Could employers judge people by their names?

[MsbossyRN]

I really should be in bed right now. But after talking to other new grads in my area that are also jobless I just wanted to get some opinions. Do you feel that people's names may prevent them from getting them a job as a nurse? I know we've all heard, silly names before and I'm just wondering would say, "Ms Poppy Sunflower" be offered a job? Or would a recruiter look at the name and be like, "heck no, trash bin"!

I'm just curious and this is not a slam to anyone who has a name that is different. Shoot my name is completly, better yet, extremly hard to prononue. But even though my name may be hard to pronouce its not silly or childish sounding. I'm wondering would Bambie buttercup find it easy to find employment.

I know this seems like a weird topic (blame it on sleep deprevation). But after talking to some friends about issues that they believe might be preventing them from getting jobs. I just started thinking about how names can effect landing a job as a nurse. My friend was saying her obviously ethnic name might be keeping her from employment because it might be preceived as ghetto. I usually roll my eyes whenever anyone starts swinging the golden race card(you know that card that has the innate ability to seem to be the cause of whatever the user wishes it to be. No matter even if the said offender is of the same race).

But it got me thinking do we really view people by their names. I used silly examples here but is say Jennifer Rose seen as more dependble or gentle towards patients? Would Poppy sunflower be viewed for a job as maybe childish and unreliable. Would Cu'nae Alize' be percieved as ghetto and unprofessional?

Sorry for the long post. But I am curious to what others have experienced relating to this topic or stories they may have heard. I guess I should have not read the silly children's names post tonight either. :)

[GHGoonette, BSN, RN]

South Africa is full of funny names, largely due to spelling mistakes during registration.

Years back, there was a report of a woman who went for an interview at a Government office, and when she was asked for her first name, she replied Noansa-a Xhosa name. The interviewer thought she was saying no answer, and kept asking the same question until the poor lady was in tears..

I had a young patient whose parents had obviously planned on naming HIM Earl. Unfortunately, when SHE popped out, they compromised by calling her She-Earl. Decidedly odd.

Since the early 1990's, when Affirmative Action came into effect in SA, there have been many people with Afrikaans surnames complaining that they don't get any responses when they send in CV's. For example, Jan Hendrik Stephorifice Potgieter simply does not sound Black enough, so the joke went that Afrikaans men were changing their surnames to "African Traditional" surnames just so they had a chance of getting a foot in at the door... Ie, Jan Hendrik Stephorifice Sisulu..."

[hotflashion, BSN, RN]

You really have to ask? Paula Yates and Bob Geldof for parents, Heroin and BC Bud for sure with a few rounds of whatever their fav. brewery makes. The same goes for the Zappa parental units.

I know what yer sayin' but actually Frank Zappa was cuh-razy without the drugs. He didn't approve of illicit drug use and his only addiction was to nicotine. He was merely a strange and creative force of nature.

"Nelly"

[linearthinker, DNP, RN]

I didn't read this whole thread. Unless you have a stripper name, or unfortunately named bin Laden or Hussein, I don't see why it would matter. My best friend's married surname is Hussein (no , no relation, lol) and she says they take quite a lot of verbal abuse for it. In Chicago, no less.

[asp40]

This is an interesting thread. I have thought about this myself as I have a very ethnic name and along with it comes stereotypes. In addition, one of my past jobs was at an ethnic place and I have debated translating it into English or leaving it as is with a phonetic spelling. It is hard to know what to do and sad that I even have to think about it.

[Belle Epoque]

Too long for me to read as well. But the saddest things I see everyday are those whose first name is the same as their last name. Like a child named Lindsey Lindsey, really.. that's child abuse. And I've across several Baby's as the first name. Yes, Baby just like in dirty dancing. Some people just shouldn't reproduce.

[Trilldayz,RN BSN]

My name is a pure Nigerian name. I love my name, because its different. I'm glad I wasn't given a European name, because i wouldn't feel as connected to my culture, I guess. It has NEVER stopped me from getting a job or anything, I've had wonderful Job opportunities. I've never gotten any bad energy about it either, maybe because you can tell it's really truly an ethnic name. When I see "ghetto" names that people try to pass as 'ethnic', I can't help but to cringe, because a lot of those names were simply made up. There is a HUGE difference between African and Black American "new age" names. I've seen a name spelled ABCD, pronounced Ab-sed-dee....ridiculous. there is nothing wrong with being unique, but I guess in my Nigerian culture, your name is your identity. It is who you are. A lot of African names have a distinct meaning that is meant to carry a legacy or prophecy in that child's life. Its not something you just put together without any real thought. The naming of a child is a BIG deal (I know asian and middle eastern cultures are similar)

The apostrophes in names kill me too lol! Da'vante, Lamarcus, and Daezhanique... crazy. But then again I have an asian friend named Netanya and a white friend named Psykeisha (Not kidding! Pronounced Psych-eesha). WHAT IS THIS WORLD COMING TO? LOL

[JeanettePNP, MSN, RN, NP]

I have an ethnic, hard to pronounce name. I wonder how that's affecting my Job Search. I'm not getting a lot of call-backs, but then neither are a lot of classmates with run-of-the-mill, vanilla American names. Who can fathom the depths of a nurse recruiter's mind????

[sailnby]

Some Nurse recruiters pay attention to names for some odd reason. They dont give people the chance to be able to be interviewed and to let them have a word before judging their name. My name is VERY nigerian as well. In fact, my first, middle and last name are all Nigerian. I dont think my name has ever stopped me from getting a job, until now that Im looking for a job in a professional career. I havnt been hearing back from places Ive applied to. In the years passed, it was easier to get a job at other places like RiteAid, Walmart....

[romie]

My husband took my last name, which is a very Spanish (the country) name and started to experience difficulty with employment. Because of my last name, my coworkers think I am Filipino, which I am not, as it is more common in the Philippines. I personally haven't had any issues with employment, as I have a very old school and very European first name. However, I think perception is relative to my place of employment. When I had very long hair, people though I was native american. When I cut it, people though I was Hispanic. Now that I'm a nurse, people think I am Filipino because there are alot of Filipino nurses in my area.