Gospel great, Kirk Franklin, recently urged parents to give kids “real names” in hopes of saving the next generation.
Franklin suggested that parents consider names from the past like: Geraldine, Gladys and Shirley. Interestingly, Franklin’s own son, Kerrion, doesn’t have a traditional name.
Response on social media to the Grammy Award-winning artist’s comments were across the board with some agreeing with him, while others thought that he had missed the mark.
One Instagram user commented, “Kirk may have missed the mark with his old school names but ultimately his message was loud & clear. The name your child will carry thru life is hugely significant & all parents should think first before they act. It’s not just what’s cute or the “in thing” to do. Read between the lines, it’s bigger than that.”
Another user really wasn’t on the same page as Franklin. “Not Betty, Phyllis, Geraldine, or Johnnie Mae. Those names sound like they should be leading a march. Kirk, I don’t need my future grandchildren name Otis, Pearl, Hazel, or Willie Earl.”
“My name is Maximillian,” one user wrote. “My name has helped me get every single job interview I ever wanted, and the rest was up to me. prepare your child to be their own boss and give them a name that has a meaning. Mine means the greatest.”
@moeti_ysl even tried to help readers and Franklin out with some suggestions of traditional South African names.
How about a South African name
1: Lerato – Love
2: Mpho – Gift
3: Masego – Blessings
4: Tshepo – Trust
5: Kagiso – Peace
6: Tsholofelo – Hope
7: Baleseng – Let them be/leave them
8: Thabang – Be happy
9: Keamogetswe – I am welcomed
10. Amahle – The beautiful one.
Per a study conducted by the for the National Bureau of Economic Research by the University of Chicago’s Marianne Bertrand and Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sendhil Mullaina, names do matter. Researchers found that, resumes with white-sounding names have a 50% greater chance of receiving a callback when compared to those with African American names.
Unfortunately, this translates into those job applicants with African-American names needing to send around 15 resumes to get one callback as compare to applicants with white names who only need to send about 10 resumes to get one callback.
Franklin may indeed be correct on this one.
Photo Credit(s)/Featured Image: Pexels.com
