First names and prejudices: "Kevin is not a name, but a diagnosis!"
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What's the name of the child: Kevin and Maurice, or rather Alexander and Lukas? When it comes to the educational opportunities of children, the latter obviously have the edge. The Oldenburg educational scientist Prof. Dr. med. Astrid Kaiser together with her colleague Julia Kube found out in a large online study on first names.
She has nearly 2000 primary school teachers to her Prejudice against certain names interviewed. In the total of 500 questionnaires, the teachers made statements about their name preferences and the associated associations. Including questions like: "What first name would you give your child under any circumstances?" Or: "Give names that create associations with 'behavioral problems'." In a second step, Kube had the teachers rate their given names.
The result should make expectant parents with a penchant for English names thought-provoking: Because Children with a y at the end of the name are particularly bad at the teachers: Mandy and Cindy are more likely to be associated with problem children, but teachers like Charlotte, Sophie or Johannes are most likely to associate strengths such as kindness and motivation. It is striking that the positively rated names are almost all among the most popular first names in 2008. Does the trend play a role here?
Photoshow: Most popular first names 2008
Particularly bad in the judgment of the teachers completed the name Kevin. The former trend name is most often associated with a behavioral problem. In a questionnaire even the comment was found: "Kevin is not a name but a diagnosis!"
The conclusion of the educational scientist Kaiser is: "The results show how important it is to make educators more aware of the danger of such prejudices", the teachers must keep a critical distance and be sensitized to not hastily put students in drawers.
These names would never give primary school teachers to their children:
As reasons the teachers mentioned that they would associate the names with a certain layer and associate them with other behavior-sensitive children or that they are too fashionable for them.
1. Kevin 2. Yes (c) Queline / Jaceline 3. Chantal / Chantalle 4. Justin 5. Marvin 6. Mandy 7. Dennis 8. Michelle 9. Pascal / Pasqual 10. Marcel
These first names are rated very positively:
Female first names:
Charlotte Sophie Nele Marie Emma Hannah Katharina
Male first names:
Alexander Maximilian Simon Lukas Jakob
These 6 names were mostly associated with more negative characteristics:
Female first names:
Chantal Mandy
Male first names:
Kevin Justin Marvin Maurice
More information about the study at www.kinderforschung.uni-oldenburg.de
Photoshow: The most popular first names 2008
