Category Archives: Name Studies
Are Female Names a Hindrance in the Workplace?
Several days ago, a fascinating post by writer James Chartrand was published over at Copyblogger. In the post, James talks about starting out as a writer–the hard work, the low pay, the maltreatment–and about finally finding success.
And can you guess what the secret to that success was?
A man’s name.
That’s right–James is a woman. After struggling [...]
Also posted in Baby Names, Boy Names, Girl Names Tagged james
Bye Bye, Bridget – Irish Names Dropped to Minimize Prejudice
A recent study found that the Irish Catholic names Bridget and Patrick were used much less often among second-generation Irish than among first-generation Irish in late 19th-century England and Wales.
English Protestant names like George and William, on the other hand, were used much more often by these second-generation Irish.
Why?
Researchers Malcolm Smith and Donald [...]
Also posted in Baby Name Trends, Baby Names, Baby Names from Religion, Boy Names, Girl Names Tagged bridget, george, ireland, irish, patrick, turks, william
Female Lawyers with Masculine Names Fare Better
A new pair of studies suggest that women with masculine names fare better in legal careers than women with feminine names.
The findings, published in the American Law and Economics Review, indicate that a female lawyers with masculine names are more likely to:
be appointed as judges and
earn more money
than female lawyers with feminine names. Not [...]
Also posted in Baby Name Trends, Baby Names, Boy Names, Girl Names Tagged bentley, coffey, collins, judge, money
Are Hard-to-Spell, Hard-to-Say Baby Names Dangerous?
Names that are difficult to spell and pronounce are perceived as more dangerous than simpler names, according to a study conducted by University of Michigan psychologists Norbert Schwarz and Hyunjin Song.
The study focused on brand names, but the findings are applicable to baby names as well:
The bad news for kids whose parents couldn’t keep it [...]
Also posted in Baby Names, Unique Baby Names
Boys with Unusual Names More Likely to Commit Crime
Researchers David E. Kalist and Daniel Y. Lee have again published a study linking unusual first names to criminal behavior (specifically, juvenile delinquency).
The study, published in Social Science Quarterly, is described over at Live Science (Boys With Unpopular Names More Likely to Break Law). Here’s an excerpt:
While the names are likely not the cause [...]
Also posted in Baby Names, Boy Names, Unique Baby Names
Parents More Inventive with Girl Names than with Boy Names
According to Dr. Alexander Bentley of University College, London, parents are more creative when choosing baby girl names than when choosing baby boy names. In his study of U.S. baby names several years ago, he found an average of:
2.3 new female names for every 10,000 baby girls born and
1.6 new male names for every 10,000 [...]
Also posted in Baby Name Trends, Baby Names, Boy Names, Girl Names
How Many Babies are Named After Family Members?