The Origins of Popular African American Names
Male names to be specific
African American culture has set itself apart from other domestic cultures in aspects from fashion to music. One aspect in which African Americans particularly shine is the first and middle names they give their children. Sometimes, the names are generic, like Michael, but other times, their influences can range from French to Arabic.
Some of the most distinguishable African American names for males are:
- Antoine;
- DeAndre;
- DeMarcus;
- Jamal;
- Tyrone.
There are usually different possibilities for meanings of names, and some of them have a clear history behind them while some do not. In case there are multiple possibilities, one will be chosen. In any case, it is worthwhile to explore the literature to unveil the mysteries behind the unique nomenclature African Americans have bestowed upon the country.
Antoine
Antoine comes from a Roman clan’s name and means highly praiseworthy. In the 17th century, the spelling, Anthony, was associated with anthos in Greek, meaning flower.
Antoine de Bourgogne was perhaps the first holder of this name. He was the son and second child of Philip III, Duke of Burgundy. Today, Antoine Dodson is an American singer and actor who rose to fame when his flamboyant personality appeared on the news after a robbery happened in the projects.
DeAndre
DeAndre means brave and/or manly. Andre is a form of the name, Andrew, and the De- prefix is common in Italian names, which means of. In this case, the prefix adds flair.
One of the earlier figures in recent history with that name is Deandre’ Eiland, who is a former American football player from Tupelo, Mississippi. As for contemporary figures, DeAndre Jordan is a prolific basketballer currently playing in the NBA for the Brooklyn Nets.
DeMarcus
Marcus has Latin and Gaelic roots, and it can mean polite, shining, and/or hammer. The latter makes sense due to the root word of Marcus overlapping with Mars, the Roman god of war. As with DeAndre, the De- is borrowed from Italian.
DeMarcus Corley is a 1974-born boxer who held the WBO junior welterweight title from 2001 to 2003. Nowadays, DeMarcus Cousins is a significant basketballer playing for the Los Angeles Clippers.
Jamal
Jamal is an Arabic word that means beauty. It is a masculine name because the Arabic word is in the masculine form. Otherwise, a feminine form would be Jameela.
Gamal Abdel Nasser, born in 1918, was an Egyptian revolutionary who was one of the two leaders of the 1952 domestic revolution. Jamal Crawford is an NBA player who is the second in the history of the association to score more than 10,000 points off the bench.
Tyrone
Tyrone is a wordplay on “Tír Eoghain”, which is Irish for the land of Eoghan. The county of Tyrone is one of Northern Ireland’s six counties.
Hundreds of years ago, Tyrone Power was an Irish actor, comedian, author, and theater manager. A recent figure with the name is Tyron Woodley, a mixed martial artist whose record in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is 19–7–1.
As you may have noticed, the same African American names are sometimes spelled differently. Reasons range from the source material being transliterated differently due to it being a foreign language to parents simply taking their creative liberties.
In any case, this only scratches the surface of the diversity of African American names not only for males but also females, and African American culture brings a slew of other innovations that make American culture in its entirety a complete package.
