While reading Freakonomics there were many things that stood out to me, from teachers cheating for their own benefit to the business of drug dealing. But for me the most controversial topic I came across was the importance of you name. I never really thought much about someone's name, it was always just a way to identify a face. A sound, really, to identify who you are. In the chapter "Perfect Parenting, Part II; Or: Would a Roshanda By Any Other Name Smell As Sweet?" Levitt and Dubner explores how important a name really is.
The first thing I came across that really surprised me was the differences between "white" names and "black" names. On page 189 they talked about a study where a researcher sent two identical resumés, one with a "white" name and one with a "minority sounding" name. Generally the resumé with the "white" name would get more interviews. But why is that? The resumés were identical. Wouldn't it make sense to interview both? It's simple, different names have different connotations. An employer usually looks for someone with an education and no criminal record, often they assume someone with a "white" name is exactly what they are looking for whereas someone with a "black" name would be more of a risk. People do not only discriminate against someone's appearance but also what they assume their name implies about them. But as this book shows, things are not always what they seem.
The other thing I found surprising in this chapter was how the standard spelling of a name usually signified parents with a low education. The example Levitt and Dubner used was the name Jasmine. Mothers who spelled it like "Jazmine" generally had 11.94 years of education whereas those who spelled it like "Jasmyn" generally had 13.23 years of education. Someone's name may not necessarily reflect what they are like but what their parents were like. High education parents tend to go with more unique names that then become popular with other high education parents. After a few years low education parents will start using these names and the high education parents begin using different names.
Of course some people could argue that it is just a name and does not mean anything. For me it raises some questions, would I have been different if I had a different name? If my parents knew this would I have gotten a different name? There is no way of actually figuring out something like this but it is an interesting concept to think about.
Sarah, it is true that different names do have different connotations. It is amazing how gender, race, and social class (among other factors) can be reflected in a name and how the behavior of another person can be affected by the placement of a few letters. We also associate the names of people with the names of people in our past; if we disliked someone with a particular name or if we liked someone with a particular name.
ReplyDeleteI know a family who named their daughter Alexander hoping that she would be mistaken for a male on future resumés (they actually planned it). They were very concerned about discrimination based on gender. She will be a sophomore in college in the fall. We will have to wait a few years to see how it all works out. A cousin of mine was given a very sophisticated name that probably would have fit in very well down on Wall Street at Mudge Rose but I don’t know how well it’s working out in his third grade classroom. What were his parents thinking?
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ReplyDeleteI completely agree Sarah, I can't help but wonder if my parents knew of this trend would they have named me differently? Or perhaps a different spelling (they were actually going to name me the Greek way as Nikolas and be shortened as Niko but for whatever reason changed outlooks) It seems so unbelievable that a different form of the same name can potentially influence one's academics and future. Imagine that! The key to success: Your Name.
ReplyDeleteLike Troy said, society can make a (somewhat accurate) profile of someone's race, gender, and behavior just based on a name. Why are we able to do this? Or what about these letter rearrangements causes us to make such views on people? Such a simple detail that is considered so common and rudimentary but is so powerful in a sense of personality.
A name is an important part of a person, it is their title, and it is their first identification. It is the first thing that is judged when a person is mentioned in passing. That is why in jokes today racial names that are either african-american of latino are at the brunt of racial jokes. I have never seen anyone in my time make fun of a common "white" name like "John" or "Brian." So in agreement with Nick and Troy I believe that a name can take a racial hit.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing that can be seen from your post Sarah is that unique names tend to differ in spelling and in the person's exposure to the world. Someone with the name "Jasmyn" is more likely to be remembered than someone with a common name like "Jane." Maybe that is why actors name their children after ridiculous things like "Apple" or "Ever?" Parents wish to give their children an early start in the world with a push into the spotlight where someone can say, "Oh Apple well I've never heard that name before!"
Sarah, I could not agree more with your statement, "Someone's name may not necessarily reflect what they are like but what their parents were like." The parent chose the name, therefore, the name reflects the parent, not the child. However, I do believe names are important in someone's life. For instance, a child with a difficult name to pronounce, or has multiple spellings, spends his/her whole life correcting people. This person might develop a higher patience level than someone with a simple name who people naturally get correct. Going back to what you said about the judgement with the application, it seems that it's all too often that people are judged because of a unique name. It's entirely interesting to see the different effects that a name has on a person.
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