How much of an impact does a name have on the child?

There’s an intriguing article over at CSmonitor.com which talks about the impact a child’s name can have on the rest of its life.

A few key areas have been highlighted by author Jeanna Bryner, who’s been speaking to David Figlio or Northwestern University in the US.  We’ll touch on a few of them here, though I advise you to check out the article yourself.

Girly names

There’s a suggestion that boys with girly names tend to misbehave.  The opposite is also true for masculine girls names.  There is no discernible difference in their early years, but towards hitting double figures, disciplinary problems are said to skyrocket.  Could this be a reason to avoid unisex names?  What do you think, is there something in this, or is it nonsense?

Status and expectation

We judge people instantly and instinctively – it’s the way we’re programmed, helping us assess situations and decide how to react.  “Kids who have names [that] from a linguistic perspective are likely to be given by poorly educated parents, those kids ended up being treated differently,” Figlio said.  Now this one I find more believable – surely you’d react differently to meeting a Tarquin Henry as opposed to Chantelle Diamante?

Self esteem

People who like their names generally feel better about themselves.

“The relationship is so strong that when people want to measure self-esteem in a more subtle way you can do it with the name-letter task,” said Jean Twenge of San Diego State University, referring to a method in which subjects report whether they like different letters of the alphabet. Those with high self-esteem will say they like those letters in their names, particularly the first letter, she said.

Name popularity

The idea is that common or uncommon names match up with different parental outlooks and styles.  So as well as the name affecting perception, the obscurity of the name says a lot about the way the child will be raised, and therefore might be a pretty good proxy for the kind of adult which emerges.

Creating a less common name by adjusting spellings can also cause problems.  “That suggests a lot about internalizing,” Figlio said. “You have the child named Jennifer spelled with a “G” – her teacher says ‘Are you sure your name is spelled that way?’ That can be incredibly hard on a person’s confidence.”

Of course, this is all very serious – naming your baby should be a fun, natural task, not a stressful chore.  Nevertheless, will any of the above points affect the baby names you consider?

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