Several studies have found that our names change the way people judge our personality, age, and more.
In a study published May 8, scientists at Syracuse University in New York asked 500 college students to rate 400 popular names spanning 70 years.
The questions came in the format: ‘Imagine that you are about to meet Samantha. How competent/warm/old do you think she is when you see her name?
The scientists used their results to assess which names were perceived as competent, warm, or a combination of both.
Below are the results:
Warm and competent names.
Ann, Anna, Caroline, Daniel, David, Elizabeth, Emily, Emma, Evelyn, Felicia, Grace, James, Jennifer, John, Jonathan, Julie, Kathleen, Madeline, Mark, Mary, Matthew, Michael, Michelle, Natalie, Nicholas, Noah, Olivia, Paul, Rachel, Samantha, Sarah, Sophia, Stephen, Susan, Thomas, William
Warm but less competent names.
Hailey, Hannah, Jesse, Kellie, Melody, Mia
Competent but less warm names.
Arnold, Gerard, Herbert, Howard, Lawrence, Norman, Reginald, Stuart
Names of low warmth and competence.
Alvin, Brent, Bryce, Cheyenne, Colby, Crystal, Dana, Darrell, Devon, Dominic, Dominique, Duane, Erin, Larry, Leslie, Lonnie, Malachi, Marcia, Marco, Mercedes, Omar, Regina, Rex, Roy, Tracy, Trenton, Vicki, Whitney
