Darius, Darnell, Dejuan And Other Names You Know Belong To A Black Man Off The Bat - Page 8

We’re pretty sure we’re not breaking any news here when we say there are certain names that you hear that automatically create a certain image in your head. And when it comes to the names on this list, that image is that of a black man. You probably already have the names in your head — the Laquans, Deshawns, Surons, and so forth — but it’s more fun if we say it out loud, right? Here are the names that when you hear them, you don’t even have to see the face to go with them because you know they belong to a black man. And yes, we mean black as in African American.

Terrell and Tyrone

Tyrone may be Gaelic in origin, but it’s come to be black in culture. And Terrell? If you’ve ever met a white man by that name, we want to know about it.

Damon and Darnell

Same goes for Damon and Darnell. I have actually come across a white Damon, who turned out to be one of the smoothest Caucasian males I’ve ever seen. Darnell, however, screams brotha.

Rodney

Black folks love to stunt, so it should be no surprise we’ve taken this American name, which allegedly means “Famous,” and ran with it.

Dante

We’re all familiar with “Dante’s Inferno” and the Italian origin of this moniker, but if someone told you they were bringing along their friend Dante to a party, you would fully except a black man to show up.

Dejuan/Da’Juan

Same with Dejaun/Da’Juan and any other random spelling of this name. The apostrophe is a dead giveaway

Jamaal and Jaylin/Jeylin

Jamaal means handsome in Arabic but these days, we expect to see a fine a** brother walk in when this name enters the discussion. And although Jaylin is not considered a popular name by most accounts, we guarantee every black person knows a cousin or friend of a black friend by that name.

LaQuan

Anything with a “La” in front of it is a dead giveaway.

Shaun/Shawn/Tayshawn

Check the spelling before you reply about how many white Seans you know! Sean is universal. But when you see Shaun, Shawn, or any derivative of, like Tayshawn, Lashawn etc., you know that “u” or “w” means the name belongs to a black man.

Jabari

The only Jabari I ever “knew” was the son of Maya’s on “Girlfriends,” but coworkers have convinced me this song runs deep in the black community.

Keith

We stole this name from the Scottish somewhere around the ’60s and never gave it back. You know you have a black uncle Keith.

Byron

Black people are the kings of the remix. I think we took hold of this Old English name because it was a new spin on Bryan. But I’m just speculating.

Andre/De’Andre

I know about 17 Andre’s in my personal circle — all black men  — no lie. We seem to have an affinity for French names and this is one of the top ones.

Marques

Another French variant. What used to be Marquis in old French has become our favorite black male name, Marques.

Malik

Call me stereotypical, but Malik conjures up images of a pro-black man with dreads talking about how we need to take power back from the white man.

Darius and Darrell/Darryl

What can we say, we love D names. And these are at the top of the black man name totem pole.