My name is Anna (pronounced “On-Ah”). You may think of the girl from Frozen when you hear my name, or assume that I am European because of the different pronunciation. People make assumptions based on your name - but there are far more reasons for this than you may think.
People tend to act like their names. What does this mean? We tend to assume that people with the same names share similar personalities. In addition to social factors like if the name was popular in a certain decade or if it is associated with a popular celebrity, the “Bouba/Kiki” effect is a major contributor to this phenomenon. The “Bouba/Kiki” effect is the tendency to associate softness with words that require rounding of the mouth (composed of letters like b, l, m, or o) vs. associating dominance with words that require angling of the mouth (composed of letters like k, t, p, i). Round-sounding names like Leo, Molly, Nathan, and Samantha are associated with adaptability, easiness, openness, fun, and introversion. Sharp-sounding names like Katrina, Tia, and Peronica are associated with aggressiveness, anger, determination, irritability, and sarcasm. These stereotypes affect how others treat us, which consequently affects how we perceive ourselves and ultimately pursue our lives.
People also look like their names. Research revealed a link between people with the same name and certain facial characteristics. In a study, 121 Israeli volunteers were asked to match the correct name to 20 random faces, out of a choice of five. According to the laws of probability, the participants should have been right 20% of the time. Here, the success rate was just about 30%. 116 French volunteers were also asked to do the same. Here, the success rate was just over 40%. These findings pushed scientists to train computer software to learn which faces went with which names. Computer software was tested by matching the correct name to 470,000 random faces, out of a choice of two. According to the laws of probability, the software had a 50% chance of being correct. However, the success rate was between 54 - 64%. The most interesting part of this study was the fact that the parts of the face that held the most valuable information were voluntary sections: hairstyle, location of wrinkles, etc. Why does this occur? Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem theorized that people conform to the expectations associated with their names (as stated above), and the easiest way to do that is through parts of the face that we have some control over.
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