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No, I'm not saying that no one can have an opinion on any name. I'm saying that white people should take themselves out of the equation when it comes to African-American names in particular. Yes, I believe that, because of the particular history of race relations in the US. I think white non-Americans in particular may not understand this.

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I think I'm more sensitive to this issue than most white Americans because I have a black boyfriend and have always had mostly white friends, and have seen my friends' little smirks and raised eyebrows about his nickname and the names of his younger relatives.

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As far as a gut reaction, nobody can really help that, but I think that after the gut reaction should come the non-gut reaction of "I am not part of this culture, and there are particular race-related issues here, so I need to realize that my gut reaction has no validity."

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I personally don't judge any name that isn't part of my culture. If it's a foreign name that has become common in my culture, such as the French names Nicole and Danielle, then I do, but otherwise no. Even the name Lars, which was recently asked about, I feel is too far outside my culture to judge. But I don't hold everyone to that standard about names outside of their cultures, for most cultures. It's just white / African-American that I feel strongly should be exempt.

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I think that Sir as a name is a reflection of African-American naming culture. If Beyonce had named her son Boo-Boo Bear, that would have been different.