Names and Culture

Does your name make you who you are or do your parents determine what you become?

What if you were given a foreign sounding name? Will it change others expectations of you?

How do you measure the effect of the name you are given on the outcome of your life?

How much does your name matter?

California Data Set – Birth Certificates 1960s-2000

2 Girls – similar background and SES 1 girl is given traditional name 1 girl is given unique black cultural name

Wait 20 years . . . Outcome?

Researcher: Rollin Friar

Black sounding names 25% more likely to receive an “arrest” ad.

Traditional sounding names received less deviant-associated ads.

Names and Internet Ads on Google

Adwords – Company responsible for ads on Google searches

Who is at fault? Ad company? Google? Society?

Does your name matter?

Names and Internet Ads on Google (cont.)

Are “Emily” and “Craig” more employable than “Andre” and “LeKeisha”?

Names and Job Applications

Audit Studies White sounding names received many more

call backs than black sounding names. However, most jobs are given out based upon

who you know rather than a resume or regular application

A call back doesn’t necessarily = job

Names and Job Applications (cont.)

Your name may not have much of an influence on your life’s outcome; however, your name does tell us a lot about . . . Education Level Social Standing

Names and Parents

Most names start at the top of the income distribution and then trickle down to other income levels

Over 20-30 years, those at the top want to separate themselves from the previously used names.

Names and Parents (cont.)

Conservative High Income – popular names Liberal High Income – more unique names

with obscure cultural messages (Why?) Low income African American mothers

without a high school degree – very unique names Change in spelling Made up words

Liberals, Conservatives, and Names

Liberals Nurturing/feminine sounding names (Ex. Ella) More “l” letters in names More vowel endings (both male and female) Example: Obama girls

Sasha and Alea

Liberals, Conservatives, and Names (cont.)

Conservatives Masculine/Paternalistic Names (Ex. Kurt) Short, consonant-dominated names (both boys

and girls) Example – Palin kids

Piper, Trig, Track, Bristol, Willow?

Liberals, Conservatives, and Names (cont.)

Liberals – 10 Names

Boys

Ethan Dylan Joshua Charlie Lief

Girls

Lola Mia Fia Elliana Ruby

Conservatives – 10 Names

Boys

Andrew Ethan Dylan Caleb Carter

Girls

Kacey McKenzie Jordan Taylor Sarah

Naming is not destiny! Story of “Winner” and “Loser”

Biggest Take-Away

If it’s not names . . . then what is it that makes a difference for individuals? Family SES

Reason for Success?