Extract
[...] For some authors, the first name can be a source of social depreciation and lower personal self-esteem (Garwood, 1976). Other authors argue that the first name, if original, can promote the well-being of the individual because the first name is then felt to be a unique attribute (Zweigenhaft, 1981). Research on the link between individuals' personality, their well-being, and their first name remains quite vague. Indeed, focusing on the first name as a cause leads to inconclusive interpretations, which the social environment could better explain (Ellis and Beechey, 1984; Anderson and Schmitt, 1990). [...]
[...] Regarding academic success, the results related to first names should be relativized in relation to social mores. In fact, the authors indicate, for example, that the participants in Stewart and Segalowitz's study resided in Canada, and that it was customary among high CSP Canadians to give their children more traditional first names, which could better explain their better reading performance than their first name alone. But other results suggest that we cannot totally ignore the effect of the first name on academic skills: Although the representations it activates are less important than physical appearance, the first name would allow us to predict the academic level of individuals (Nelson, 1977). [...]
[...] The first name: an element of identity participating in self-evaluation and that of others - Nicolas Gueguen, Maya Dufourcq-Brana and Alexandre Pascual (2005) Summary of article The factors of social representation of individuals have been the subject of various previous research in social psychology. Many researchers have been interested in the effect of appearance on social interactions, on the effects of socio-economic positioning, and many other variables. But what about the first name, the most obvious identity marker for an individual? In this review, N. Guéguen, M. Dufourcq-Brana, and A. Pascual, who are researchers in social psychology, are interested in the psychological impact of individuals' first names on their bearers. [...]
[...] For boys, a first name from the immediate surroundings or even from the boy's father is preferred (Otta, 1997). These first names automatically place the young boy within a specific culture and social and/or family dynamic. For girls, a more original first name with a feminine sound is chosen (Otta, 1997). This would cause disparities in the appreciation of the first name according to gender: Girls would tend to like their first name less than boys, since the originality of their first name would be an obstacle to positive social relationships (Gladding and Farrar, 1982). [...]
[...] Thus, the question of choosing a first name is infinitely more complex than we think. The choice of first name is influenced by social desirability and carries specific psychological representations, participating also in the construction of the individual's identity as well as the nature of their interactions with others. However, even if the correlational method has been preferred in research in psychology of first names, the experimental method could give us more precise answers about its involvement, for example, in the success or failure of students in school. [...]
