“What’s in a name?” asked Shakespeare. “That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” That may be; but would a boy named Rose ever get a job as a professional wrestler?
That (or something like that) was the question Ohio University psychologist James Bruning set out to answer with a recent study whose results, published in the Journal of Social Psychology, show that stereotypes of what kinds of names go with what kinds of people are still very much ingrained.
Bruning asked 478 freshmen and sophomore students at his university to rank 660 male and 660 female names on a scale of one to five as active or passive, feminine or masculine, and liked or disliked. From the raw data, he was able to draw conclusions about how people perceived the bearers of the names.
To get at the latter information, names that scored too high in the active-passive or liked-disliked categories were rejected (that eliminated any bias toward the most popular or unpopular names). Four names of each gender that rated high in masculinity were selected, along with four names of each gender that rated high in femininity.
The four high-masculinity male names chosen were Howard, Boris, Hank and Bruno; the four high-masculinity female names were Garret, Lee, Dagmar and Hester; the four high-femininity male names were Wen, Inness, Jan and Francis, and the four high-femininity female names were Emma, Marta, Irma and Winifred.
Bruning also chose 16 occupations, eight stereotypically masculine and eight stereotypically feminine. The “masculine” occupations were computer programmer, plumber, track coach, truck driver, electrician, construction worker, mechanical designer and computer technician. The “feminine” occupations were manicurist, nurse, hair stylist, cheerleading coach, novelty-shop owner, interior decorator, day-care centre operator and flight attendant.
Next, Bruning had 10 female and 10 male students, all 18 to 20 years old, fill in the blanks in 16 different scenarios, matching names to occupations. The students resorted to stereotypes: for example, more slotted in Hank as a plumber than as a manicurist.
Bruning says this bias starts early in life, but he’s not sure where it comes from. One possibility is that parents name their children with certain expectations in mind, and parents who would name their son Bronco have entirely different hope for that child than those who name their son Wesley or Cecil.
Should you happen to be named Cecil, take comfort from the fact that your name is more easily remembered. Participants in another study were shown photographs of people with a name printed below each photo. They had a hard time remembering which people were named Bob or John, but no trouble at all remembering Cecil.
Again, stereotyping played a role: either participants thought the person looked like a Cecil, or didn’t look like a Cecil. Everyone had a strong opinion of what a Cecil should look like, even though they didn’t necessarily agree.
These stereotypes are self-reinforcing. People with “inappropriate” names may find it difficult to get jobs in certain fields, because of an unconscious bias on the part of those doing the hiring. It may also affect their effectiveness; for instance, in one test, a scientific review was given more credibility when it was written by “Elizabeth” than when it was written by “Trixie.”
Fortunately, once we make the connection of a certain name to a distinct individual, the stereotyping disappears–you no longer think it odd your plumber’s name is Francis.
Bruning’s initial survey of students also told him which names are most popular now (or were in 1998, when the survey was carried out) and compare the results to a similar survey in 1971. He found that the popularity of women’s names is far more volatile than that of men, much like women’s fashion changes more quickly than men’s. The most-liked women’s names in 1998 referred to a place: i.e., Dakota, Savannah, Sydney and Buckingham. (Saskatchewan, alas, was not on the list.)
Studies have also shown that many adolescents hate their names–it seems to be part of that seeking-your-own-identity bit that many adolescents struggle through–but those feelings usually pass by the time the person is over 30, even if they were teased because of their name all through school.
Note to parents: it’s best to avoid giving your child a name that rhymes with any body part, fluid or function.). Personally, I’m happy to be an Edward–which rhymes with nothing at all.
