why do so many black guys have a "la" in front of an otherwise normal first name?

[FalseDmitri]

actually, a lot of the "black" names are derived from Slavic and Russian names.
Dmitri, Dmitrieus, etc.

earch culture has its own name system.....Theodore = Fyodor (both mean "Gift of God"), Yakov = Jakob, Ivan = John.

 

[blueedwards]

i grew up watching sanford & son. these are the names i remember:

fred
grady
bubba
rallo
esther
and of course...lamont

 

[Iceman]

should add the woman pronounced the GINA part like we would pronounce it in the word Regina.

 

[blueedwards]

when my wife was in 8th grade, she got her ass beat by this fat black girl named "latish".

 

[Dawoofdaddy]

The underpaid NBA star: Latrell Sprewell

Knew a guy in school named Lataiz Wells (pronounced Lahtazh).....never since have I met another person with that name.

Seems that I remember alot of black folks having Greek names like Demetrius and Maurice when I was a kid.



:shootbb:

 

[blueedwards]

good call. he is the guy who choked that seton hall coach..."la-p.j. carlisimo"

 

[Dawoofdaddy]

A few years ago I noticed the trend of dropping the A or E and now its L'

I must say, the apostrophe provides a unique amount of creativity to a name.

More acceptable as female than male names.

Maybe someday names like Ullysess and Gus will once again become common.

 

[blueedwards]

the white celebrities are naming their kids some wacky names. my wife gets people magazine and she was telling me some of them. here are the one's i remember:

apple
coco
sport
pilot

i suppose if halle berry or denzel washington have kid's, you'd just throw a "la" on there:

l'apple
lacoco
lasport
lapilot

 

[silver7]

Not a "La", but how about "Brown Marks"? Now I ax you isn`t that strange?

 

[parlayin]

lacorey collins

 

[ppeter]

From:
The Baby Names Survey Book by Bruce Lansky and Barry Sinrod (Meadowbrook Press) ©1998



Hundreds of African-American names start with "La," a practice that can be traced back to the vigorous Free Black/Creole of Color community in nineteenth century Louisiana, where the French "La"-prefix was affixed to many names, first as well as last. Keisha derives from Keziah, a Biblical name. Keziah was one of the daughters of Job ? Jemima was another one.In Hebrew the name means "Cinnamon". In the Arabic/Bantu (Swahili) version of the name, it means "Favorite One". It is a beautiful name for a beautiful woman. Keisha Knight-Pullium, (Rudy of TV?s "The Cosby Show") is one such example.

 

[blueedwards]

From:
The Baby Names Survey Book by Bruce Lansky and Barry Sinrod (Meadowbrook Press) ©1998



Hundreds of African-American names start with "La," a practice that can be traced back to the vigorous Free Black/Creole of Color community in nineteenth century Louisiana, where the French "La"-prefix was affixed to many names, first as well as last. Keisha derives from Keziah, a Biblical name. Keziah was one of the daughters of Job ? Jemima was another one.In Hebrew the name means "Cinnamon". In the Arabic/Bantu (Swahili) version of the name, it means "Favorite One". It is a beautiful name for a beautiful woman. Keisha Knight-Pullium, (Rudy of TV?s "The Cosby Show") is one such example.

wow...thanks. i didnt know that. you learn something new everyday. guess there is a reason, kind of.

 

[SALTHEITAL]

My fav ...

 

[1cheater]

Blue, great thread, but I do have a question?
How come when you pull tinfoil out of the oven it's not hot?

 

[blueedwards]

Blue, great thread, but I do have a question?
How come when you pull tinfoil out of the oven it's not hot?

cheat, you trying to get this thread bounced to the basement? i know wil is dying to do it. dont give him a reason.

that tin foil thread is the best discussion this place has ever seen on the subject of "kitchen chemistry". too bad the masses will never seen it.

 

[Dawoofdaddy]

Does anyone know when and why hyphens began to be used in names?

The La, LA, Le, LE, L' is sometimes also has a hyphen included.

I must say that La-Ron or Lekeish-a are hip names.

 

[edub69]

I read somewhere once that a name with the "ah" sound in the prefix or suffix is supposed to sound more African. Also, the "La" or "Le" prefix originally reflected some French language influence in Louisiana and then became more widespread. This is a good thread, no way should it be moved.

 

[blueedwards]

doesnt "la" and "le" mean "the"? so, would latroy hawkins really be properly translated "the troy"? kind of like "the ohio state university"?

 

[lander]

lablue has a nice ring to it.

Reminds me of Canada's finest export.

 

[blueedwards]

lablue has a nice ring to it.

Reminds me of Canada's finest export.

i like it.

how about la-lander?