The Perception of Names Jennifer A. Moss Founder & CEO BabyNames.com

The Perception of NamesJennifer A. Moss

Founder & CEO

BabyNames.com

Perception of NamesPerception of Names

It is said that when you meet someone you have 3 seconds to make an impression*.

The first thing you do when you meet someone is introduce yourself – you say your name.

So, how is your name perceived?

* “The First Impression” Carlin Flora, Psychology Today Online, 14 May 2004

BackgroundBackground

BabyNames.com receives over 1.5 million unique visitors a month – Google Analytics, Quantcast

The BN staff has worked with over 3,000 parents through the baby name consulting service

BabyNames.com continuously hosts naming surveys, which receive thousands of responses

Name Consulting ServiceName Consulting Service

1996: Baby Name Message Boards

1998: Name Suggestion Service

2007: Name Consulting Service


• While working with parents and the community on our message boards, I found that the perception of names falls into two distinct categories.

• I then conducted two surveys to see if the two types of perception affect dating and naming children.

Demographics: GenderDemographics: Gender

Quantcast

62%

38%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Female Male

Demographics: GeographyDemographics: Geography

Google Analytics

75.0%

10.6% 7.4% 7%

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

US UK / AUS / NZ CAN Other

Demographics: EthnicityDemographics: Ethnicity

Quantcast

9% 8%4% 2%

77%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

Caucasian Hispanic Af.American Asian Other

Name AssociationName Association

Personal Perception

Public Perception


Personal Perception

Association with people you have personally known throughout your life: family, friends, adversaries, teachers, classmates, co-workers, neighbors


Public Perception

Name identified with a public persona – or the mass perception of a name through celebrity. A public perception of a name can be names of celebrities, politicians, newsmakers, characters, royalty


Public Perception

Names with strong public perception: Kennedy, Scarlett, Angelina, Barack, Miley


Public Perceptionand time

1960’s-1970’s 1980’s-1990’s

Public perception can be temporal. The name Diana would have a mass association with different people in different decades.


Public Perceptionand location

Public perception can be geographical. A name of a celebrity can have a public perception in one country, but not another.

Kylie (UK) Rain (Korea)


Isabella #5 - #2

Bella #41 - #26

Alice #171 - #87

Edward #189 - #94

Jasper #179 - #100

Emmett #261 - #127 Esme #494 - #157

Rosalie #506 - #185

Carlisle n/a - #393

Twilight character names have jumped onto and up the charts from 2007–2008 with the popularity of the book series and movie.

Survey 1: Name AssociationSurvey 1: Name Association

Over 2,200 respondents 10 Names surveyed: George, Jessica,

Aidan, Jackson, Owen, Hannah, Victoria, Emma, Justin, Alyssa

Asked if they would consider using the name for their baby

Asked if the name reminded them of someone they knew or someone famous

Asked if they had a good or bad association with that name


Of those who had a bad association with a name, 95% would not consider the name for their baby

Of those who had a good association with a name, about 50% would consider the name for their baby

Bad name associations have more of an influence on baby naming than good


For those who had a good association with a name, they were more likely to consider the name for their child if the association was public.

So if they have a personal association with a particular name, even if good, they are less likely to consider it for their child.


For those who had a bad association with a name, public and personal perception had no bearing on whether they would give the name to their child. The change was minimal--up or down--depending on the name.


Question: Does a name influence who you’d date?

Survey 2: Names and DatingSurvey 2: Names and Dating

2,955 Respondents

Asked if a name influences who they date

Asked if they would date a person named… (8 names)

Asked again at the end of the survey if a name influences who they date


Beginning of survey: Think about dating (or a time when you were dating). Does a name influence who you'd date?

No, 52% No, 51%

Yes, 38%

Yes, 32%

Not Sure, 17%

Not Sure, 10%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Men Women


End of survey: Now we’ll ask you again: does a name influence who you'd date?

Yes, 62% Yes, 61%

No, 23% No, 22%

Not Sure, 17% Not Sure, 15%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Men Women


Those who date men were asked if they would date someone named…

Adolf (yes: 12.6%, no: 55.1%, maybe: 32.3%)

Jupiter (yes: 27.9%, no: 41.9%, maybe: 30.2%)

Barney (yes: 23.1%, no: 48.2%, maybe: 28.7%)

Muhammad (yes: 25.7%, no: 47.2%, maybe: 27.1%)

Ashley (yes: 44.2%, no: 28.2%, maybe: 27.6%)

Elmo (yes: 20.7%, no: 52.5%, maybe: 26.8%)

De’Shaun (yes: 42.9%, no: 29%, maybe: 28.2%)

Sexany (yes: 16.8%, no: 59.8%, maybe: 23.5%)


Those who date women were asked if they would date someone named…

Angelina (yes: 57.6%, no: 22.4%, maybe: 20%)

Jupiter (yes: 31.8%, no: 44.7%, maybe: 23.5%)

Bertha (yes: 18.8%, no: 64.1%, maybe: 17.1%)

Crystal (yes: 59.4%, no: 24.7%, maybe: 15.9%)

Gertrude (yes: 22.4%, no: 57.1%, maybe: 20.6%)

Wilma (yes: 30.6%, no: 48.8%, maybe: 20.6%)

La’Keisha (yes: 30.6%, no: 44.7%, maybe: 24.7%)

Sexany (yes: 30.6%, no: 52.4%, maybe: 17.16%)


Reactions to dating a man named Ashley:(name with both public and personal association)

PERSONAL PERCEPTION:

“I have dated men named Ashley and they were both similar, not in a good way. The name does define a person. ”

“My son's father is named Ashley.”

“It would be odd considering my sister's name is Ashley.”

PUBLIC PERCEPTION:

“There might be a bit of giggling involved when he introduced himself”

“People might think I’m dating a girl”

“Just like in Gone With the Wind!”


Reactions to the name Adolf:(name with strong public association)

“I would think about Adolf Hitler every time I was with him...”

“Might have a hard time getting over that one. I would definitely have to get to know him well and meet his parents.”

“Too notorious”

“I’d give him a nickname to call him in public”

“Most people would think I was crazy.”

“If he acted like a psychopathic killer then no. But, if he had a good personality...sure why not.”

“I would hate to look at the person I love and know that their name was also the name of the worst man to ever exist.”


Reactions to the name Sexany: (name with neither public nor personal association, but definite connotation)

“Sounds intriguing”

“The name is goofy”

“Hell Yeeaaaaah!”

“Sounds like a stripper name”

“I wouldn't like to call someone that in PUBLIC you know the place with PEOPLE who might stare and be like, did she call that man Sexany?”

“Too embarrassing to repeat to future clients”

“A little too awkward.”


A public or personal association with a name will most likely factor into our choice of mate.

Names and CharacteristicsNames and Characteristics


Aggressive

Artsy

Big

Boy Next Door

Caring

Cool

Creative

Criminal

Elegant

Energetic

Ethnic

Exotic

Funny

Girl Next Door

Handsome

Intelligent

Lazy

Leader

Loser

Nerdy

Old

Old-Fashioned

Poor

Popular

Powerful

Pretty

Quiet

Religious

Sexy

Slow

Sneaky

Sporty

Stuck Up

Trendy

Trustworthy

Unpopular

Untrustworthy

Uptight

Wealthy

Weird

Wild

Winner

Young

Users were surveyed to attach characteristics to each name in our database.

Angelina: pretty, sexy, intelligent

Bertha: big, old-fashioned, unpopular


Top 3 characteristics assigned to names – listed in our book

Jennifer: pretty, funny, caring

Ginnifer: stuck-up, weird, creative


Alternate spellings of common names may not be a good idea.

ConclusionConclusion

A person can perceive a name in two different ways: personally and publicly.

Both types of associations have an effect throughout our lives--in choosing a mate and naming a baby.

My daughter’s name: Miranda

Family surname

Shakespeare name


The Perception of NamesJennifer A. Moss

For a copy of this presentation and/or the statistics from our surveys, email [email protected].

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The Perception of Names Jennifer A. Moss Founder & CEO BabyNames.com