Where African American first names come from? | AskHistorians Archive Observer

Where African American first names come from?

by catch-a-stream

So, my understanding is that until about WW2 time frame, African American first names were mainly European based... your typical Georges, Michaels, Martins etc. But then at some point this has changed... because now a lot of the African American names seem to be completely invented ... LeBron James, Selena Williams, Ha'Sean "Ha Ha" Treshon Clinton-Dix and so on. Where these came from, how and why? Is it purely American cultural thing, or is there a wider world-wide theme for this?

Hopefully this question is allowed by rules but please let me know otherwise.

Holy_Shit_HeckHounds

Here is a list of old answers that was assembled by u/searocksandtrees

What is the origin of certain naming trends in the African American community? featuring /u/gunlord500 and others
When and why did "black" names (e.g. Jaquan, Damarius) come into vogue in America? featuring /u/raskolnik and others; there are a few comments on French-sounding names starting about half-way down the thread
/u/keyilan on Islamic names in Is there anything more to black names than just a departure from white names?
/u/Dubstripsquads on Islamic and Africanized names in What popularized names like Shaniqua in African-American culture?
/u/xiaorobear on Classical names in How long have classical Roman first names been as popular as they are in the black community? And why?

edit: spelling is hard