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Community Corner

What's in a Name?

Can an unusual baby name have negative effects?

Remember the good ol' days when kids had names like Mary or Chris? Research shows that parents are choosing more unusual names for their children. Nowadays, you might be more likely to meet a girl named Maya or a boy named Crispin.

Researchers at San Diego State University analyzed 325 million baby names recorded by the Social Security Administration from 1880 to 2007 and figured the percentage of babies given the most popular names among the 10, 20 or 50 most popular for that year. They discovered surges in unusual baby names when the Baby Boomers had children and again in the 1990s.

The harsh truth is that a person's name can create a stereotype about their heritage, socio-economic status, and possibly influence their future. The African-American community prides itself in giving children distinctly ethnic names such as LaQisha or Deshawn. If you meet a child named Buck or Randa-Lynn, you might assume that kids comes from a low-income family.

When I looked at baby name trends for 2012, it's clear that even middle class parents want their kids to stand out. From fierce names like Fox to adjective names like True, it seems like nothing is off limits these days.

More and more studies are showing the negative affects that unusual names have in the classroom and later in life. One British study was inspired by similar research carried out in the United States, which was based on an extensive online questionnaire. The study concluded a majority of teachers make assumptions about the academic ability and behavior of a child based on his or her first name and that non-traditional names are linked to teacher discrimination.

Problems can follow a child well into adulthood. A recent "field experiment," conducted by Marianne Bertrand and Sendhil Mullainathan of NBER Faculty Research, found that a job applicant with an African-American sounding name may find it harder to get a job. The two responded to help wanted ads in Chicago and Boston newspapers.

The resumes they sent either had white-sounding names or African American names. They measured how many return calls each resume received that requested an interview.  According to the study;

The results show significant discrimination against African-American names: White names receive 50 percent more callbacks for interviews. We also find that race affects the benefits of a better resume. For white names, a higher quality resume elicits 30 percent more callbacks whereas for African Americans, it elicits a far smaller increase. Applicants living in better neighborhoods receive more callbacks but, interestingly, this effect does not differ by race. The amount of discrimination is uniform across occupations and industries.

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These controversial findings reflect that even the most exotic and beautiful sounding names can have negative consequences in the job market. Parents may believe that an unusual moniker is a stamp of originality but really, it could be a red flag later in life.

Sure, it's adorable to meet a cutie pie named Apple but how sweet will she think it is when she's an adult?

Do you believe that a baby name can have a lasting influence into adulthood? Did you consider this when naming your child? Share your thoughts in comments!


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