Justin and Ashley

According to the latest government data, those are the two most common names given to children of Hispanic parents in NY last year.

For Asian parents the story is different: name number one is Emily.

Names are a funny thing. Now, naming a company Google or Squidoo or BlueTurnip in the dot com world isn't weird... it's the equivalent of naming your kid Michael.

A recent study (sorry, I'm linkless here) by the government found that distinctly ethnic first names got fewer callbacks on otherwise identical resumes. Fair? Of course not. Not surprising, though, either.

Standing out is not the same thing as being remarkable. Standing out can just as easily get you ostracized. I don't think Purple is the same as just being different.