Naming your child is an important task that shouldn’t be taken lightly. This is the name people will call your little bundle for the rest of his or her life…Unless it’s so terrible that they have to change it– like in the case of 9 year old New Zealand girl named Talula Does the Hula From Hawaii. (Don’t worry the court ordered that she become a ward of the state until she could legally change it.)
Most people, black people included, take the power to determine what a child will be called very seriously. Black people, always known for setting trends, have a legacy of naming their children something unique (if not the word “Unique” itself). There’s history behind the tradition though. In the 1960s, black parents were deciding to do away with the traditional, European names in favor of celebrating African tradition or creating and blending their own new sounds.
So while we know the history behind such “interesting” names, there are still some that just give us pause. Check out this list of names that just do way too much and not enough at the same time.
Oranjello (Or-anne-jell0)
Yes you read that correctly, it’s pronounced like Orange Jello. Now I understand being creative and all of that but perhaps naming your child after a food with questionable nutritional value is not the move. People will think he’s shaky and lacks substance.
Le-a (La-dash-a)
My Aunt used to work with a lot of children and one day she came across an interesting mother daughter pair. The mother was upset that everyone kept mispronouncing her daughter’s name. Naturally, they were calling her Leah. The mother, visibly and audibly upset at this point said, “I don’t know why ya’ll keep messing up my baby’s name. Her name is La DASH a, not Leah. The dash is not silent!” Hmm if you’re changing conventional English rules to name your daughter something different, then it’s probably time to reevaluate.
Barackeisha (Ba-Rock-E-Sha)
We love our president, yes we do! Everyone knows that after Barack Obama was elected,there were certainly a few more Baracks and Michelles populating the earth. There’s nothing wrong with paying homage; but this, is just a bit too much. Two names like this just don’t need to be together.
Dafinest (Da-Fine-est)
No need to break this one down, you know what it is. I’m all about instilling confidence in your children. It’s vital but ummm… a name like Dafinest though?!? It’s a fine line between confident and arrogant.
Quoshanique (Quo-sha-kneek)
Can you imagine the look of pure terror her teacher will feel when she sees this name on the roll?
What crazy baby names have you heard?
