Firstly, "whitest names" or "blackest names" is (I'm assuming) referring to the names that are most common among either whites or blacks. It doesn't mean that the same name can't be common among both whites AND blacks.
Secondly, these lists change, as certain names become either more or less popular.
Thirdly, yes these lists are real. People have actually done series studies showing a correlation between a person's success in life and their names. People have also done studies about "poor names" and their correlation to things such as income and whether or not they have a criminal record. It has been repeatedly shown that "black names" correlate more with crime and poverty, and that "poor names" correlate more to crime and poverty. Blacks who have "white names" and poor people who have "rich names" tend to do better than poor/black people who have poor/black names.
Fourthly, such studies do not indicate any kind of causation. Still, it's food for thought, and is enough to make me wonder what's in a name. Particularly when I hear comments like, "wow, the black names sound ghetto." What makes a name "ghetto"? If someone's prejudices about a certain name sway them just a little bit into not hiring a dude, were those prejudices REALLY a prejudice against blacks? Is that a prejudice against poor people from the ghetto? Or is it just a prejudice against the name?
WOO! YEAH!! Cole Train!
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