Unusal names harm a child's future success?

[feelslike-2day.livejournal.com]

My best friend is still quite a ways from having kids, but her and her boyfriend have decided to name one of their future daughters Nizani (niz-awhn-ee). It means 'miracle' in some Native American language (she is half native and he has some native background).

Personally, it reminds me of lasagna. I've mentioned it to her a few times, but she's still pretty set on it. Which brings me to my question, when a person has a particularly unusual name, say; Nizani...who wold hire them? When you phone for reservations, will people think you're joking?


Is it harmful to a child's future success to have a strange name?

Comments

[auxoriousrex.livejournal.com]

wow you're pretty closed minded. It's a lovely name that obviously has a lot of meaning to your friend.

My name is Sheera and I lead a pretty successful life and I'm not just another Jennifer, Emily, or Sarah.

[kitchen-poet.livejournal.com]

Woah. Saying it out loud I can see how you got lasagna, but when I just glanced at it my exact thought was "holy crap, who would name their kid Nazi?!"

Obviously, that is not the name, but with the N-A-Z combo, and ending in I, it's all I can see looking at it.


I don't think a really unusal name should hurt your chances in a professional setting, but realistically it might. (I still don't think it is right to let other people's ignorance limit your name choices.)

[feelslike-2day.livejournal.com]

LOL I guess. I dunno, it just sounds like lasagna to me, and I read an article once about employers not hiring people with strange names/ unisex names; I was just curious how much truth there was to that.

[feelslike-2day.livejournal.com]

Yeah I saw that too, when I wrote it out. Another point against it in my mind,LOL.

Oh yeah, it shouldn't affect it, but I'm just curious if and how much it does.

[arbus.livejournal.com]

i dont get how it reminds you of lasagna. i am not a fan of "made up" names, or people who just throw a bunch of letters together or smush two names together and call it "unique", but obviously none of that is the case here. it has a really sweet, special meaning, and i think its actually kind of pretty because of that. its not like she is actually naming the kid lasagna. give her a break.

[whenimdead.livejournal.com]

I think it sounds lovingly exotic and if she grew up to be a fashion designer, her name would definitely help her success.

[sandtree.livejournal.com]

Honestly, I don't think Nizani sounds weird. Yeah, it would be stupid if they were just making it up, or if they were just using it because they thought it sounded 'cool', but it's a name from a culture they have a connection with, and it doesn't sound ridiculous or insulting or anything...

Haven't you ever known people with 'ethnic', non-Western sounding names? Why judge people on their names? If I see some kid named 'Kannon Danger Storme', I'm going to cringe, but it's his parents I'm thinking about, not him. If someone sees an ethnic-looking name and judges the person for that, they're being racist.

[tunknut.livejournal.com]

Honestly, any uncommon name will lead people to make assumptions about that person's background, but I think there's a difference between "exotic"-looking names and "made-up"-looking names. Names that look made-up or have any glaring weirdness about them can make that person seem uncultured, but I don't think there's any major problem with using an "exotic" name, especially if it's a name from a person's heritage. Nizani immediately strikes me as an "exotic" name. I think if I met someone named Nizani, I'd be curious about the name's background. I don't think I'd make assumptions about that person's class/education/character, and I wouldn't think she were making it up as a joke. As far as hiring goes, studies have shown that people with "white"-sounding names are more likely to be hired than people with similar qualifications and ethnic names. Employers probably won't specifically own up to not hiring someone because of their name, but yes, prejudice exists. I don't think that's a reason to avoid a sensible-sounding ethnic name though.

[sarahrose.livejournal.com]

I think there have got to still be employers who look past someone's name! .....

[aqualectra.livejournal.com]

I've seen a lot of this here, How would this name look on a business card, or in the corporate world etc. When i named Ceilidh i didn't think about discrimination, simply cos it didn't hit on my radar. Also it was never in my sights to see her name on some kind of corporate company list. While she may go that way with a lifelong, keen interest in Law and Vet science, i wouldn't really want her working for a company that would discriminate like that. What an unhappy life to work for such small minded people!

So my point is.. i guess. it quite likely will hurt her chances at some jobs, but i don't perceive it would be at any of the jobs where individuality was celebrated and people were treated for what they know rather than what they present.

There is racism and discrimination everywhere. If it starts with your name on a resume it might save you the pain of it getting to other fundamental things like body shape, skin colour, ethnicity and fashion!

[ollivander.livejournal.com]

I think that's a pretty silly assumption. Nizani is a pretty name -- it's not ridiculous (like Megatron or Pilot Inspektor), and yes, she'll stand out, but in a good way. I know a well-liked guy named Sterling "Oopie" Silvers that is in a managerial position. Names only limit success if you let them.

[ollivander.livejournal.com]

when it comes down to it, it's not your kid, and she's just going to get pissed off at you for telling her that her favorite name sounds like lasagna when it totally doesn't

[bluegenedream.livejournal.com]

I'll admit it and be in the minority, but I dislike Nizani. I think the personal meaning behind it is sweet and meaningful, but I just don't like the way it sounds.

As for unusual names in general, whether or not I like them really depends on how the name sounds. I don't think people will necessarily think someone is joking if they say their name is Nizani (Nizani really isn't THAT out there. A really out there name would be like...Watermelonflavoredhulahoop or something).

But then again, while it should not matter, strange names can and sometimes do affect a child's future. My brother has an "ethnic" name and was teased for it relentlessly at school. I was born when he was eight and he begged my parents to give me a "normal" name, which they did. Another friend of mine had a Japanese last name and taught English at some after school programs. A mother came in once and got into a fight with the administrators because she didn't want her "child to learn English from someone who isn't even a native speaker!" When she met my friend, who was born and bred in the UK and spoke with a British accent, the mother suddenly became obsessed with having her teach her child because of her "Englishness". Stupid but true.

But anyway, my point is that while an unusual name can def. influence (maybe even negatively) a child's future, it isn't the end all be all of things. Stereotypes, racism and discrimination are always going to exist. You shouldn't let it automatically affect your choice of a name. Nizani really isn't that bad, and this is coming from someone who doesn't like it. And in the end, if a name is really that impairing, the child can always legally change it the way my brother changed his.

[tryyingtoevolve.livejournal.com]

To me, it makes me think of Nazi. So, uh, yeah.

[goaskyourmother.livejournal.com]

When we choose a name, we imagine who it would sound if they became a doctor or a judge, so we say out loud 'Lord Justice XXXXXX', because you never know ;-)

[orbg.livejournal.com]

I think it's kind of harsh of you to mock a name that actually has meaning to your friend, it's not like she made it up out of thin air.
I think Nizani is really pretty.
Anyway, no I don't think it matters. Look at someone like Wolf Blitzer for instance-it didn't seem to affect his career at all!

[aquilinum.livejournal.com]

I can more easily picture a doctor, judge, or president named Nizani than one named Braelyn, Raelee or some such fluffy mishmash of trends.

[inmeggsyoutrust.livejournal.com]

i'm a hairstylist and one of the product lines we use is called Mizani. So that's what I think of when i hear it. That being said, I think it's lovely otherwise and since it has meaning to your friend, then you should at least try to be supportive.


When a friend of mine told me she was naming her child Indiana John H***, I secretly thought she was crazy. Now I can't imagine that baby named anything else.

[lindiohead.livejournal.com]

I'm really tired right now and that is what I thought it said. I had to re-read it. :/

[lustdumpster.livejournal.com]

i think it's bad for the child when they have a made up name that makes their parent look entirely illiterate. but in the case of nizani, i think it sounds and looks like a perfectly legitimate name from a different culture and i don't think that has any bad effect on a child.

[sharon20lostie.livejournal.com]

I've heard studies show, employers are biased towards people with more ethnic names.

[6a696c6c.livejournal.com]

"i read an article once about employers not hiring people with strange names/ unisex names"

one article once, eh? that is entirely untrue.

[6a696c6c.livejournal.com]

you can't help ignorant assholes in the world who can't hire based on intellect and skill, but i for one am not going to let that effect what *I* name *MY* child. so eff them. =]

[0o-faerie.livejournal.com]

I think it may be just a little influential on a child's success. Just because he/she may have to fight stupid prejudice about his/her name. I think a resume counts more than a name, though.

There is a Dutch district attorney who appears on television every now and then. Her name is Dop Kruimel, which is Dutch for 'Cap Crumb'.
So yeah.

[sharon20lostie.livejournal.com]

True, but I think a kid will have enough going against them as it is, why add a bizarre name onto that?

[6a696c6c.livejournal.com]

i may not agree with crazy weird names, nor will i ever give my child a bizarre name (unique, yes). however, i do feel that to each his own.

[vapidimminence.livejournal.com]

I love interesting, unique, meaningful names, but I'm of the strong belief that for a child's sake, they should remain middle names. That way, they have the choice to use it as their primary name, but don't have to face the inevitable humiliation of every substitute teacher stumbling over pronunciation and being made fun of for having a "weird" name. My name is Carly, which is fairly common and I like it now, but in elementary school I would get pushed to tears just by boys taunting me by calling me Curly Fries, (which, now, I kind of which had stuck as a fun nick name, but oh well.) Point being, kids being taunted about their names can be more traumatizing than adults give credit to, and sensitivity should be taken to not give an easy setup for a lifelong joke that will make a child resent their meaningful name.
Take my father, for instance. His name is Robert Thor, but for most of his life he's gone by Thor and accepted it as his "real" name.