Factors Related to Individuals' Attitudes toward Their Names

Abstract

This research studied whether several factors might relate to a person's evaluation of his given names. Most subjects liked their names but less so their middle names. Male subjects rated their last names higher than did females theirs. People who had been known by pet names liked both their first and middle names less. People with unusual names were more likely to have a nickname; but neither names' atypicality nor nicknames were related to the evaluation of the legal names. Men were equally apt to attribute either parent as the source of their first or middle names; women were more apt to attribute both first and middle names to their mothers. Being named after the same-sexed parent occurred with men more often than with women. Women more frequently cited reasons for their names that did not involve their being named after some family member.