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Does Names Affect A Person's Life?

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Does Names Affect A Person's Life?
Can someone’s name influence the outcome of their life? The answer to how a name affects someone’s life lies within what the name represents. A name is a badge bearing information about one’s class, education level, socioeconomic status, and ethnic origins. Different names are popular among different social classes and ethnic groups, and these groups have different opportunities and goals. A name does not simply determine one’s destiny, however what a particular name reveals about its bearer has a significant influence on how others perceive that person.
A name itself is not a determining factor in the outcome of one’s life. An example of this would be when a mother had initially wanted to name her baby Tempestt, after a character on the Cosby …show more content…
A research study sent 5,000 applications to job advertisements posted in Chicago and Boston papers. The applications were identical, however half were given traditionally white names and the other half were given traditionally African American names. The results showed that the applications with traditionally white names received approximately 50% more callbacks than the applications with African American names. Studies have shown that the world makes different assumptions about a person named Tyrone than it does about another named Philip. Psychologist, Dr. Martin Ford states, “Names only have a significant influence when that is the only thing that you know about the person.”

Levitt, Steven D., and Stephen J. Dubner. Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything. New York: William Morrow, 2005. Print.
"How Much Does Your Name Matter? A New Freakonomics Radio Podcast." Freakonomics RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2015.
Goudreau, Jenna. "13 Surprising Ways Your Name Affects Your Success." Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 05 Aug. 2015. Web. 18 Nov. 2015.
"Does a Baby's Name Affect Its Chances in Life? - BBC News." BBC News. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov.
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