Comments on: Baby Names and Careers

By: Jaden

Jaden — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 10:52:06 +0000

Choosing a perfect name for your baby is a big decision.
In my opinion baby’s name can have influence on their career future and in their life.Few days back i also went through all these issues but atlast i found http://www.babynology.com…..
and guess what — website worked for me.

By: 3wheelerbuggy

3wheelerbuggy — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 12:52:55 +0000

You can not believe how long ive been searching for something like this. Went through 7 pages of Google results and couldn’t find anything. One search on Bing. There you are!… Gotta start using this more often

By: Marly

Marly — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:54:55 +0000

Honestly, would you want your child working in some job where people were more concerned about the name than the ability/skill of the individual? I have a passion for names and have talked to people all around the US about their names. The most interesting ones are those with a great story behind the name. That’s the most important thing. Have a story about the name you choose for your baby. Best of luck to you!

By: Barbara Safani

Barbara Safani — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:22:01 +0000

Lindsay,

Today’s unique name is tomorrow’s “Top 10 Names for Babies” name. When I named my daughter Maia, no one knew anyone with the same name. 17 years later it’s a very popular name choice. By the time your baby is seeking employment, chances are good that many of the hiring managers will have interesting names as well. So go with what you love. Congratulations and enjoy!

By: Stephanie Schwab

Stephanie Schwab — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:32:14 +0000

I think you’re totally right! It takes a certain personality to be able to carry off a unique name (or one that doesn’t translate well), and who knows what personality your kid will have? One can always hope that they will turn out like their name (like your Sunny example), but what if you got a kid named “Sunny” who was cranky and difficult all the time? Lifetime irony.

But seriously, while I hope that unusual names or those that are obviously ethnic or foreign will, for our kids generation, be so common that they won’t lead to subconscious discrimination, I fear that it will be at least two more generations before that’s the case. We’re slow to change and accept.

By: Jacob Share

Jacob Share — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:35:41 +0000

No, you’re not crazy. There are lots of examples of people who have managed to build a personal brand that was more memorable than they’re crazy-sounding name, but why should your own name be an obstacle in the first place?

Like most problems, they’re cheaper to solve with a little thinking ahead. A tiff with your husband is better than a daughter possibly traumatized for life.

We also had a complicated time coming up with the names for our kids. The names needed to sound nice in English, French and Hebrew (our 3 languages) while still being pronounceable for non-speakers. Each name needed to have a positive meaning. We wanted the names to be uncommon and in 2 out of 4 cases (so far… ), the kids are also named after a family member.

Surprisingly we never fought but there were a couple of close calls.

By: Carrie

Carrie — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 17:21:14 +0000

Names definitely have an impact on a person’s career. Should it? No, definitely not. But studies (the most recent is reported here: http://bit.ly/1pjwWR ) have shown people with foreign names need to send in nearly twice as many resumes to obtain an interview. My mother is a teacher and she once told me about her student Princess Jewel and her brother Eternal Lord. Can you imagine the announcement if he’s made CEO of a company? “Company XYZ names Eternal Lord as its CEO.” I just don’t see that happening.

Oddly enough, I remember reading an article in the Guardian a few years ago saying that girls with more feminine names are less likely to study “masculine” subjects like math and science and thus are less likely to work in those fields. Of course, then you have to wonder if teachers tend to push the more feminine named students toward difference subjects.

Whether consciously or unconsciously, names have a huge impact on people, both on how people feel about themselves and how others treat them.

By: Anita Santiago

Anita Santiago — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 15:49:58 +0000

You raise some great points. I have come across many names that I could not pronounce. These were usually names with an innovative or hybrid spelling. In the African American community, there seems to be a big push to use names that reflect ethnicity. In my case, I wanted my son to have a name with meaning and purpose but was also easy to spell and pronounce. His name translates into benevolent gift from God. As he goes through life, he’ll always know that his parents believed he is truly a gift. Your article shows that care should go into picking a name for your child. It was a great article. I will also read Laurie’s post on this topic.

By: Lisa Atufunwa

Lisa Atufunwa — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 03:09:31 +0000

Giving your child the perfect name is a big deal. Comedians tell jokes about parents who name their child after cars, food, drinks, and titles. But, a person’s name can influence their career future in my opinion. There is such a think of name discrimination (which is really weird). I remember watching a news segment on how your name can affect their future career and did an actual study on this topic. I always wonder what would had happen if my parents used my Nigerian name as my first name instead of my English name.