Countless research have shown your first name shapes the way other people perceive your age, personality, and how good you are at your job.
In one new study, published in May, scientists at Syracuse University in New York asked university students to rate 400 popular names spanning 70 years.
The questions looked like this: ‘Imagine that you are about to meet Samantha. How competent/warm/old do you think she is when you see her name?’
Scientists used the results to determine which names were thought of as being competent, warm, or a combination of the two.
Below are the results:
Warm and competent names
Ann, Anna, Caroline, Daniel, David, Elizabeth, Emily, Emma, Evelyn, Felicia, Grace, James, Jennifer, John, Jonathan, Julie, Kathleen, Madeline, Mark, Mary, Matthew, Michael, Michelle, Natalie, Nicholas, Noah, Olivia, Paul, Rachel, Samantha, Sarah, Sophia, Stephen, Susan, Thomas, William
Warm but less competent names
Hailey, Hannah, Jesse, Kellie, Melody, Mia
Competent but less warm names
Arnold, Gerard, Herbert, Howard, Lawrence, Norman, Reginald, Stuart
Names of low warmth and competence
Alvin, Brent, Bryce, Cheyenne, Colby, Crystal, Dana, Darrell, Devon, Dominic, Dominique, Duane, Erin, Larry, Leslie, Lonnie, Malachi, Marcia, Marco, Mercedes, Omar, Regina, Rex, Roy, Tracy, Trenton, Vicki, Whitney
