[name_f]Do[/name_f] some names sound more intelligent to you than others?
For example, [name_m]Edmund[/name_m] and [name_m]Clement[/name_m] sound very intelligent to me whereas [name_u]Roy[/name_u] and [name_u]Chris[/name_u] don’t. I’m not basing these impressions on anyone I know for I only know a [name_u]Roy[/name_u] who seems plenty intelligent.
I don’t think it’s about names sounding intelligent to me, rather that some names give off more of the ‘went-to-private-school-then-to-Oxbridge’ vibes than others. That is a bit of a sweeping judgement from me though
There are definitely names where my mental picture is very mature, scholarly, put together, academic where I can immediately picture them fitting in a stereotypically intelligent setting and then other names, usually the more cute/informal/youthful ones, where I wouldn’t say they strike me as actually unintelligent but that my immediate perception doesn’t bring traditional indicators of intelligence to mind.
Yes! [name_m]Fredrick[/name_m], [name_m]Edwin[/name_m], [name_m]Rupert[/name_m], [name_m]Hugo[/name_m], [name_f]Juliet[/name_f], [name_f]Theodora[/name_f], and [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] come to mind! I think it is because they are polished, classy names. Other names sound more laid back or outdoorsy.
Some names come across as more “scholarly” (similar to @Greyblue’s description of Oxbridge / [name_u]Ivy[/name_u] League), but I don’t know that I’d consider them more intelligent. And I can’t think of any names I’d consider “unintelligent”. Scholarly ≠ intelligent for me, anyway!
Like you though, the scholarly impression isn’t at all based on my personal interactions, as I’ve met people in those settings with all kinds of names. It’s based purely on subjective vibes and cultural references, I think!
[name_f]Daisy[/name_f] for example does not sound intelligent to me. Neither does [name_m]Bob[/name_m]. [name_f]Lily[/name_f] does not seem intelligent to me despite my having taught an utterly brilliant [name_f]Lily[/name_f].
I think part of it for me is names that are diminutives - [name_f]Daisy[/name_f] and [name_f]Lily[/name_f] being flowers maybe and [name_m]Bob[/name_m] sounding like bub.
I’m afraid there are definitely some names that sound to me more sophisticated than others.
For example Ambrose, Archibald, Edward, Arthur, Peregrine, Anthony, Carl, Victoria, Elizabeth, Josephine, Cordelia etc sound definitely more elegant than Princess, Mercedes, Chanel, Abcd, Crystabel, Emmaleigh and Nevaeh. I’m very sorry if I hurt someone’s feelings.
Edited: I still think that name doesn’t make a person. There are definitely non classy/ unintelligent people with very sophisticated names and vice versa. I do think people are very judgemental though, and the World is not fair. If the CV’s are equal, and it’s Catherine vs Porche, then Catherine might just get the job because her name is more ‘intelligent’.