What's in a (sexy) name?

Vendetta said:

Skwim you're doing it all wrong

Click to expand...

Thank you.

Comicaze247 said:

And because I'm feeling a bit of vanity right now, my first name is Patrick. Some call me Pat. I don't care either way. But I'm curious; if you find some names more attractive than others, which one is more attractive? Pat or Patrick? Does it even make a difference?

Click to expand...

Patrick brings up images of Patrick Stewart in my mind, take that as you will.

Shadow Wolf said:

And I could do a facepalm that is more deserving to those who think judging a person by name to any degree is acceptable. There are some really bad names, and some dumb ones, but a name says nothing about character, appearance, success, or anything else unless the person chose their name (which not many people do). If that was the case then names like Bill and Donald would be great names to give your kids.

Click to expand...

Aren't you meant to be a psychology student? No one is saying it is right to judge bases solely on a name but what is being said is that people have preconceptions about certain names and if you think that you don't you are kidding yourself. Yes we know it is wrong and yes we try not to make judgements based on it the same as with all prejudices. But like all prejudices we all hold them.

I don't let a girls name make me look at her any differently. I think most names are unique. Some of my personal favorites are Chelsea, Page, Jessica, Cindy, Mindy, Mandy, Jenna, heh, list goes on and on.

If I have a girl I want to name her either Page or Jill. If I have a boy I'm going to name him Mario or PJ.

Just my thoughts...

Shadow Wolf said:

And I could do a facepalm that is more deserving to those who think judging a person by name to any degree is acceptable. There are some really bad names, and some dumb ones, but a name says nothing about character, appearance, success, or anything else unless the person chose their name (which not many people do). If that was the case then names like Bill and Donald would be great names to give your kids.

Click to expand...

My fault for not making myself clearer in my scenario. The operating presumption is that all things about the two being equal, which would you choose? No need to answer, I'm simply explaining what I mistakenly took to be obvious.

And acceptable or not, such superficial judgments are made all the time.

Shadow Wolf said:

Another example of how dumb people can be. Sure some names sound better than others, but to somehow think a name has any real power over a persons attractiveness, luck, success, or anything else is just extremely shallow, narrow sited, and very ignorant.

Click to expand...

Well, the studies have only shown patterns. They say nothing about the reasons behind it. Like what Penumbra said:

Penumbra said:

I suppose that it's like verbal art, and very subjective, and dependent on culture.

Click to expand...

It could be that some names just sound more pleasing to some people than others. But there does seem to be a general consensus. One theory I thought of while reading them included how someone associates a name to what they feel about it. When they listed David, James, and Michael as some of the most attractive, I noticed that they share something in common: they're big names in the Bible. As I'm sure we all know, Christianity is one of the most widespread religions in the world, so many people follow it and view these names in a positive light. Familiarity and positive association could very well have an effect. Hell, some people make a big deal out of the fact that Obama's middle name is 'Hussein' just to make the comparison to Saddam, thereby associating the two together in people's minds.

And honestly, I don't think it's about being shallow. It's just how the human brain functions. We naturally think through association. Yes, you can train yourself not to, but 1) it takes a while to do so, and 2) it still tends to happen after the association has already been made in your mind. I mean, say you had an ex named Jacob and he was a big part of your life as well as a total prick. What would be the first thing to come to mind when you hear that name?

The articles aren't talking about actually knowing someone. They're talking about first impressions. For some reason, those names leave better first impressions than others. What I'm trying to get out of this are theories of why the names in the articles are more popular than others.

Requia said:

Patrick brings up images of Patrick Stewart in my mind, take that as you will.

Click to expand...

*looks for hot Trekkie and/or X-men fan-girls*