Name Change?

I just read an article on The Root called "I Hate My Ghetto Name.  Can I Change It?" (Here's the link: http://www.theroot.com/views/i-hate-my-ghetto-name-can-i-change-it?page=0,1&wpisrc=root_lightbox).  My answer to this question is a resounding "yes"!

If you've read my book, Clean Hands, you'll know that I'm no fan of phonetically challenged, made-up names that people (black people, in particular) tend to saddle their children with.  But I have a solution to this!  If you really really want to name your daughter LaKeisha or your son Raykwan, then make these middle names and give your kids a more conservative first name like Stephanie or Robert.  That way, you can call them by their middle names and feel glad that you were able to show your creative side while not limiting your child to being discriminated against because he or she has a ghetto name.  Seriously, if a hiring agent sees two resumes, one from Loquisha and one from Lisa and both applicants have similar job and educational backgrounds, chances are Lisa will be getting the call and Loquisha won't.  When you have a ghetto name, people make assumptions about you and about your background:  that you're poor, ignorant, and uneducated and that you came from parents who share these traits.  These assumptions may or may not be true, but the truth is irrelevant when you're being discriminated against.  No, this is not fair, but this is the way of the world and if you want to try and navigate your way through it, you need to be smarter about what you do and how you do it.

I used to complain that my name was plain, but I don't complain anymore.  My name was almost Seasha (Southeast Alabama Self-Help Association).  Uh, I'll take Kim any day over Seasha.  I probably would have changed my name if my father had gotten his way and named me Seasha Mageela.  (I wouldn't even be able to rely on my middle name for comfort!!!)  Thankfully, my mother put her foot down and Kim Jenice was what they went with.

I work with a woman (not black) who chooses to go by a first name that isn't her own because she has a very ethnic first name that she, apparently, has issues with.  (I don't personally like her, so I doubt I'll ever have a conversation with her about why she is not comfortable using her legal first name.)  I have two questions about this.  First, how is this not fraud?  Can anyone just take a new first name and use it without identifying your real, legal first name?  I like the name Nina.  Can I just start calling myself that at work even though it's not my legal name?  Can I do business and present myself to customers as Nina even though my legal name is Kim?  Second, if you're 35 years old (as this woman claims to be), shouldn't you have come to terms with who you are and what your name is by now?

The bottom line is, if you don't like your name and you're an adult, change it.