Is Your Name Important?

Interesting read. I'm a name nerd, so much of this is no surprise to me.I have a fairly hard to pronounce name d/t spelling. Once told how it is pronounced, people easily say it correctly. Though my name is of Croatian roots, I am African-American/black. I find that while names CAN hurt someone (would you really take an application with the name Mykynzieleigh seriously?) in the job search, I do think that credentials can outweigh a name. Take Barack HUSSEIN Obama and Condileeza Rice as examples. They have very unconvential, ethnic names yet have reached high levels of success.There are many advantages to having a unique name. Growing up, I was the only one in my entire school with my name, I wasn't another Sarah or Katie (we had SO many of those). Having an uncommon name can help someone stand out from the crowd of applicants. I plan on giving my future children unique names for this reason (from Shakespeare and Greek mythology). However, I think that in the end, work experience trumps all, and I have yet to have any problems finding a job. In fact, I have two and just had an interview yesterday for a promotion. While it IS sad that some employers will judge based on name, I don't think one should want to work with someone who would toss aside a highly qualified applicant over something they had no control over (unless they changed their names from birth). I know plenty of successful people with unusual names and at the end of the day, it is about the person, not the name.

Quote from ThePrincessBrideI find that while names CAN hurt someone (would you really take an application with the name Mykynzieleigh seriously?) in the job search, I do think that credentials can outweigh a name.

While I will never publicly comment on the name choices of my friends or co-workers, I do wonder how easy little Boo Boo or Dracula (not the names of any actual friends or co-workers, but some are in "that" genre!) will have it being taken seriously when they are older.

Good article. I have always had a love/hate relationship with my name. It's a one of a kind name, which is great, but it sounds like a stripper name and has only a short name, no longer, more professional one (think Candy/Candace). I'm in my 40s now, and don't like having this little cutesy name. I have often wondered how people take it when they read it and haven't met me.

Great article! I've a very white first name, and a hispanic last name...so I've the benefit of the former with an expectation of being a native spanish speaker due to the latter. Names are a piece of who we are, and often tell a little about our culture.

Quote from timmedicoGreat article! I've a very white first name, and a hispanic last name...so I've the benefit of the former with an expectation of being a native spanish speaker due to the latter. Names are a piece of who we are, and often tell a little about our culture.

Oh Lord... Poor Placenta!!!Yes. I worked on and L&D floor. There was a 14 year old that gave birth to a baby. She perked up wanting to name her child "Placenta." We asked her WHY!!!She said she heard the nurses saying the word and thought it was a pretty name. We told her what it was... and (thankfully?) she made it the child's middle name :/

I wonder if difficult-to-pronounce, but clearly Western European, names are among those that are rejected frequently? Absolutely NO ONE gets my married last name correct on the first try, including me when I first met my husband, but it's clearly a WE name. It would be interesting to see a study comparing difficult-to-pronounce Western European (Italian, French, Swedish, etc.) last names with Eastern European (Polish, Ukranian, Russian, Serbian, etc.) last names. For the most part, it would take the race and pronouncability (sp?) out of the equation and focus on WE heritage bias.

Great read, thank you. I have a very, very boring first name. It can't even be made into a nickname or shortened, lol. I often wonder what people would assume of me, based on seeing it written somewhere before having met me.

Very interesting! My name is not a very common name and it is one that has many different spellings, but the one I have is the most rare. My last name is Syrian, I changed it back about a year and a half ago after my divorce, but when starting my nursing career, I had a very Italian last name.I can tell you in my short stint as a manager, I worked in a newer LTACH and the CEO was black and honestly , wanted to hire mostly black people. I know this because HR told me. So, the specially picked resumes for me to review had African American sounding names.I live in the real world, I wouldn't be surprised if my Syrian last name caused someone to throw my resume aside.

Great read.First impressions last. Our names are the first thing any hiring manager sees, interests or disinterest starts from there. A hiring manager needs only one reason to disqualify a candidate for a whatever reason and it could easily be a person's name.

Many years ago, I was given the following bit of advice - Before you actually name your child, go to you back door, and shout out that name as loud as you can, at least 3 or 4 times. Because that's what you'll be doing for the next 20 years! If it still sounds good, then okay!And names do account for more than we realize. I worked in the nursery when 'Roots' came out, and many people started using African and Muslim names without knowing their meanings. Many girls were given masculine names, because the long 'e' sound sounds feminine to the American ear, such as Kareem, or Shareef.I have a name that can be either masculine or feminine, and was given reminders to sign up for the draft!And my older son has a Hebrew name that is totally masculine, but was usurped by Disney to use in "The Little Mermaid"!He has done very well for himself, so far!I make few assumptions based on names!