Baby Names

The most important aspect of personality affected by names is self-concept. Self-concept develops as children develop, and it is “learned” from the verbal and non-verbal messages significant people in children’s lives send them. Parents are the most important message-senders, but, as children mature and become more and more independent, the messages of teachers, classmates, and other people all contribute to their developing concepts of self. In a sense, self-concept works as a kind of script for the way people act. If a boy has an image of himself as bad or as not capable of doing well in school, his behavior will probably reflect that image. He will tend to behave the way he thinks a “bad boy” is supposed to behave, or he will fail to learn as he should even though he might be quite intelligent.

A person’t name has an impact on the process of building a self-concept because the name helps determine the messages other people send the child. It has been well established through research that certain names are generally considered desirable in our culture and have positive feelings associated with them. It is also well established that other names are looked upon as being undesirable and carry negative associations. For example, Curt, David, Diane, Jeff, Judy, and Linda are all considered desirable and positive, and Agatha, Edgar, Francis, Mabel, Marvin, and Phoebe all provoke the opposite reaction (See Chapter 10 of Anderson). Because of this, people unconsciously, but nevertheless effectively, send positive and negative messages in keeping with positive and negative images.

Most of the time these messages are very subtle, but sometimes they take the form of jokes, teasing, and even ridicule, especially within the child’s peer group. At best, the joking and teasing can make children self-conscious about their names and reluctant to have any contact with other children out of fear of being ridiculed. At worst, especially when insensitive adults think the jokes and nicknames are funny and actually use them too, it can undermine what might otherwise be healthy personalities.

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25 Responses to “Baby Names”

  1. Comment by AngelicR1

    There all common …
    There all common names :(

  2. Comment by bumsdrums

    i like the names …
    i like the names Genevieve for a girl, and Noel for a boy

  3. Comment by Lilceleb2216

    My sons name is …
    My sons name is number 4

  4. Comment by chellga

    Girl: Olivia and …
    Girl: Olivia and Landen (yes landen is for a girl)
    Boy: Oliver
    I know im cool 2 names almost the same olivia and oliver!! <3

  5. Comment by Cupcakeisawesome

    Boys:
    Finn/Finnley …

    Boys:
    Finn/Finnley
    Kenan
    Asmar
    Burak
    Ezra
    Sam
    Girls:
    Selin
    Asli
    Ezel
    Lamia
    Melek
    Maggie/Magnolia/ Margret
    Emily
    Meral

  6. Comment by shaunusz

    miine will be


    miine will be

    boys.
    Montell & Elijah

    Girls
    Pricilla & Clarissa

  7. Comment by fxdwg6969

    jayla sounds like …
    jayla sounds like kayla thats a great name

  8. Comment by fxdwg6969

    my favs are …
    my favs are courtney or rachle sarah vivian boys are caden connor

  9. Comment by MissHardyx3

    my fave names for …
    my fave names for girls are:
    Jayla
    Sydney
    Maria
    Leanne
    and for boys
    Joshua
    Austin
    Jeffrey
    Liam

  10. Comment by pokefanholz95

    yay my names holly …
    yay my names holly :)

  11. Comment by KadeyRainwater

    My favorites are …
    My favorites are Sydney and Hailey for girls and Jack and Owen for boys.

  12. Comment by Vokloko

    i made up a very …
    i made up a very abstract name. It’s:
    Alashanikqua
    cool, isn’t it? Never see that any where.

  13. Comment by zekethefreak33

    boys
    Frazier & …

    boys
    Frazier & Zeke

    Girls
    Selena & Julie

    Those are my favs.

  14. Comment by Feltlikeafool

    I’d like to suggest …
    I’d like to suggest these interesting names to the public:
    Marie Juanna/ Maria Juana
    Krystal Meghth
    Cholera
    Tyranny
    Viaghra
    Allegra
    Bud Light
    Ziphilis
    Salle Monela

  15. Comment by xFuN17

    lol i am searching …
    lol i am searching a name for a wow Character :D

  16. Comment by mermaidolena

    i think Laura/ …
    i think Laura/Lauren is a sporty name. it sounds like a cheerleader or soccer player but i guess anyone can have any name. i think Mena/Mina, Belle, Claire/Klair/Klaer/Clare etc, Lea/Leah, Rebeccah, Chloee, and Georgeena are all really classy names. when i have kids i’m going to pick from this pile. i think Connor and Taylor are really cute, sporty, and musical names for boys. i really want to name one of my daughters Connor or Konner, though. =D

  17. Comment by mermaidolena

    weird… my …
    weird… my brothers first and middle name is william anthony and those two names were right after each other!

  18. Comment by goldenpuppygg

    noones name is …
    noones name is sophia i know like 2 ppl in thw whole word sophia and william isnt popular

  19. Comment by dramasportsmii

    my favourite name …
    my favourite name is scarlette i also like carmen

  20. Comment by fulgiggles88

    girls: aubry ariely …
    girls: aubry ariely blair or clair shy and shawna lol my name is nataliee

  21. Comment by adamlambert4eva

    haha joshua charles …
    haha joshua charles is my brothers name well first is josh and charles is middle…and jessica and adam and brittany should be up there dickheads

  22. Comment by pokefanholz95

    oliver charles

    oliver charles
    benjamin charles
    joshua charles
    sam charles

    kay i not hey gay u probably wont like um but yh lol

  23. Comment by pokefanholz95

    my names holly my …
    my names holly my mates is jess nd i lurve the boys names

  24. Comment by lollilolli88

    I like your ideas …
    I like your ideas for girl names, can you help me pick a boy name? I want it unique but not ugly, If it’s a girl, it’s gonna be Braelyn Renee. But I need one for a boy, The middle name is Charles, I was thinking Jayson Charles. So. do you have any Ideas?

  25. Comment by lollilolli88

    lol i love the name …
    lol i love the name lauren, mostly because it’s my name. I also love the name hayley, I have a daughter that I named hayley, but i spelled it haylee.