Do names impact behavior?

[Anonymous]

Fascinating that a question about the association between personality and names has been interpreted by many as being about socioeconomics and names.

Socioeconomics don't dictate personality. There are mean rich people and mean poor people, kind rich people and kind poor people.

I do, however, sense there is an association between the selection of certain names to project high SES and an anxious, self-conscious personality. But in the parent, not necessarily the kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fascinating that a question about the association between personality and names has been interpreted by many as being about socioeconomics and names.

Socioeconomics don't dictate personality. There are mean rich people and mean poor people, kind rich people and kind poor people.

I do, however, sense there is an association between the selection of certain names to project high SES and an anxious, self-conscious personality. But in the parent, not necessarily the kid.

What are the high SES names?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think I've ever known a mean "Michael," come to think of it.

I grew up with one. He tortured me all through middle school. I don't hate the name though - I have two relatives with that name who are great people.

Ugh. Sorry you had a mean Michael. I take it all back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fascinating that a question about the association between personality and names has been interpreted by many as being about socioeconomics and names.

Socioeconomics don't dictate personality. There are mean rich people and mean poor people, kind rich people and kind poor people.

I do, however, sense there is an association between the selection of certain names to project high SES and an anxious, self-conscious personality. But in the parent, not necessarily the kid.

What are the high SES names?

I don't know, ask the PP who thinks her mail carrier devalued her kid's name by using it for a middle class child. She might have a good read.

[Anonymous]

For poor people especially those who lose their child to the system having a unique name pretty much ensures that child is never really ‘lost’, I also have a ‘book’ on this and experience. It also goes back to slavery.

If that child is never adopted, when they are an adult it’s pretty easy to locate them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For poor people especially those who lose their child to the system having a unique name pretty much ensures that child is never really ‘lost’, I also have a ‘book’ on this and experience. It also goes back to slavery.

If that child is never adopted, when they are an adult it’s pretty easy to locate them.

These days, most people would focus on parenting their kids properly in the first place (including giving them an appropriate name) rather than planning for what happens when their kids get taken away due to abuse or neglect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For poor people especially those who lose their child to the system having a unique name pretty much ensures that child is never really ‘lost’, I also have a ‘book’ on this and experience. It also goes back to slavery.

If that child is never adopted, when they are an adult it’s pretty easy to locate them.

These days, most people would focus on parenting their kids properly in the first place (including giving them an appropriate name) rather than planning for what happens when their kids get taken away due to abuse or neglect.

Most not all. The people I’m referring to have experienced generations of family separation, including those who have routinely lost kids to the system. I am apart of one of those families. And the younger generations are still struggling, it’s not something that is changed over night, or one/two generations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fascinating that a question about the association between personality and names has been interpreted by many as being about socioeconomics and names.

Socioeconomics don't dictate personality. There are mean rich people and mean poor people, kind rich people and kind poor people.

I do, however, sense there is an association between the selection of certain names to project high SES and an anxious, self-conscious personality. But in the parent, not necessarily the kid.

What are the high SES names?

I don't know, ask the PP who thinks her mail carrier devalued her kid's name by using it for a middle class child. She might have a good read.

I’m guessing that her kid is named George with the nickname “Geo”. Reserved for rich kids only.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fascinating that a question about the association between personality and names has been interpreted by many as being about socioeconomics and names.

Socioeconomics don't dictate personality. There are mean rich people and mean poor people, kind rich people and kind poor people.

I do, however, sense there is an association between the selection of certain names to project high SES and an anxious, self-conscious personality. But in the parent, not necessarily the kid.

What are the high SES names?

I don't know, ask the PP who thinks her mail carrier devalued her kid's name by using it for a middle class child. She might have a good read.

I’m guessing that her kid is named George with the nickname “Geo”. Reserved for rich kids only.

I teach at a school with 67% low income and have several students named George nicknamed Geo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe but spellings of names say everything. Why would you name your kid a fairly recognizable name like Brayden and then spell it Breighdan? Or a name like Alison and spell it Aleysen? Just don't.

I think they genuinely don’t realize how dumb they look.

It could also be they were not particularly good students and don't know the proper spelling of particular name. In Freakanomics, they talk about how as a name grows more popular it works its way down socioeconomic classes until only the poors will touch it and that is when all the alternate spellings pop up. In Freakanomics he also writes about how names are often aspirational and people don't want to "steal" ideas from friends so they take them from someone in a higher social class in their orbit. I think this probably happened to us. We are UMC and our son has a classic name with a classic but rarely used nickname. Our mail carrier used it a few years later with his son. I found this out by accident when I met his wife and baby in the ballet waiting room. She called him by the same nickname we call ours. She said her husband suggested the name and then I realized she was the wife of our mail carrier.

Oh no, a 'poor' TOOK your kid's name!

FYI, I'm a 'mailman' ( it's letter carrier, you fossil) and I'm not poor. My kids have classic names . Not because of you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fascinating that a question about the association between personality and names has been interpreted by many as being about socioeconomics and names.

Socioeconomics don't dictate personality. There are mean rich people and mean poor people, kind rich people and kind poor people.

I do, however, sense there is an association between the selection of certain names to project high SES and an anxious, self-conscious personality. But in the parent, not necessarily the kid.

What are the high SES names?

Michael
Brian
Sarah
Laura

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Someone named Butch isn’t being raised by people who care about manners or ethics.

This. The question is what type of people would choose those names.

For example, I’d be willing to bet money that black people with classical names do better in life than the ones with the “unique” spelling names, despite them both having the same skin, because it shows the attitudes of the parents and how the kids are growing up.

You have no idea the magnitude of discrimination and the ignorance that comes with being melanated, let alone, having a uniquely spelled name but still we rise. Your hate will never stop this glow, not in a million years, it actually makes it brighter. We are flattered that you are constantly thinking about us though.🥰

DP. I don’t think it was fair for the PP to specifically pick on AA names with unique spellings when there are plenty of white names with creative spellings (thinking of all the Kayleighs and Jaxxons out there).

From what I’ve found, the people who pick these types of oddly spelled names are usually lower income (although conversely in some cases wealthy). Whereas UMC worry more about appearances to make sure their kid is not lumped in with the lower class.

And statistically there are ties between behavioral issues and socioeconomic status. So I think people link bad behavior and/or trashiness to these types of names. Of course some kids rise above, which is great. But the knee jerk reaction for many people is to have negative associations with these names, which is unfair, but this reaction exists.

"What's something that's classy when you're rich but trashy when you're poor"

[Anonymous]

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Someone named Butch isn’t being raised by people who care about manners or ethics.

This. Everyone I knew who was named Angel, or Destiny or "Buzz" did not do well in life.

[Anonymous]

AA names were also the Sarah, Henry, Paul, Mary, Roberta, Gladys in the 20s-50s. There was less of a difference between the names of social classes back then.