Name of the Day: Booker
November 12
Booker
On November 12, 1944, musician Booker T. Jones was born in Memphis, Tennessee. Known as the frontman of the R&B/Funk band Booker T. and the M.G.s, Jones has standing in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as well as a Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement.
Named in honor of the most recognizable Booker in history — revolutionary educator and reformer Booker T. Washington, himself born into enslavement — Booker T. Jones held one of the most famous Black Hero Names.
Booker is fascinatingly one of the oldest historically Black names — In the 1920 US census, 99% of men with the first name Booker were Black.
The name Booker last ranked among the US Top 1000 names in 1965, but today feels stylish again in an era where Occupation Names are cooler than ever.
For you book nerds out there, Booker also has the literary reference of the U.K. Man Booker Prize, awarded annually to the best novel.
I somewhat like Booker as a nickname, but I'm not sure about it as a full name.