try to find as many things they can use to prejudge. If it's not the name, then it's the hair, or the zit on someone's nose.

So, in my opinion, names should be chosen carefully so that it is something that means something to you and as much as possible not give too much easy ammunition for other people's prejudices. At the same time, you just can't name all your kids John just to avoid discrimination.

[RachelleDrew]

People in the midwest butcher my name, usually calling me Rachel or Michelle.

In areas where my name is at least pronounced correctly, I have a different problem. Over the phone I am frequently mistaken for african-american. Not because of my speech, but because they seem to think my name is spelled Ra-Shell. I guess it's not really a problem, but just odd.

It's Rachelle, french for crying out loud. I've always wanted to beat my mother up for naming me that. Of course when I begged to go by my middle name as a child (Drew) she wouldn't allow it.

I gave my son an easy name with no unique spelling. Elijah Landon. Nothing complicated or racially ambiguous about that name. : D

[hordak]

RachelleDrew. But drew is a unisex name so you would still gave problems.

Which reminds me. My mother also gave me 2 first names with a hyphen. Without the Hyphen my first names look like the a female name. At my last job my coworkers where disappointed to see a new guy. They where expecting a lady.

[lydlou]

name profiling is probaly something to think about before naming a child, my sister has a black name, and my other sister mas a hispanic name. the rest of the fam mostly has genericly white names (my little brothers is italian) ive been thinking of giving y next child a slavic name like Dmitri or Nataila.

[annamaureen]

My mother wanted to name me Anastasia... luckily she went for just Anna. I really dodged a bullet there!

[WillowTheWhisp]

It really irritates me when someone in a call centre with an obvious Indian accent introduces themself as Sheila or Eric. I am quite familiar with Indian and Pakistani people so why can't they simply be honest about who they are? I would be more likely to trust someone who gives me a believable name.

[Blackmarch]

How much thought did you or will you put into choosing a name for your child? Have you yourself experienced racial profiling based on your name?

I'm Asian but my parents and siblings are Caucasian, with the exception of a younger sister that is adopted and also Asian. We have first names that are mostly associated as Caucasian names and a maiden name that is old English. So naturally, when applying for jobs and then going into interviews, we did get some awkward reactions from the employer, followed by "You don't expect many people like you to have a name like that". Obviously they were expecting someone else..

So surely this goes the other way around as well. Employers setting aside applications from individuals that have foreign sounding or ethnic names. My married name is Dutch but consistently people misread and mispronounce it, making it almost sound Hispanic. When I show up for appointments, I have been greeted in Spanish but when my husband is with me, people just find it odd that a white guy would have such a "non-white" surname. Lol.

no idea on what i'll do or want to do when i reach that point....

other than no Eds, no Imas, and No Uras....

[Blackmarch]

It really irritates me when someone in a call centre with an obvious Indian accent introduces themself as Sheila or Eric. I am quite familiar with Indian and Pakistani people so why can't they simply be honest about who they are? I would be more likely to trust someone who gives me a believable name.

mebbe or that may be their legal name... dunno tho.

[Dravin]

I'm about as white bread as they come in my upbringing and family dynamics, I don't think I'll run into issues. My ideas for names tend to draw from my experience. The possibly except would be if I went cruising the Old Testament for a name.

It really irritates me when someone in a call centre with an obvious Indian accent introduces themself as Sheila or Eric. I am quite familiar with Indian and Pakistani people so why can't they simply be honest about who they are?

Because most English speakers (at least in the US) are going to have an easier time pronouncing a 'white' name as opposed to an 'Indian' name. And ideally, the reasons they tell you a name, is so you can address them by it. That way you aren't struggling to pronounce Aandaleeb either during the conversation or when you call back and try to get someone.

As far as the process of giving a false name goes, that's pretty common in call centers.

[WillowTheWhisp]

The thing is Dravin, we have such a high immigrant population here that you'd be hard pressed to find somebody who doesn't have friends, neighbours, aquaintances, doctor, dentist, customers, shop assistants who are of Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi origin and have occasion to use the names on a regular daily basis. One of my daughter's friends is Saiqa, another is Yusuf. Our next door neighbours are Pakistani, two doorsdown is a Bangladeshi family, across the road are Indian and Pakistani families. My eye specialist is Mrs Patel. Another doctor of mine is Mr Vijaykumar. Our school secretary is Saida. (prounounced sigh ee dah). My daughter's English teacher is Miss Mahmood...............These names are as familiar to us as Smith and Jones.

[Bini]

The thing is Dravin, we have such a high immigrant population here that you'd be hard pressed to find somebody who doesn't have friends, neighbours, aquaintances, doctor, dentist, customers, shop assistants who are of Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi origin and have occasion to use the names on a regular daily basis. One of my daughter's friends is Saiqa, another is Yusuf. Our next door neighbours are Pakistani, two doorsdown is a Bangladeshi family, across the road are Indian and Pakistani families. My eye specialist is Mrs Patel. Another doctor of mine is Mr Vijaykumar. Our school secretary is Saida. (prounounced sigh ee dah). My daughter's English teacher is Miss Mahmood...............These names are as familiar to us as Smith and Jones.

Yes in the UK it's very different from the US.

Honestly, when I lived in England I didn't feel any racial prejudice at all. I'm not saying it doesn't exist in one form or another but in regards to "minorities" (non-Whites) versus the "majority" (Whites)—I never felt that barrier. In the United States, in some areas more than others, people aren't as exposed to other ethnic groups. This was quite some time ago but just here in Southern Utah, my sister and I were the only Asians in our highschool. Many people had no clue of the Philippines or any other culture. When I attended the British school, we had folks from everywhere!

Sorry that was off topic but I know exactly where you're coming from :]

[Dravin]

These names are as familiar to us as Smith and Jones.

Yes but not to everyone. So it's simplest to just instruct the employees to use a generic fake name that works for all of the English speakers calling in, both American and British, instead of just the British. I'm sure there are cases where the call centers aren't the same for the two countries, but its how policies like that get started. *shrug*

Edited February 4, 2010 by Dravin

[miztrniceguy]

I was named after an angel, and have my dad's name for my middle name. I gave my first name to my son for his middle name. My wife has the same name as my mother. my wife's dad has the same name as my dad. my sister was born 2 days before my wife, whose birthday is 1 day after my mothers.

[Moksha]

Interestingly, some traditional Utah first names have a similarity to black names, such as Eldora, LaWanda, JenRay and LaMar.

[Mahone]

It really irritates me when someone in a call centre with an obvious Indian accent introduces themself as Sheila or Eric. I am quite familiar with Indian and Pakistani people so why can't they simply be honest about who they are? I would be more likely to trust someone who gives me a believable name.

I have found they do this when I go abroad too, in places where they are used to tourists. I recently came back from Africa and of all the African people I met while I was there, none of them gave me their real name. In fact it's very hard to get a real name out of any of them - from what I heard, they seem to call each other by these nicknames too.

[WillowTheWhisp]

Whereabouts in Africa did you go? I remember back when I was a child most of the Polish immigrants here adopted anglicised versions of their names. That tends not to happen now which I prefer.

[Mahone]

Whereabouts in Africa did you go? I remember back when I was a child most of the Polish immigrants here adopted anglicised versions of their names. That tends not to happen now which I prefer.

Gambia, West Africa.

[Bluejay]

Hi, Bini.

Even after people hear my name, they never consider the possibility that I am actually blue. It surprises them everytime.

(I'm not being serious, by the way: I am not actually blue).