Do you think names shape our personality?

Question

To what degree?

Answer 1

yea its kinda weird... my name is Uriel (pronounce U-rell)... its unique, quirky and weird... i think im da same way

Answer 2

It does, but only a little bit in the initial stages of getting to know a person. As soon as you know somebody there are so many more dominant factors that even a strange name hardly matters.
I think the impression is often that a name matters more than it does because parents of a certain social group tend to name their kids a certain way. For example, university professors will hardly call their little girl 'Candy,' while a docker won't naturally incline to 'Elizabeth.' Because of this you get a stratification that makes you think of certain character traits when you hear certain names.
More significant is the change of a name, to start a new life or indicate membership of a group. The naming is a kind of baptism, where the fact of taking the name alone is a big comittment.

Answer 3

Oh, yes, I think so, in two ways: your own perception of your own name, and the public perception of / reaction to your name.

Picture yourself as a Bertha. Now try Margaret, Sally, Ashley, LaToya, Madison, Mildred, Linda. Even the nickname you use says siomething: Margarets can be Margaret, Marg, Margie, Maggie, Meg, Peg, Peggy. To me, they all conjure up different images.

Of course, the same can be done with male names: Ethan, Edgar, Jason, Tyrone, Michael, Brandon, Marty, Sal and so on...

Answer 4

Well my name's Melissa and people compliment my name all the time, I suppose it does shape our personality in some way, but not that much.

Answer 5

Names have a big influence on how we are treated by others. For example "Mary" con notates purity, femininity and thus many Mary's will be treated a certain way so those influences can have a big impact on ones personality. Have a nice day.

Answer 6

Yes always !!!
Your mother and father give you a name and you have to live with it or just imagine how many people change names.... just to hide or be something different of a personality ???

Answer 7

hmm I don't think names shape your personality but the the usage of -ve or +ve terms of your name has an effect on your personality.

Answer 8

i think defiantly affects us for people know one by his or her name. Like when people have unique names, people look forward to meet who he or she is.
I have seen many people getting interested in people just because their name is different that usual.
In first meeting people don't take you for granted.

Answer 9

yes because every guy named "Jeremy" I know is a hooker