The name "hula hoop" is derived from the name of the Hawaiian dance hula and the English word hoop, but it is not necessary to call children that.
But the strangest case, as a BBC correspondent writes, occurred in New Zealand: a girl whose parents named her Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii was placed under court guardianship so that she could choose a more traditional name for herself.
"A name is one of the key elements of our individuality and is linked to important legal aspects, to how states and governments define us," says sociologist Jane Pilcher from the University of Leicester (UK). "Moreover, it participates in shaping our cultural and social identity, indicating gender, nationality, and other aspects of personality."
Yet parents are increasingly giving their children more unusual and even unique names. In 2010, psychology professor Jean Twenge at the University of San Diego (USA) studied the names of 325 million American children born between 1880 and 2007 and found that since 1950, the popularity of common names has declined. For example, in 1950, names from the top ten were given to 30% of boys, while in 2007, that figure was less than 10%.
Twenge notes that people are inventing new ways to give a child a unique name—for instance, by altering the spelling of common names. Thus, in America, the spelling Jaxson, which sounds like Jackson—a name among the top 50 most common—is gaining popularity. And in the UK, it is becoming fashionable to give children double names, such as Amelia-Rose.
This trend appears not to be limited to the US and UK. In Japan, a study was recently conducted on names given to children between 2004 and 2013. It turned out that parents created unique names for their children using traditional Chinese characters with unusual pronunciations.
In another study, children's names in a German city were analyzed. It turned out that in 1894, 32% of names were unique, meaning they appeared only once in the sample. 100 years later, by 1994, the share of unique names had risen to 77%.
What causes such changes, beyond random whims of fashion? And how might this affect future generations? Psychologists and sociologists are studying this phenomenon and coming to unexpected conclusions.
One of them is that this trend indicates a gradual shift towards individualism. "As American culture becomes more focused on individuality, parents try to give their children names that help them stand out. Therefore, unique names are becoming more common, and ordinary ones less so," explains Twenge. The authors of studies conducted in Japan and Germany reached similar conclusions: we all want to stand out from the crowd.
Several more reasons for this phenomenon can be gleaned from the work of Michael Varnum, an associate professor of psychology at Arizona State University (USA), who tried to find out what led to such a rise in individualism in certain regions. In one study, he examined the prevalence of common names in various geographic areas of the US and found that in regions settled later by Europeans, including the Mountain West and the Pacific Northwest, as well as states like Colorado, Nevada, Oregon, and Wyoming, people are less likely to give their children typical names. The same trends in naming are observed in Canada: in the western part of the country, common names are rarer than in the east, which was settled earlier. A similar pattern was also noted in Australia and New Zealand.
"Here we are dealing with the legacy of frontier settlers," he explains. "Such people are not selected randomly. If a person decides to go to a new, unknown, and rather dangerous place, they are likely accustomed to relying on themselves and do not like to conform. And we still see echoes of that character today in how children are named."
Economic factors may also play a role. For instance, in a recent study, Varnum established a link between the spread of unique names and improving economic conditions. With the development of socio-economic structures, various expressions of individualism also grew, including the invention of unique names for children. Varnum points to studies showing that wealthy people are more often self-focused and prefer uniqueness over conformity. The scientist believes this could have influenced the process of evolution.
"When you have many resources and are not afraid they will run out, you can afford to stand out. In fact, breaking away from the crowd can be beneficial," he asserts. "For example, it creates opportunities for innovation." But in hard times, it is better not to take risks. "If you don't have many resources or means, perhaps it's best to blend in with the crowd and do what the majority does." Another study examined names given to children in the US from 1948 to 2014, and its results also align with this theory.
Given the importance of a name for shaping individuality, its choice can influence a person's life path. Evidence now supports this assumption. According to one study, names that are easier to pronounce tend to create a more positive impression and are associated with higher positions in law firms. A name can even affect personal life. For example, another study showed that visitors to dating sites are less likely to pay attention to people with unusual names.
Moreover, the trend toward choosing names that blur gender boundaries is gaining momentum. In 2005, David Figlio, director of the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University (USA), studied pairs of sisters to find out how a name can influence the choice of a discipline to study. First, he analyzed several thousand names to determine the probability of certain phonemes and constructions appearing in boys' names and girls' names.
For example, the name Ann is perceived as purely feminine, but another variant of this name – Anna – linguistically looks even more feminine. Feminine names are most often longer than masculine ones. Thus, one of the most linguistically feminine names is Anastasia.
“I found that the more a girl's name is applicable to both genders, the higher the likelihood that she will choose to study mathematics and exact sciences, unlike her sister with a more feminine name,” says David Figlio. This effect may also manifest in adult life. Another study found that women with names linguistically closer to masculine ones are more likely to succeed in law.
For boys, apparently, a different pattern applies. Thus, Figlio found that if there are boys in a middle school class who bear a name more common among girls, the level of discipline in that class is lower, especially if there are girls with the same name.
“In most English-speaking countries, names have a clear gender affiliation. In about 97% of cases, you can tell from the name whether it is male or female,” says Pilcher. “If you give a boy a girly name, it can harm him, because femininity in a boy is considered inappropriate. At the same time, a girl with a boyish name may benefit, since masculinity is traditionally highly valued.”
In some countries, the fate of children with unusual names worries society so much that this area of life is regulated by the state. For example, in Iceland, parents can choose a name for a child only from an approved list. In Germany, the name must also be from an approved list and clearly indicate the child's gender. This is done on the grounds that the name may be offensive to the child and cause embarrassment, and the system should ensure the protection of the child from possible violence.
Of course, as David Figlio notes, a person's name influences their life only to a certain extent, and for many people it changes nothing at all. “I rather mean that we need to remember this. Of course, we should give children the names we like, but at the same time not forget that this can affect people's attitudes toward our children.”