A lot. Sure, it’s a form of identification, but it is so much more than that. Names represent a cultural heritage and identity to which a child or family is associated. Names represent the hopes, dreams, love and thought that parents take to decide how to present their child to the world Truthfully, it needs no approval from anyone else. Sadly, as a neonatologist I have noticed that certain names often draw ridicule or comment from staff members across all health professions. It is important that this stops now.
Maya Angelou famously said, “When you know better, do better.”
Do you know why Hispanic last names often are two words with a hyphen? The first last name is from the father and the second last name is from the mother. It is wonderful that in the Hispanic culture that the mother receives this important recognition in her child’s surname. The greater New Haven community is a melting pot of different cultures and ethnicities, where we encounter names we do not recognize, names that are in other languages. As health care professionals we have already mastered the art of pronouncing complex long words. Do the work to learn how to pronounce your patients’ name properly. The patient-provider and family-provider relationship is essential to the healing process, so contribute to it in this positive way.
Did you know that when Africans were illegally captured and transported to the United States and enslaved, their cultural heritage was purposefully eradicated? They were re-named to carry the name of the slave ‘owner’. Obviously, the renaming was against their will and brutally enforced with the use of physical torture. Black Americans (and Black people of Caribbean descent, South American descent and some coastal West African families) still carry the last names of the slave owners that kept their own ancestors’ hostage in a violent system of oppression. So today, some Black American families choose unique first names to represent a new culture and a new identity. Their names may not follow traditional English grammar rules, they may alter the spelling of known names or are new creations altogether. All of them deserve our respect.
When we laugh at or make fun of names that tend to originate in a particular culture or group of people, we are doing two things: First, we are disrespecting the basic tenet of the person’s identity. Second, we are wrongfully asserting that the only acceptable names are from a dominant White/Anglo Saxon culture. Neither one of those two things are acceptable. After all, many of the names that are popular today were once non-traditional names that have come to be accepted.
As a neonatologist I have noticed that certain names often draw ridicule or comment from staff members across all health professions. It is important that this stops now.
Dr. Zaneta Forson-Dare
Lastly, we work in a professional work environment where we have been given the great privilege to witness and aid in the beginning or growing of a family. We ask parents to trust us with their children and to respect our expertise in caring for them. We should also show them respect and kindness. Respecting the name that they have chosen for their child is essential. So now that we know better, let’s do better.
Zaneta Forson-Dare, MBBS, Intercalated Bachelor of Sciences in International Health Sciences is of Ghanaian and Nigerian heritage but grew up and attended medical school in London in the United Kingdom and now lives and works in Connecticut. Her career goals/interests include global health and health disparities.