A Comparative Study of Naming Children from Two Socioeconomic Groups

Perceptions of the Personalities of Namesaked Children as a Function of Their Sex and Birth Order

One-hundred-seventeen participants rated hypothetical individuals on the "Big Five" personality traits, narcissism, intelligence, and creativity. Hypothetical individuals differed according to namesake status (named after a parent/relative or not), sex, and birth order. Namesaking interacted with both sex and birth order on ratings of many personality traits, but sex and birth order were stronger predictors of personality stereotypes than was namesaking. The results indicate that namesaking children may have implications for the expectations that others will have about their personalities, but the nature of these expectations will rely heavily upon the child's gender and birth order.

Parental Investment Is Biased toward Children Named for Their Fathers

Namesaking (naming a child after a parent or other relative) can be viewed as a mechanism to increase perceived parent-child similarity and, consequently, parental investment. Male and, to a lesser extent, firstborn children are more frequently namesakes than female and later-born children, respectively. However, a direct link between namesaking and parental investment has not been examined. In the present study, 632 participants (98 men and 534 women) from Central Europe indicated their first name, sex, birth order, number of siblings, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, paternal and maternal first names, as well as relationship quality with, and time and financial investment they received from, both parents during childhood. Mixed-effects models revealed associations between namesaking and parental investment. However, the effect of namesaking often appeared significant only in interaction with specific predictors, such as sex and primogeniture. It suggests instead that namesaking has an additive effect-it enhances the effect of biological factors on parental investment. In general, we found evidence for the bias in parental investment linked to name similarity among both parents, and support for the hypothesis that namesaking serves as a mechanism to increase paternity confidence and, thus, paternal investment. The effect of namesaking influences only certain types of parental investment-namely, those at the level of relationship quality. In addition, nonheterosexual orientation was the strongest negative predictor of paternal investment. Our study extends the research on parental investment by showing that cultural mechanisms, such as namesaking, can also exert some influence on parental rearing behavior.

Symbolic Competencies for Developmental Transitions: the Case of the Choice of First Names

Human life consists of stability interspersed with ruptures. Transitions that follow such ruptures, offer a window on processes of change at the level of skill acquisition, identities, but also meaning construction. The article explores various uses of cultural elements such as books, movies or religious baggage as symbolic resources for such psychological development. It introduces the notion of interiority to have access to the work of these symbolic resources on emotions. Such uses of symbolic resources are examined through a study of the procedure of choosing first names during the transition to parenthood. The notion of symbolic competencies, as the abilities to use cultural elements as resources for thinking, action and development, is proposed to account for interpersonal differences and is discussed.

Famílias evangélicas baianas e o processo de nomeação

Foram realizadas 20 entrevistas com famílias evangélicas, moradoras de Salvador, Bahia, Brasil, perguntado-se quem e por que os nomes de seus filhos foram escolhidos. Investigou-se concomitantemente quando ocorreu, por que e quais as conseqüências da adesão a crenças pentecostais na vida pessoal e familiar. Os resultados apontaram os nomes escolhidos como bíblicos, após a conversão, sob a alegação de que tais nomes trariam uma boa "direção" às vidas de seus filhos, sendo que as igrejas não interferem diretamente nesta escolha. A adesão a uma Igreja evangélica, nos moldes como ocorre atualmente no Brasil, parece reorientar a vida familiar, sendo que os casais relatam mudanças totais em suas vidas após a conversão, e "família" passa a ser definida como casal e filhos, em que a maior influência é a igreja.