At 7:14:28 PM on Thursday, August 20, 2009, andythewiros
wrote:
[...]
> I basically meant making up names out of thin air. I think
> this is what happens when African-American parents name
> their daughters 'Lakeesha' or 'Jawanda' and names like
> that.
<Lakeisha> (probably the most common spelling) has been
around for several decades now and can safely be considered
an established name. (<Jawanda> is mildly exceptional:
modern constructions in <Ja-> are more often masculine than
feminine.)
Brian
Not all African-American names are made up out of thin air. Many are from African languages, from Ancient Egyptian or from Arabic. Many times the spellings are eccentric, e.g. Moesha, Iyesha, Tia, etc.
Some, for whatever reason, are from Gaelic, e,g, Ciara, Siobhan but often spelled Sierra, Shavaughn, etc. But Americans of all colors butcher Caitlin, turning it into Catelyn, etc. So, African-Americans have no monopoly on distinctive names. All you have to do is check out my family in West Virginia for proof of that.