To think it’s very sad certain professions are denied to some children

[continuallychargingmyphone]

I just didn’t know when I joined MN that if your name is not suitably middle class you are forced into a life of servitude in Asda or Tesco. No being a high court judge for you.

Or, aibu to think people are ridiculous and call your baby what you like?

@continuallychargingmyphone but they could easily be spelled Maisy, Ki, it Kacy

I am absolutely sure that having a traditional European first name is a major selection criterion at our DC’s school.

I know three people who feel negatively stereotyped by names and who haven't done as well as you might have expected considering their talents. (and I have one that is sometimes perceived that way but not as consistently as Tracey, Sharon etc). It's not going to hold back someone who's got everything else going for them and is really driven, but if you've other difficulties anyway it can feel like another straw on the back at times. Also, feeling kind of detached from your name, being told by others that you/your interests are nothing like your name, you are not the way someone expected etc. On the other hand it can be useful in settings where it would be a disadvantage to be assumed snobbish or out of touch with ordinary people.

With classic names like James or Elizabeth or something, you can use shortened versions for different impressions, or they are so common people don't have a particular idea about what the bearers are like. Likewise names that are very popular at certain times, like Sarah, seem classless because there are so many from different backgrounds.

Zowie Bowie became Duncan Jones pretty smartish when he wanted to be taken seriously.

until he submitted identical applications to the same companies under an anglicised name.

What's so awful about it? I know quite a few Irish people who changed the spelling of their names when they moved abroad, to make things easier when applying for jobs. Names like Niamh, Ailbhe, Caoimhe, Fionnbar, Gráinne, Bríd - one of the really normal ones, Oisin, led to alarm and distress when newsreaders struggled to pronounce it, the time of the Top Gear scandal

You make things easier for employers if you want a job. Most people don't want to have to struggle with a difficult name.

Agree it's not about the name itself, but about what it implies about your upbringing.

Many supply teachers will be able to look at the register and spot who's most likely to give them a hard time.

It's just another way to form a first impression isn't it, before you get to know them properly - name, appearance, voice.
Sometimes you're proved wrong, often the stereotype is confirmed.

I think it is awful - beyond awful actually - that somebody has to change their name because of horrific prejudices.

I think having a certain name would be a slight disadvantage in some professions (at least at the beginning). If you haven't made a success of your life it's unlikely your name is the main reason though. I do think you have to make some effort to think about the child who will have to live with the name though - if it's completely outrageous or just silly (I'm thinking Aslan, Tinkerbell, Bell-end-Horatio) save it for a pet.

Tamara here waves

I've never worked in a McDonald's or the like (not that there is anything wrong with that!) and have a very respectable job in the NHS, thank you very much.

Didn't realise my name would be classed as common I've only met another one in my entire life and my name is often commented on and remembered.

Agree with you OP.

No it wasn’t aimed at you

until he submitted identical applications to the same companies under an anglicised name.

What's so awful about it? It's racism, that's what's awful about it.

@ Juells You're being a bit naive here, surely? The point was that he was rejected when using a name that pointed to his Zambian heritage, but was accepted one his name suggested he was white English.

And were your Irish acquaintances changing their name to make job applications easier simply because Irish names are difficult to spell/pronounce when you are not familiar with the language, or partly to counteract the negative way the Irish are perceived in some areas?

Victoria, Daniel, Peter. All nice middle class names aren’t they?

No-one they're names used by most of society.

Funny how you didn't include Kyra in your list, isn't it?

life Yes, but there is common as in 'occurs frequently' and common as in 'coarse/vulgar'.
DS is called Joseph. It is pretty common in that we know other Joes but not 'coarse/vulgar' - at least imho

I can’t really imagine a high ranking police officer with the name Poppy Honey.

Never thought of this... OP you have opened my eyes! Let's get campaigning for a law against name discrimination!

OP you say you are intending to adopt.

Are you worried that if you adopt a child with a name that is perceived as lower class or yooneek that they might not do so well, despite any advantage you might give them?

One thing at a time maybe?

Poppy is a perfectly nice name.

@LuluJakey1 oh yes definitely, I was referring up thread where someone made the connection between being called Tamara and working in McDonald's

Not grammars here, Bertrand!
More likely to be called Tomasz, Nabila, Rohan, Kofi, Malaika, etc than Emma, Susan, Alice et. al.

There has been some fascinating research into names. I recall from when I studied psychology A-level many years ago, that one experiment showed that identical exam papers of children perceived to have "nice" names were marked higher than those with "ugly" names, for example.

Unusual names can make you stand out from the crowd, whereas commonly used names can enable one to shrink into the background and not be noticed.

I think if you have an unusual name, you're more aware of your uniqueness than if you have a common name. I have a common name and was never the only one in my class at school. Throughout my school life there were always at least 2 of us with the same name.

I decided to give my children less popular (but still "conventional") names, as I wanted them not to share my experience in childhood.

Poppy is a perfectly nice name

Now I just think you're being a GF

If teachers are expecting a certain kind of behaviour based on a child's name, then I would suspect it will be a self-fulfilling prophecy i.e. they will treat the child as being 'naughty' before they have done anything wrong, resulting in the child rightly feeling a sense of injustice that would impact their behaviour.

But names aren't the only impact on a child's prospects: far from it. Teaching staff in deprived areas tend to be less qualified than those in more affluent places. A middle-class child will most likely be taught by a maths teacher who is actually qualified in the subject, while a poor child will be taught by a general teacher who will no doubt do their best but will not be able to match the other's standard, therefore widening the gap.

Access to books for underprivileged children is more difficult because of library closures - for example, I now live 25 mins bus ride from the nearest library and it would cost £6.60 return for 1 adult and 1 child, but when I was growing up there were 4 libraries within 15 mins walking distance. So the sneering about middle-class children being read to in a library rings hollow. It's yet another way of punishing poor people for their poverty.

Zowie Bowie, was born Duncan, zowie Jones....

Changing your name to fit in is nothing new. DH's great grandparents were Eastern European Jews who came here about the turn of the twentieth century. Anglicised their surnames to be more English ... called their children Edward, Lily etc etc.