Connotative Meanings of Names and Nicknames: Changes over Twenty-Seven Years

Abstract

660 male and 660 female names were evaluated using a five-point rating scale on the dimensions of active–passive, masculine–feminine, and like–dislike by 478 undergraduate students. Twenty groups of approximately 24 participants each were formed (14 women and 10 men), and each group rated either 66 male or 66 female names. These ratings were compared with name ratings made 27 years ago by undergraduate students tested by Buchanan and Bruning in 1971. The top 25 names on each dimension are presented and changes in their connotative meanings over the 27 years are noted.

Who do you look like? Evidence of facial stereotypes for male names

“…Recall, evidence for the association of names to social characteristics has been obtained (see, e.g., Bruning, Polinko, & Buckingham, 1998;Mehrabian, 2001), and certain social characteristics have been shown to be associated with distinct facial types (Goldstein, Chance, & Gilbert, 1994;Shevlin, Walker, Davies, Banyard, & Lewis, 2003). These two observations could produce an indirect link between names and facial features with social characteristics mediating the relationship.…”

“…Fifteen male names were selected for study (Table 1). These names were chosen because they appear in the population with equal frequency (Kasof, 1993) and were agespecific for the populations used in the study (i.e., college aged; Bruning et al, 1998) (see note 1).…”

“…People associate a given name with certain characteristics, such as ethicality, success (see, e.g., Bruning, Polinko, & Buckingham, 1998;Mehrabian, 2001), gender (Kasof, 1993), and ethnicity (Maclin & Melpass, 2001). It has also been shown that certain facial characteristics are associated with personality traits (Shevlin, Walker, Davies, Banyard, & Lewis, 2003), desirability (Goldstein, Chance, & Gilbert, 1984), gender (Perrett et al, 1998), and race (Lindsay, Jack, & Christian, 1991).…”

We look like our names: The manifestation of name stereotypes in facial appearance.

“…Further, because we photographed targets, we firmly controlled for their age and ethnicity to rule out the possibility that these variables account for the face-name matching effect. Previous research shows that individuals associated a given name (Bruning, Polinko, & Buckingham, 1998; Lieberson & Bell, 1992) or facial feature (MacLin & Malpass, 2001) with certain socioeconomic components, such as ethnicity. For example, a specific ethnic group can be matched to a name that is more common in that group.…”

Young Adults’ Responses to Infant Names

“…Research has found that most adults prefer common names to more unusual names, but, when a name becomes too common within a particular cultural group, its popularity often declines, particularly for female names (Joubert, 1993;1994;Bruning et al, 1998;Ellington, 2001;Smith, 2009;Barry and Harper, 2010). An analysis by Smith (2009) found that popular names in English-speaking countries other than the United States (e.g., Australia, England, and Ireland) are often different from popular names in the United States at a specific point in time.…”