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Can Your Name Seal Your Fate?
Parents obsess over baby name choices, but do those choices really matter? Can the names we give our children really affect their life paths?
That question is ostensibly asked by this promotional video for the new film "Freakonomics" (NSFW). Unfortunately, the video doesn't seem interested in the answer. It's too busy dreaming up nasty stereotypes and giggling about them to actually talk name science. (For more on the way name stories are used to promote racial stereotypes, check out this series of posts from the Name Lady's sister site, BabyNameWizard.com.)
Let's take the question back from the fantasy world where naming a girl Temptress seals her fate as a floozy -- or where the name Angel guarantees a baby will sleep through the night. If only.
To find the ways names do shape our lives, you have to look beyond literal meanings. Names are much more than words. They pack a world of social information into a few simple letters. They send complex signals to the people we meet, and to ourselves. And each year, researchers find more evidence that those signals do have some impact.
On the most serious level, names can set negative expectations. Research has shown that kids with the type of names associated with poor, uneducated parents are at a disadvantage in school -- even compared to their own siblings with more upscale names. Other studies have found disadvantages for students whose names are considered unattractive, and lower math achievement for girls with distinctly feminine names.
That's the big stuff. The effect of names shows up in subtler ways, too. For instance, we're all drawn to things that resemble ourselves, including our names. Incredible as it may sound, researchers have found that a Louis is more likely than other people to move to St. Louis, and a Dennis to become a dentist. Recent studies have suggested that even our initials can make a difference. For instance, kids whose names start with A may get better grades on average than kids with C and D names.
But wait a second. Does that mean Annabella will do well in math class because she's an A, or badly because her name sounds so feminine? And how did all those Dennises make it to dental school if they were destined to pull Ds? Where does all of this research point for a name-choosing parent?
My advice: The signals names send are so limitless and contradictory that tracking down every possible variable is a fool's errand. Instead, try approaching it like nutrition. Amid the constant whirlwind of new dietary research, the standard common-sense guidelines still hold. Eat a well-balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains, and you should be fine. Similarly, a spellable, pronounceable name that gets a positive reaction from the people you admire remains your safest naming bet.
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
9-26-2010 @ 2:49PM
Stacy said...I was born in 1949. My name is Stacy, a very unusual name for the time. I would be in my 30s before I met anyone with the same name. Now, imagine that you are born in 1949, and given the name "Moon Unit." Think you might be treated differently by teachers and students, alike? Well, the name "Stacy" was the 1949 equivalent of "Moon Unit," and I can say without fear of contradiction that I was treated differently by teachers and students, alike. I wound up on the "I prefer to be crazy" Road Less Traveled. Who'da thunk it? Do everyone a favor. Give your kid a nice, ordinary name. Trust me: Their lives will turn out to be nicely, comfortably ordinary. Ask my nicely ordinary brother who's been with the same company for over 30 years, has one marriage, 2.5 kids, and is very financially stable. His name is John. He's happy.
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9-26-2010 @ 3:30PM
colleen said...Are you a male Stacy?
9-26-2010 @ 2:57PM
Lita said...Everybody click that "report this comment" button (the exclamation point). The fact that this idiot posts everywhere seemingly with impunity is a slap in the face to those of us who follow the rules. There is no excuse for this drivel occupying the first space in a comment area. GET RID OF IT!
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9-26-2010 @ 3:01PM
Bobby said...I would think the naming the baby "Barack" would have been a strong negative in the 60s. Not today, apparently, as the naming of Baracks has risen by over 1000 percent.
Who would have thought that "Barack" or even "Barney" would be such high achievers? The name is important in a society that values stereotypes. In an innovative society, new and different names are are more highly valued.
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9-26-2010 @ 3:40PM
Marlys Galler said...I was named Marlys in the year 1932. I love my name. People comment "what a pretty name you have" - There is a club close to Minneapolis, Mn. called the Marlys Club. They have over 70 members and meet once a year. Also i went to high school in Minnesota and had 5 people named Marlys in my class. Hooray for MARLYS
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9-26-2010 @ 3:39PM
Marlys Galler said...I was named Marlys in the year 1932. I love my name. People comment "what a pretty name you have" - There is a club close to Minneapolis, Mn. called the Marlys Club. They have over 70 members and meet once a year. Also i went to high school in Minnesota and had 5 people named Marlys in my class. Hooray for MARLYS
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9-26-2010 @ 4:23PM
Kayla said...How in the hell do you have 2.5 kids?
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9-26-2010 @ 4:26PM
tracy said...born a boy in 1963 named Tracy ...I hated it when the song came out .... I thought it was to "girly" and wanted to change it....to Chris I know one other guy named Tracy and people think we should be "PALS" because we have the same name .... preposterous !
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9-26-2010 @ 4:39PM
beth said...@ tracy.....chris is just as girly as tracy. duh!
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9-26-2010 @ 6:40PM
Charles said..."TRACY" is NOT a feminine name ... or do you not remember SPENCER TRACY? He was definitely NOT feminine!
9-26-2010 @ 4:40PM
Fran said...Bobby writes: 'In an innovative society, new and different names are are more highly valued.'
I think that's true only up to a point. Lately there's been a trend, particularly among unmarried African-American teen moms, to make up names that have never been heard before and in some cases have really bizarre spellings, including random punctuation marks. Score one point for creativity, maybe; but don't you think that those kids will suffer from the widespread public perception that these are 'ghetto' names, in addition to creating a problem for every person who tries to pronounce them and gets them wrong?
Life is hard enough; why make it unnecessarily more so for your child with a name that goes off the deep end of weirdness in the name of originality? You don't have to pick a boring name from among the current Top Twenty Most Popular (it sucks to be one of half-a-dozen kids in your class with the same name, as well). But I think it's kinder to use a little common sense.
Pick a name that sounds good to you but won't inspire ridicule or bullying. Research what it means, including what it sounds like in other languages if you can. (For instance, I once met a Jewish guy named Murray Cohen, which to a Latino person sounds like 'maricón,' the Spanish equivalent of calling a gay person a 'faggot.') Think about things like what the name rhymes with, because you can be sure that rhyming taunts will come your kid's way at some point in their childhood. Also consider what is spelled out by the initials. You don't have to go totally bland to protect your child from other people's cruelty.
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9-26-2010 @ 4:57PM
rox said...i have always noticed a corroation between ppl and thier names,, their personalities are very much alike,, i do not like my name because it is always aquated with sex,, anything sexual,, like roxy theatre,, shows nothing but porn stuff in long beach california,, when i was a child i thought it was too much for a little girl to have such a grown up name,, not only that i was teased a lot,,,
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9-26-2010 @ 5:03PM
Kathy Murray said...I'm so sick of seeing your stupid post! You ARE rude! I wish you were in front of me, I'd tell you exactly what I think of your stupid posts! (and I don't think it does any good to report them---- they keep letting them post anyway! ) Ugh!
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9-26-2010 @ 5:06PM
rox said...excuse the punctuation,, :)
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9-26-2010 @ 5:25PM
Valerie said...Yes they get paid for it. The "advertisers" post these in hopes to get people to go to that web site and then pay money to join. And.. no matter how many times you report them, AOL WILL DO NOTHING!! BOTS, which is what these postings are called (they also go into chat rooms and pretend to be actual people - it is actually a program they use - to get men to go to porn sites to pay. It's for money.. it's meaningless and.. I KNOW IT IS ANNOYING!!.. but there's no stopping it. Just ingore it.. :) It has been going on for years.. - since AOL started!!
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9-26-2010 @ 6:03PM
maryagingersmom said...All I know is that I thank God that I was not a boy because my Daddy was going to name me Christopher Chauncey! Names that 2 words are a pain also. Like Mary Anne. It isnot Mary, it is not Anne, but invariably I am called Mary which I hate. So now it is all one word, which still does not work for the slow, or the sleek car salesman!!
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9-26-2010 @ 7:43PM
hmvrpvalley said...I was a child of the 50's, named Helen after a grandmother - I was the only grandchild she lived to see (11 more came later) & I felt special. The kids teased me by calling me Helena Rubenstein who sold a cosmetics line in those days. I went back to feeling special when my Mom told me Helena Rubenstein was a princess! Kids will tease about anything. My son's name is Frank & they picked on him too. He has medals won at martial arts & is now a Marine. He's about to become a Dad & he & his wife have chosen a beautiful & unique name for their son: Noah Vai (Steve Vai is a fave guitarist), and it goes nicely with our Czech surname. Point, you can chose a unique name that is pleasant to the ear, and pleasing to the folks, without choosing something that will cause the child embarassment or sound foolish with your surname; Moon Unit being a good example.
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9-26-2010 @ 7:47PM
hmvrpvalley said...I agree with Bobbi (my son is a deployed Marine!) You sound like what my mom used to call a "camp follower".
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9-26-2010 @ 9:53PM
cope said...I once taught a little boy named Chaos. No kidding. Can you imagine??!! He was a chaotic nightmare by the way! I also taught a boy named Jesus and the parents wanted everyone to pronounce it like that of our Savior, not hey-zeus! I sometimes used to line the kids up by their initials. Initials are important too! For example, William Housman would be WH... this little girls name was Pamela Urena. I know, I didn't even realize the humor and embarassment to her until I called out PU!
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