#23, Names

top ten female names in 2010: Isabella, Emma, Olivia, Sophia, Ava, Emily, Madison, Abagail, Chloe, Mia

#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 an intriguing opportunity that very few others have. You get to choose your English name. A name is just a name though, isn't it? It's not quite as simple as it may appear. Your name may have a significant impact on the way you are viewed in society.

According to a study done by Dr. Sendhil Mullainathan, an economics professor at Harvard University, your name can impact the jobs that are available to you. Dr. Mullainathan 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 job opportunity. You might get a better job opportunity if you have a "whiter" sounding name.

How did you end up with the English name you have now? For those of you with Korean names, why haven't you adopted an English name? Would you change your name if it provided you with better job opportunity?

(#1: Sarah, Emily, Jessica, Lauren, Ashley [in order] are the most popular names for upper class white females. #2: Ashley, Jessica, Amanda, Samantha, Brittney are the most popular names for lower class white females.)

-Brenden Lee Teacher

locus of struggles over truth and power