#23, Names

The picture this week in honor of the sublimely inventive and creative mind of Steve Jobs (1955-2011).

#1. Sarah, Emily, Jessica, Lauren, Ashley

#2. Ashley, Jessica, Amanda, Samantha, Brittney

Which group of names sounds "richer" to you? (answer at the bottom)

All of you have a remarkable opportunity that very few other people in the world have. You get to choose your OWN English name. A name is just a name though, isn't it? It's not quite as simple as it may appear.

According to a study done by Dr. Sendhil Mullainathan, a professor of economics, a name can have an effect on the way you are perceived in society. Now, this may seem obvious. If one is named Barack, they will perceived very differently than one named Osama. What about names that aren't so clearly distinguished? Is an Emily treated differently than a Marie? Is a John treated differently than a Joseph?

Dr. Mullainathan's study found an answer to that question. He created 5,000 identical resumes and sent them to companies in New York City and Boston using two different names. On one resume, he used a distinctly "white" name, Greg. On the other resume, he used a distinctly "black" name, Tyrone. He then measured the amount of callbacks (phone call from an employer to set up an interview) that each resume received. What did he find?

Tyrone's resume was 33% less likely to get a callback.

So, a name can have an impact on your economic opportunity. You will have better job opportunity if you have a "whiter" sounding name.

Why did you choose the English name you have now? For those of you with Korean names, why didn't you adopt an English name? If you could change your name to one that would allow you better economic opportunity, would you? Should one always honor their parents and keep their name, even if it's really, really, bad (one child in the study was tragically named Loser)? Defend your position.

-Teacher Lee

(Sarah, Emily, Jessica, Lauren, Ashley [in order] are the most popular names for upper class white females. Ashley, Jessica, Amanda, Samantha, Brittney are the most popular names for lower class white females.)