Why People Give Their Kids "Ghetto Baby Names"

This is going to be a rather sticky topic to cover, as many people who are guilty of issuing their children "ghetto baby names" may be offended. But in light of recent events, I felt it my civic duty to address the topic of giving children names which are three degrees past extraordinary:

A friend of mine recently allowed me a peek into his high school yearbook. Perusing the pages, I was astounded at some of the names I saw. Many of them required me to spend several seconds sounding out the syllables. And after doing so, I actually felt silly and slightly embarassed. It made me wonder what the parents of these children were thinking when they filled out their offsprings' birth certificates.

Why the Weird Name?

There are some theories floating around as to why particularly African American parents feel the need to ascribe extraordinary first names to their offspring. During the Civil Rights Movement and shortly after, there was a huge surge in what is known as "Black Pride" (Remember James Brown's motto: Say It Loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud). People in African American communities across the country were getting in touch with their African roots. Many mothers and fathers during this time felt the need to express pride in their heritage by passing down African names (and derivatives of those names) to their children. As a result, this is why I was given the name I have, Ayanna, which means "beautiful flower" in the Swahili language. My mother actually chose to augment the name with an additional "n" in the middle, as the original name is spelled A-y-a-n-a. Over the years, this name and its alternate spelling have caught on. Where I was once the only Ayanna for miles, there are now tons of them in all walks of life, in seemingly every zip code.