A number of 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 university students to rate 400 popular names spanning 70 years.
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?’
Scientists used their results to assess which names were perceieved as being competent, warm, or a combination of the two.
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
