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The Causes and Consequences of Distinctively Black Names

2004; Oxford University Press; Volume: 119; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1162/0033553041502180

1531-4650

Roland G. Fryer, Steven D. Levitt,

Racial and Ethnic Identity Research

In the 1960s Blacks and Whites chose relatively similar first names for their children. Over a short period of time in the early 1970s, that pattern changed dramatically with most Blacks (particularly those living in racially isolated neighborhoods) adopting increasingly distinctive names, but a subset of Blacks actually moving toward more assimilating names. The patterns in the data appear most consistent with a model in which the rise of the Black Power movement influenced how Blacks perceived their identities. Among Blacks born in the last two decades, names provide a strong signal of socioeconomic status, which was not previously the case. We find, however, no negative relationship between having a distinctively Black name and later life outcomes after controlling for a child's circumstances at birth.