Attractive names..

[barelyshocking.livejournal.com]

From http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23432324-2,00.html ;

 

WHETHER it's dressing more smartly or trying out a stylish new hairstyle, they are the little touches that we hope will make a good first impression.

But how we are seen by others might actually depend on something more troublesome to change: our names.

An academic survey says men and women make extensive assumptions about others' lifestyle and character based simply on their first names.

A Ryan or a Sophie is considered particularly attractive, a James or Elizabeth is assumed to be successful, and Jack and Lucy are thought to be lucky.

Least attractive are George and Ann, least successful are Brian and Lisa, and unluckiest are John and Helen.

British psychologist Prof Richard Wiseman said we might subconsciously associate names with the rich and famous. But the way names sound can also be important.

"Traditional names with royal associations are viewed as highly successful and intelligent, and so parents hoping for successful offspring might want to avoid more unusual names," Prof Wiseman said.

"Attractive female names tend to be soft-sounding and end with ee, whereas the sexiest male names are short and much harder-sounding."

For the experiment, 7000 volunteers were asked to imagine they were about to meet a group of men and women.

They were then given a list of 20 male and 20 female names and asked to identify who they thought would be most successful, attractive and lucky.

Prof Wiseman found women were more judgmental in assessing on a name basis. "Women share strong opinions about names, whereas men are more even-handed," he said.

Prof Wiseman said previous research supports his theory.

In one study, volunteers were shown photos of the same beauty queen. Photos captioned with more desirable names were considered more attractive.

Comments

[schexyschteve.livejournal.com]

Nothing too shocking.

I wouldn't think the most attractive female names would end in -ee though.

[satunian.livejournal.com]

I'd say more girls' names end in a, but whatever...

[schexyschteve.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's what I was thinking.

[luxury-bus.livejournal.com]

Oh, yay. As an "Ann," I am seen as the most unattractive. Just great.

[tryyingtoevolve.livejournal.com]

Hahaha, I'm annoyed by that, because I currently have a huge crush on a woman named Anne and she's definitely not unattractive. So. AND I love that name!!! (I like Annie/Anna).

[barelyshocking.livejournal.com]

I didn't mean to upset anyone by posting this :( If it makes you feel any better, I've always viewed 'Ann' and its variations as being classic, feminine names. Ann is a common name in my family as well, so I've always liked it.

[freezemyazaleas.livejournal.com]

If it makes you feel any better, I think your name is a lot more attractive than Sophie, which sounds kinda dumpy to me.

[rockstargrrrlie.livejournal.com]

I did a project on this in 10th grade- my results found no correlation. I definitely had people who had similar thoughts on certain names, but for the most part, the over 50 people I sampled all had VERY strong views on names but there was no overwhelming name that everyone felt the same on.

[satunian.livejournal.com]

Also could depend on where you did the survey. A public school in LA or NYC is very different from a private school in the middle of a small town in Kansas, for example.

[rockstargrrrlie.livejournal.com]

Definitely- for what it's worth, I did it in my high school (suburban Philadelphia).

[shortbutfast.livejournal.com]

i think there's a lot of truth to this. i can see how the names they listed would seem that way.

[xpaniic.livejournal.com]

IAWTC.

[kittyvegas.livejournal.com]

Well that settles it. My boy will be name Jack Ryan James and my girl will be Sophie Elizabeth Lucy. :)