Have any of you read Freakonomics?

Question

Or at least heard of the book? It is a New York Times Best Seller, you should check it out!

It is very interesting. It was actually written by one of my family friends (I knew I had good baby naming taste..it must be genetic! haha!) The book covers lots of different topics, but Chapter 6 deals with the socioeconomic patterns of baby naming. What was discovered in their studies is that the less educated parents are, the more predisposed they are to give their children less traditional names, and non-traditionally spelled names. So truly, the most educated people are naming their children Tiffany, while the less educated name their children Tyffani.

What do you all make of this? Any opinions?

Answer 1

I haven't read it but I will now!

Next time I go to borders I'll have to check it out!

I'm going to star this!

-Lilly

Answer 2

Interesting, I'll have to read that book!  I think I've heard of it...

Anyway, I don't like Tiffany no matter how its spelled.  It reminds me of someone who can't stand not to where pink and has a shallow obsession with fashion and jewelry

Answer 3

My crazy white-trashy ex sister-in-law named her baby Viktorya Della Abdella

Answer 4

I believe that is partially true. There is now a new trend where more educated parents are now starting to pick what they think are unique names for their children. Truly wealthy families (think Hilton, Vanderbuilt, etc.) have generally named their children unique names about half the time, while sticking with traditional or family names for other siblings. It seems to be a 50/50 trend, it would seem.

Answer 5

I read it. It was interesting. I do think people should name their children however they like, but my visceral reaction to "Tyffani" is "trailer trash". I'm trying to be more open-minded though. I mean, spellings like Emilee are whatnot are okay I guess.

Answer 6

I would tend to agree.  Look at some of the football players's names.  A lot of them came from poor families, but got to college and the NFL on talent.  Peerless Price, Cadillac Williams, Shannon and Sterling Sharpe.  And Lastings Milledge in the MLB.  

Maybe it's the parents' way of being creative or having their kids stand out since they don't have a fancy degree or a big time job.

But I can't stand the morphing of the spelling - Caitlin is now spelled Katelyn.  I find it more funny, because Caitlin should be pronounced Kot-leen (hence the reason it's the gaelic name for Kathleen).

My name is Kathleen, and people ask me how I spell it.  What do you mean, how do you spell it?  With a C or a K, other than that how could you bastardize that name??  lol

We have a local newscaster named Jenyphr or something like that.  It's Jennifer, okay??  :)

Answer 7

I have not read the book in its entirety but did check it out from the library specifically for its chapter on baby names.  I agree, I think less educated people do tend to select funky spellings for their children.  I think it is due to the fact that so much of what they have in life is run-of the-mill (the used Ford Taurus, the cookie-cutter house, the off-the-rack clothes, etc.) they feel like the one place they truly have a chance to do something special is with their childrens' names.  My guess is they find a name they like the sound of, then think of a way to make the spelling stand out.  The problem is, they aren't forward thinking enough to realize what a burden this is going to be on the child.  I think it gives them a feeling of ownership, like they patented it themselves.  

My favorite part of that chapter in Freakonomics was the story of Winner and Loser and how each of them turned out.  So interesting, I wish more people would read it so there wouldn't be so many questions on the site related to "What kind of personality do you picture a girl named Ashley having?"  Although I do still believe in the effects different phenomes that make up the name can have on the bearer, which is explained in the book The Secret Universe of Names.  That book is hours of entertainment for you and your friends, you really should check it out.  Fun, fascinating stuff.