The Effect of Childs Name

Your Childs Name Could Affect Their Status
Kenneth E. Grady
Doctor: Virginia Merlini
Sociology 100

July 25, 2009

Your Child’s Name Could Affect Their Status
      It is interesting how one of the subjects of week 3 was understanding status and the difference between ascribed status and achieved status. The first page I pulled up on my computer had an article about how giving your baby boy the wrong name could affect his future.   Michael Inbar, a contributor to the “TODAYShow.com” wrote an article on “The Top 10 `bad boy` names”.   The article suggested that giving your child an unpopular name could increase their chances of committing a crime or going to jail.

      I agree with the Author that giving your child an unfamiliar name can have an affect on his future.   As the author stated in the article, “if you’re teased mercilessly your entire childhood for your name you become an angry, bitter person.”   A person’s achieved status could be affected by having their name and self-confidence constantly under attack.   We all know that childhood plays an important role in developing our character as individuals.   That being said, it is also know that children can be very cruel and intimidating to others when they get a window of opportunity.

I do not, however, believe that the name you give your son is directly linked to the success or failure of his achieved social status.   If a child is brought up in the surroundings of a loving home and family that has more influence than the rest of society then the name you give your son will not matter.   So, Michael Inbar’s article is flawed and misleading in many respects.   It is not the name that leads a child to a lower achieved status, nor is it the constant teasing of the child because of his name.   I believe valuable factors of family values and social status were left out of the research of this article.   From my experiences, children from lower level income families are more likely to give their children...