LaQuisha. I think there was an apostrophe or two thrown in there but I don’t recall where or even the spelling exactly at that was ~26 years ago in highschool. I just recall the LaQ… There were several that I do not recall specifically ATM that seemed like their folks were trying to find the most unrelated syllables to link into a name. It was funny to me. It was a school in Tennessee designed for Uni prep that was supposed to uplift people in the surrounding poorer black community. There were several black students that acted like they always had a chip on their shoulder (aggravated, just looking for any excuse to argue or fight). These are the kids that typically had the most odd names. It was funny because I viewed them like the inverse of typical white trailer trash also present in the area but not at that school. The rednecks seemed to name all their kids some indecisive hyphenated name like Mary-Ann or Betty-Sue while the equivalently backwards black families went with stuff like Keishfonda and Quinmothy. Like y’all are doing the same thing thinking you’re different.
I think the weird-ass names are an attempt not for the parents to be different, but a generally severely misguided desire for their kids to appear different in a “Wowee, that’s special” kinda way. Everyone else has a ‘normal’ name. But not my kid; my child is so different and special and s/he’s going places, s/he’s gonna get out of here & do important things or be a famous athlete.
As we know, oftentimes that’s simply not the case…and it’s just a nightmare for the rest of us (and that child) to spell, say, etc. I find it incredibly frustrating, even though I know this wasn’t their choice, but their parents’. If their last name is weird shit, I politely ask for the first name. If the first name is also weird shit, I politely make a best guess phonetic whatever & move on.
Fun fact, it’s not exactly ghetto made-up name territory, but Oprah Winfrey…isn’t Oprah. Her given name is Orpah, named after a biblical figure in the book of Ruth. Very obscure, ancient name! Nobody knew how to spell or pronounce it properly, and they started calling her Oprah instead. 🙂 Now…we’ve got Oprah.
LaQuisha. I think there was an apostrophe or two thrown in there but I don’t recall where or even the spelling exactly at that was ~26 years ago in highschool. I just recall the LaQ… There were several that I do not recall specifically ATM that seemed like their folks were trying to find the most unrelated syllables to link into a name. It was funny to me. It was a school in Tennessee designed for Uni prep that was supposed to uplift people in the surrounding poorer black community. There were several black students that acted like they always had a chip on their shoulder (aggravated, just looking for any excuse to argue or fight). These are the kids that typically had the most odd names. It was funny because I viewed them like the inverse of typical white trailer trash also present in the area but not at that school. The rednecks seemed to name all their kids some indecisive hyphenated name like Mary-Ann or Betty-Sue while the equivalently backwards black families went with stuff like Keishfonda and Quinmothy. Like y’all are doing the same thing thinking you’re different.
I think the weird-ass names are an attempt not for the parents to be different, but a generally severely misguided desire for their kids to appear different in a “Wowee, that’s special” kinda way. Everyone else has a ‘normal’ name. But not my kid; my child is so different and special and s/he’s going places, s/he’s gonna get out of here & do important things or be a famous athlete.
As we know, oftentimes that’s simply not the case…and it’s just a nightmare for the rest of us (and that child) to spell, say, etc. I find it incredibly frustrating, even though I know this wasn’t their choice, but their parents’. If their last name is weird shit, I politely ask for the first name. If the first name is also weird shit, I politely make a best guess phonetic whatever & move on.
Fun fact, it’s not exactly ghetto made-up name territory, but Oprah Winfrey…isn’t Oprah. Her given name is Orpah, named after a biblical figure in the book of Ruth. Very obscure, ancient name! Nobody knew how to spell or pronounce it properly, and they started calling her Oprah instead. 🙂 Now…we’ve got Oprah.