Names and stereotypes (French mayor classifying kids based on their first name)

General Name Discussion
1

Hello Berries!

[name_f]Hope[/name_f] everyone on here is doing well :slight_smile:

I’m going to start a thread that can be perceived as quite sensitive so I apologize in advance if I hurt anyone’s feelings. I am more than willing to remove it if anyone thinks this is inappropriate.

There has recently been a major scandal in [name_f]France[/name_f] about the mayor of Béziers making a list of “muslim students” based on the kids’ first names.

As some of you may know, ethnic and religious data/ statistics are strictly illegal in [name_f]France[/name_f], it brings back a lot of bad memories.

As a consequence many people raised their voice to condemn the racism of the mayor. Former miss [name_f]France[/name_f] [name_f]Malika[/name_f] Ménard (who interestingly shares the same last name as the mayor) even spoke out to say that even though she has no [name_u]North[/name_u]-African origins she was very proud of her north african name.

[name_f]Do[/name_f] you think the same kind of categorization occurs in your countries? [name_f]Do[/name_f] you think certain names are associated to certain ethnicities and / or religions and can potentially be a source of discrimination for the child?

[name_f]Do[/name_f] you know any other types of stereotypes when it comes to names?

In [name_f]France[/name_f], your first name is often perceived as a social marker and I always have very long debates with my American girlfriend when we talk about names we like.

I look forward to reading your comments!

Have a good day / evening / night / morning (depending on where in the world you are!)

Valmont

2

I’m not sure how far it goes here but if your name is [name_m]Kevin[/name_m] or [name_f]Chantal[/name_f] you’re pretty “doomed” in Germany.
Here’s a short English bit I found about it:

  1. KEVINISMUS
    At some point in the last couple of decades, parents in Germany started coming down with Kevinismus— a strange propensity to give their kids wholly un-[name_m]German[/name_m], American-sounding names like [name_m]Justin[/name_m], [name_u]Mandy[/name_u], [name_m]Dennis[/name_m], [name_f]Cindy[/name_f], and [name_m]Kevin[/name_m]. Kids with these names tend to be less successful and have more behavior problems in school. Studies of the Kevinismus phenomenon attribute these effects to a combination of teachers’ prejudices toward the names, and the lower social status of parents who choose names like [name_m]Kevin[/name_m].
3

I know in the US, research has shown that those with certain names (white) received more call backs than those with other names (black). I haven’t seen any that looked at other races or outside of [name_u]California[/name_u].

Research: http://www.nber.org/papers/w9873.pdf

There was also an interesting study that looked at the politics of baby naming that break it down into classes and liberal/conservative.

4

Thank you everyone for your very interesting answers and links! I have material to read for a while :slight_smile:

The situation in [name_f]France[/name_f] is pretty similar to what Lumen said. I was surprised to see that some names were associated with African-Americans, I find the names cited in the articles to sound somewhat “new”, is it only me? Are [name_f]Lakisha[/name_f], [name_m]DeShawn[/name_m] or [name_f]Shanice[/name_f] very common names?

I also heard that some mainstream french names were associated with african-americans. A girl made that comment when I told her my grandmother’s name was [name_f]Monique[/name_f] (very popular in the fourties). And my girlfriend (who is American) was really surprised when she met my adorable blond-haired, blue eyed baby neighbor [name_u]Antoine[/name_u].

[name_f]Do[/name_f] you know the reason behind this association? Is it historical?

haha I guess the Kevinismus syndrom occured all over Europe, except that “[name_f]Jennifer[/name_f]” or “[name_f]Vanessa[/name_f]” would be the female equivalent.

[name_f]Chantal[/name_f], on the contrary, is rather posh here (combine it with [name_f]Marie[/name_f] and you got the stereotypical [name_m]French[/name_m] bourgeoise: [name_f]Marie[/name_f]-Chaaantaal. The stereotype was probably reinforced by [name_m]French[/name_m] humorists les Inconnus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzJV_7OGRJ4 . Jump to 1.31 for the Posh [name_m]French[/name_m] pronounciation :wink: )

On a more serious note American-sounding names are also often associated with lower social status in [name_f]France[/name_f]. People associate them with American shows that started getting really popular in the 90s.

There was a study that showed how likely you were to get high honours when you take the baccalauréat* based on your first name:

The article is in [name_m]French[/name_m] (sorry!) but long story short, 25% of the people with “sophisticated” names like Quitterie, [name_f]Apolline[/name_f], [name_m]Ad[/name_m]èle, [name_f]Diane[/name_f] or Daphné graduate with high honors, while only 2% of people named [name_f]Cynthia[/name_f], [name_m]Brian[/name_m], [name_m]Hakim[/name_m] or [name_f]Kimberley[/name_f] do.

*Baccalauréat: “The baccalauréat ([name_m]French[/name_m] pronunciation: ​[bakalo”eˈa]), often known in [name_f]France[/name_f] colloquially as le bac, is an academic qualification which [name_m]French[/name_m] and international students take at the end of the lycée (High School) (secondary education). It was introduced by [name_m]Napoleon[/name_m] I in 1808. It is the main diploma required to pursue university studies.” (I copied and pasted wikipedia :stuck_out_tongue: )