Sunday Summary: What’s the Real Problem Here?

We often hear studies report that certain types of names result in lower grades from teachers, or fewer calls from potential employers. And this is often cited as a reason we should avoid such choices for our children.

The topic came up in a recent edition of Nancy’s name quotes.

But the problem – as the researchers stress – isn’t the names. It’s the bias.

And I think that’s really important to remember.

If you love classic names, then yes – use them! But don’t believe that choosing something unorthodox means your child will never get into med school or win election to Congress or be promoted to partner.

The topic comes up all the time, but it seems to be mentioned more often we talk about naming daughters. While Eleanor and Alice and Ruth do great things, women with names like Kamala and Geisha reach the top of their fields, too. (Read the story of Geisha Williams’ name here – it’s fascinating!)

It reminds me of what Alexia Mae said here. It’s possible to be honest without being cruel.

Elsewhere online:

• Thoughts on why the pool of acceptable boy names is smaller. Though I think this is changing with every passing year.
• And there ARE an awful lot of boy names that are familiar, relatively unusual, but clearly masculine. (In fact, my favorite boy name for years is on that list!)
• I loved writing this list of possible names inspired by science fiction and fantasy literature: What would you name a sibling for Ender Gray and Lyra Yvaine?
• Nancy’s Rare Girl Names from Early Cinema gets to the letter L. Hello, Lark, Laramie, Lilac, Leda, and so many more.
• Where did all the guys named Bob in baseball go? Pretty sure they’re now named Ryan and Josh. After all, Ted and Hank are pretty rare these days, too.
• Found via a link found originally from Name News: top three reasons people regret their children’s names. I hear these reasons pretty often, but they’re not the only ones …
• Tom names his son … Thomson! I like it quite a bit.
• Swistle suggests Lynn as a sister name for Jane in this post. I haven’t ever really considered Lynn as a given name. What do you think?
• Now THAT is a bold middle name – and a crazy birth story. Welcome, Atom Bomb!
• Speaking of extreme names, I’ve just watched the first few episodes of Rake on Netflix. I’m not sure if I’ll stick with it, but the Australian drama about a wayward Sydney barrister drew me in because the character is named Cleaver. Gotta be a story there …

That’s all for this week. As always, thank you for reading – and have a great week!