Freakonomics Entry #4: Does your Name Matter?

The book Freakonomics analyzes the affect different names have on people.  Parents always want the best for their kids so giving them a 'good' name seems to be essential.  So does your name change what your life will be like?  Many peoples initial reaction would be no, but this book proves that your name will effect you when someone doesn't know you and just sees the name on a piece of paper.  Some parents believe their child won't prosper unless they have the right name.  In 1958 a man from NYC named Robert Lane decided to name his son Winner.  They lived in the projects and everyone else in the family had a typical name.  A few years later he had a 7th child.  He named the boy Loser.  So how did his kids end up?  Well Winner has a criminal record a mile long with 3 dozen arrests.  Loser on the other hand went to prep school then college at Lafayette College all on scholarship.  Loser is now in the New York Police Department as a detective (his mothers dream for him).  And his friends call him Lou now, not Loser.  This is a prime example of names having no relevance on the outcome of life.  Now let's take another example.  According to a study, two people with identical resumes were sent to the same employer.  One person had the name DeShawn Williams and the others name was Jake Williams.  Jake would be more likely to get a call back.  Why?  This is because, according to the study, black sounding names have an economic penalty.  Two people from identical backgrounds named Jake and DeShawn will most likely have the same life outcomes.  But the kind of parents who name their kid Jake typically don't live in the same neighborhood or have the same circumstances as the boy named DeShawn.  From this the employer can assume that Jake comes from a better area and is more sophisticated.  So why don't people from more depressed areas name their children with names that will make them seem from better areas?  This is because there is a penalty within the community for trying to act against their culture.  They don't want to stand out because this will cause scrutiny that is unwanted.  So in conclusion the name that you possess as a person has little to no effect on what you will make of yourself.  Where you're from and what you try to make of your life is the difference maker.