“Kevin is not a name — it’s a diagnosis!”
According to the study [of around 2,000 elementary school teachers throughout Germany] released this week, which is based on an extensive online questionnaire, the great majority of teachers make assumptions about the academic performance and behaviour of children based merely on their first names.
... The study reveals that the traditional names ... are consistently linked to strong performance and good behaviour. Non-traditional names ... , on the other hand, are associated with weak performance and bad behaviour.
- Excerpted from TheLocal.de
Will this lead to sanity when it comes to people naming their kids?
HT: the Freakonomics Blog
Comments
Sarennah
Sat, 2009-10-31 00:10
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I would guess the names are
I would guess the names are more reflective of the parents than the child - what type of names they choose and what they expect their child to become (and subsequently raise them that way). I've heard some interesting names - Flower, Sunshine, etc. - parents who seem to believe in being free-spirited. There are almost unpronounceable names. There are also Biblical names - probably parents who try to raise their children that way. That's probably where the assumptions about the children come from. I don't think assumptions are a good thing though! The children can't help what name they are born with!!
David
Sat, 2009-10-31 03:22
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There are almost
There are almost unpronounceable names.
Except a lot of those "unpronounceable" names are probably perfectly pronounceable from some other culture. I was wondering if this might be partially xenophobia or a proxy for second-language issues. (Of course, non-immigrant parents are also giving their kids crazier names these days).