What is the connection between the name you've chosen for your baby and his or her future personality? A lot, say experts. A study in the Journal of Educational Psychology of sixth-graders' self-concept-how effective, attractive, and valued they felt - found it was all related to the desirability of their first names. And, kids with desirable first names scored higher on a standardized test of academic achievement.


One possible interpretation is that teachers expect children with more popular names to do better in school and so, over time, those positive expectations translate into actual higher levels of achievement for desirably named students.

Is there really a link?
Experts point to one particularly suggestive study, done in 1954, which looked at 1,682 case histories of children treated in a mental health clinic in New Jersey. Boys with unusual first names, names that occurred only once or twice among the group of children, were more likely to have moderate or severe emotional disturbance, compared with boys with more common names. Interestingly, this didn't hold true with girls.

The possible connection between names and emotional problems, researchers say, may be that the parents who give their children truly odd names also tend to act in other ways that might increase psychological risk. Also, going through life with an odd name can lead to being teased and other experiences that undermine mental health.

Other experts reason that because names conjure judgments and first impressions, children sense the impression or stereotype their name lends itself to. "I hate to admit it, but when we were coming up with possible names, we crossed off a few names we liked because someone said it sounded like a cartoon character or a porn star," says Jeanne Foresman of Buffalo Grove, IL "That's just not what we wanted people to think of when they uttered our child's name."

Common isn't always best
Although science has traced a line - albeit a thin one - between erratic emotional behavior and a name, experts caution it's important not to overestimate the influence of a name on a child's emotional well being. Keep in mind odd names certainly have been linked to their share of success, too. In fact, well-adjusted and successful people with out of the box monikers are heroes, leaders and celebrities. Among the more famous ones: Barrack, Keanu, Regis, Sigourney, and Meryl, not to mention Tiger.

Plus, many people with quite common names like Jonathon and Jennifer end up with nicknames that are out of the ordinary like Flip and Sissy.

Like eye color, height, a penchant for sports and other traits and characteristics, names, common or otherwise, have some effect on children and adults who bear them. But remember that in the end, it's not so much your baby's name, but what you make of it, that counts.