There is a certain group of names that I adore. I don’t just like them, I truly love them, but it seems they still suffer a sort of stigma, with some relegating them to the category of “slave” names. Until I went on nameberry, I had never heard the phrase “slave” names and do not know how people feel about that phrase.
Jemima, Jubilee, Queenie, Dinah, Beulah, Sadie, Mahalia, Calpurnia come to mind first. I am not saying these are “slave” names or that any name is such… only that these names seem to be lower in popularity and acceptance despite their great charm. To me, they are strong and substantial names, full of charm and vitality. I would name my daughter five of them with the others considered for middle names.
I believe England is quite fond of these names and uses them, even among the chic aristocrats, but not so here in the US.
Are these names considered racist? Are they avoided for this reason? Do some folks love them but avoid them to be PC?
As a little girl, I fell in love both with the beautiful kerchiefed Aunt Jemima on my sky blue pancake box and Beatrix Potter’s Jemima Puddleduck. Later, I fancied Antonia Fraser’s Jemima Shore mystery character. To me, they were all lovely and good. While I would certainly never name my son Adolph, I would not avoid the names of Hitler’s victims, all of whom were innocent, as innocent as their names.
I am very curious to know what others think or know on the subject.
Yes, some of these names are really wonderful. I have a weakness for [name_f]Dinah[/name_f] and [name_f]Queenie[/name_f]. Oh [name_f]Queenie[/name_f]! Calpurnia is lovely. [name_m]How[/name_m] about [name_f]Keziah[/name_f]? Some of the virtue names, like [name_u]Comfort[/name_u] and [name_f]Temperance[/name_f], have an early African American flavor too. [name_u]Ruby[/name_u] and [name_f]Sadie[/name_f] seem to be widely accepted. [name_f]Jemima[/name_f] and [name_f]Beulah[/name_f] are more one-dimensional in my mind, like Mammy from Gone With The Wind, so I wouldn’t use them myself. Actually, I wouldn’t touch [name_f]Jemima[/name_f] with a ten foot pole (I’m American.) But most of the names you mentioned seem ok, not loaded with “slave” connotations. This country’s a melting pot, so if you have a real affinity for names of a different culture, I don’t think it’s disrespectful to use them.
I too love the names [name_u]Comfort[/name_u] and [name_f]Keziah[/name_f].
It’s the not touching the name [name_f]Jemima[/name_f] with a ten foot pole part that I am interested in getting at. Is that because of Aunt [name_f]Jemima[/name_f] pancakes? I am not even sure historically how many slaves were named [name_f]Jemima[/name_f]. It is an ancient Hebrew name. My gut feeling is that the corporation who used that name in their advertizing do not deserve to stamp null and void on a perfectly gorgeous name.
I’m no expert on this topic, which is why I am posting this thread.
I am in the UK and had never heard of [name_f]Jemima[/name_f]'s connotations before joining NB. I love the name [name_f]Jemima[/name_f], it would not cause any offense here. I don’t think any of the names mentioned would.
The Hitler thing doesn’t really stand up because Hitler didn’t name his victims. Slave names were given by slave owners, hence the negativity.
I would avoid the ones with a super strong association ([name_f]Jemima[/name_f], [name_f]Zadie[/name_f], Calpurnia, [name_m]Cotton[/name_m], ect) in pop culture or literature as “slave names” if you are sensitive to that issue. I would consider sprinkling some of these beloved names in with other less polarizing ones for a balanced sibset. You could also consider variations that have the same feel for you. It sounds to me like you just like strong sounding names. I do as well. Names like [name_f]Cornelia[/name_f], [name_f]Constance[/name_f], [name_f]Olympia[/name_f], [name_f]Wilhelmina[/name_f], [name_f]Ramona[/name_f], Merit and [name_f]Claudette[/name_f] all have a similar feel for me but slavery doesn’t spring to mind because they don’t have the same associations. Granted, plenty of slaves might have been named [name_f]Constance[/name_f]. And yes, [name_f]Jemima[/name_f] is a [name_u]Brit[/name_u] socialite as well as a mammy slave used to advertise breakfast, but the association still stands here in the USA.
The issue with [name_f]Jemima[/name_f] is not so much that it was a common slave name, but also that “Aunt [name_f]Jemima[/name_f]” was a character in minstrel shows, played by someone in blackface stereotyping African Americans. That’s why it carries a lot more baggage than [name_f]Zadie[/name_f] or [name_f]Keziah[/name_f]. Calling a woman an “Aunt [name_f]Jemima[/name_f]” was like calling a man an “Uncle [name_m]Tom[/name_m]” in the African American community, though there is no stigma associated with [name_m]Tom[/name_m] because it’s long been a common name among white people as well.
Of course, these associations don’t exist in the UK, Australia, and other countries. I’d still avoid [name_f]Jemima[/name_f] in [name_f]Canada[/name_f], but that’s because I have a lot of family in the United States and travel there often.
Personally, [name_f]Jemima[/name_f] is one that is high up on my list. Along with [name_f]Keziah[/name_f], [name_f]Dinah[/name_f], and [name_f]Sadie[/name_f]. I think, personally, the idea that they are ‘slave names’ is old fashioned and should have died out with men being the only breadwinners in the family and the concept of racial segregation on buses. That’s all that this idea is, segregation.
Is [name_f]Jemima[/name_f] strongly linked to Aunt [name_f]Jemima[/name_f]? Yes.
Should it be racist still? Absolutely not.
To be honest, this whole idea annoys me more than anything. If I met a little [name_f]Jemima[/name_f], I wouldn’t automatically think ‘oh that’s such a slave name’. I know a [name_f]Keziah[/name_f] who is my age, and I think her name is lovely. Perhaps the names were given by slave owners, but, in all honesty, students of today (at least the ones I went to school with) do not give a flying poo (I’d swear there, but Nameberry doesn’t let me) about what happened in history. It’s sad, but it’s true.
That being said, my generation ( a large group anyways) is the next to have children. My generation is also (and it’s been proven) considered the most pivotal with changing things.
2013 saw gay marriage being legalized in the United States, so why can’t 2014 or 2015 see names like [name_f]Jemima[/name_f] be accepted as nothing more than a name? It’s not a hate symbol if you name your American daughter [name_f]Jemima[/name_f]. It’s a name. That’s all it is. A name.
People name their children [name_m]Jesus[/name_m] (and pronounce it as [name_m]Jesus[/name_m], not the Spanish pronunciation) and [name_m]Christian[/name_m] all the time, and nothing is said about them belittling or making a mockery of the [name_m]Christian[/name_m] religion, so why is it racist to name your baby girl [name_f]Jemima[/name_f] or [name_f]Keziah[/name_f] or [name_f]Dinah[/name_f]?
I’ve known a couple Dinahs, and more than a couple Dinas (dee-na) - which is the Hebrew spelling/pronunciation of the name.
I wouldn’t use [name_f]Jemima[/name_f] not because it simply was used by/on slaves, there are names I’d use that were, but because [name_f]Jemima[/name_f] is used in my hometown as an insult itself. It would be an issue whether my child were black or white where I grew up, and the people using at as a slur are usually black themselves. Am I going to waltz in and proclaim that that’s over? I would feel like it’s not my right to try and reclaim it over the will of that community? I would feel wrong to do it. I wouldn’t necessarily think someone else was wrong to do it, but I don’t feel like it would be my place or fair on my child. If that makes sense.
[name_f]Dinah[/name_f] or [name_f]Kezia[/name_f] I would use, though. [name_f]Mahalia[/name_f] is fine. I don’t see them as having the same issues. Some issues, sure, but not the same issues, if you know what I mean.
I think Stripedsocks articulated it well. It’s a shame that a name as bouncy and cozy as [name_f]Jemima[/name_f] has these connotations, but it does. [name_f]Do[/name_f] I resent the racist pancake people for tarnishing the name? Yes. But as a white American person, I don’t feel it’s my place to waltz in and decide that we need to move on from the baggage. I too have heard [name_f]Jemima[/name_f] used as a slur, like “Uncle [name_m]Tom[/name_m].” Of course it’s a more distinctive name than [name_m]Tom[/name_m], so the association sticks.
I am a white girl named [name_f]Ebony[/name_f] and I honestly don’t care if someone says I should be black my name is my name, and its just a dark wood if I am correct it only began to be a name in the 60’s and it was [name_f]Ebony[/name_f] and [name_u]Ivory[/name_u] that led to the race thing. If I met a [name_f]Jemima[/name_f] I wouldn’t think slave name its the name of a doll on a popular kids show here, [name_f]Mahalia[/name_f] has celebrity connections and [name_f]Dinah[/name_f] sounds the same as Diner in an Australian accent. [name_f]Sadie[/name_f] and [name_u]Ruby[/name_u] are top 100. None of them would be considered racist in Australia. I would avoid them in the US because you could piss of a lot of people and I wouldn’t want to be seem as racist.
What I’m trying to say is they would all be fine in Australia just maybe not in the US
I’ll tell you though [name_f]Beulah[/name_f] is very rarely used in [name_f]England[/name_f] only seven were born last year
I had no idea that [name_f]Jemima[/name_f] was used as a racial slur today. I live in Northern [name_u]California[/name_u], in a small Anglo-Latino town so that would not come up as an insult word here.
We do tend to be historical amnesiacs in the US so I wonder how long it will take before people forget the negative implications of these names. I also wonder if these names would fly fine in certain geographic regions and not others. Though of course we are a global society, so maybe not.
PS I think there are valid arguments for and against using [name_f]Jemima[/name_f]. But if I did name someone that, I wouldn’t think of it as “waltzing in” so much as choosing a name of merit that had gotten tarnished by ill-use.
I did not know that Aunt [name_f]Jemima[/name_f] was a character in a minstrel show. Is that common knowledge, I wonder? I’m in my early 50’s and somehow missed that fact. I know that the vast majority of the high school kids I teach would not react to [name_f]Jemima[/name_f] and [name_m]Tom[/name_m] any differently than any other name.
[name_f]Jemima[/name_f] carries a lot of bad connotations for African-Americans, a substantial population in the U.S. That’s reason enough not to use it for a US born child or anyone who might pursue career opportunities here in the future. Yes, it’s a lovely name, and yes, most white people have little knowledge of why or how the term is offensive, but the important thing is not to continue the offense or impose such a controversy on an innocent child.
Sure, it would fly better some places than others. I’m from a majority-black American city. I moved to a very, very white part of Australia. In Australia it would be no issue at all. I’m not sure how it matters that it’s okay in a place with none of the affected group?
I don’t think using it equals doing so in a bad way. I can understand liking the name. (I like [name_f]Yonina[/name_f], which is a Hebrew name that also means ‘dove’ just fine, it has only got ‘is that made up’ baggage). [name_f]Jemima[/name_f] is just a translation of Yemima. I don’t find Yemima terribly nice but it’s definitely not as loaded and I’d use it if I liked it.
I do think there’s problematic issues with trying to save or refurbish a name of another culture that is easiest to use if you don’t actually live near that culture? It’s an interesting question. As far as historical amnesia goes, it’s easiest when its about somebody else, I think.
I love the name [name_f]Jemima[/name_f] as well but would never use it because of the strong association with the syrup bottle. Although it’s going to take people using the name to break the stigma of these types of associations.
The reason many people don’t like or use [name_f]Jemima[/name_f] is the same reason many people don’t like or use [name_m]Cohen[/name_m]. There are plenty of people who love the name, the sound, the history, but don’t want to offend a group of people. [name_f]Jemima[/name_f] doesn’t hold a negative connotation for many people, neither does [name_m]Cohen[/name_m], but depending on where you live, and the culture you were raised it may be recommended to be avoided. [name_f]Do[/name_f] you find offense to the name? Maybe not, and maybe the fact that others do doesn’t bother you, but it is a fact that needs to be acknowledged. I am not offended by [name_m]Cohen[/name_m], but knowing the controversy surrounding it, if I liked it I may avoid it. I am a white American woman that only thinks of the woman from the syrup bottle when I hear [name_f]Jemima[/name_f], and I am married to a black man who’s family is extremely offended by the name. I don’t like the name personally, but even if I did I wouldn’t use it out of respect. As an aside, my very Irish grandmother was named [name_f]Sadie[/name_f], and many “slave” names were really biblical names, it is not that all names that were given to slaves are offensive, it is the few that were commercialized that are not accepted.
Historically (and unfortunately, even presently), slaves were/are represented by every nationality/ creed/ so-called “race”. Indeed, there were even “white” British slaves - even “white” child slaves brought to [name_u]America[/name_u]. So, I think it’s intellectually dishonest how the media continually equates “slavery” with so called “[name_m]Black[/name_m]” Americans.
Therefore, I say, use any name you love! Preferably one that won’t lead to teasing. And breathe new positive life into it…
Unfortunately, that’s exactly the issue here, [name_f]IMO[/name_f]. I think [name_f]Jemima[/name_f] here in [name_u]America[/name_u] (at least in the states that I have lived) would cause A LOT of teasing. I have to disagree with a PP who said that most kids in the younger generation wouldn’t understand it’s references. Again, maybe it’s a regional issue… or perhaps I’m just older than I feel (haha)… but the negative connotation that [name_f]Jemima[/name_f] has is still alive and kicking here. It is definitely used as an insult, especially among younger people!
Many of your other names, however, have already shed that image I believe. I would stay away from [name_f]Jemima[/name_f] in much the same way I stay away from [name_m]Cohen[/name_m].
I’m in the UK and was not aware of all the associations [name_f]Jemima[/name_f] has in the US. I would associate it with [name_f]Beatrix[/name_f] [name_m]Potter[/name_m]. I guess you learn something new every day.
I assume you’re talking about the Irish slave trade? You’re right, those slaves suffered just as much as their counterparts of other races; but just because there were (and still are) white people who were enslaved does not mean that the racial connotations of these names or of American slavery will ever go away. The white slave trade was never even remotely close in scale to the black slave trade- there was no slavery-induced “Irish diaspora” on the same scale as the African diaspora. White Americans do not suffer the remnants of their ancestors’ slavery today. “The media” is not misrepresenting anything. This would be akin to saying “there were people who weren’t Jewish killed in Auschwitz, so WWII had nothing to do with Jews.” It’s kind of an insane statement.
That said, I think some of these names are fine to use. [name_f]Dinah[/name_f] and [name_f]Sadie[/name_f] are particularly mainstream. [name_f]Jemima[/name_f] is a bit difficult- I would avoid that one as a first name. My general rule is if you have to ask, it’s probably a bad idea, so tread lightly with these names. Most would probably be fine, but it would be a good idea to search for alternatives you love equally.