According to a handful of studies, a name not only reveals cluesabout a person's class, education and ethic origin, it can alsoinfluence the bearer of the moniker and the choices theymake in life。
Scientists have even drawn conclusions to suggest that peopleare often drawn to things and people that sound like their ownnames。
These experts claim that 'implicit egotism' is the reason thatsomeone called Dennis might become a dentist or even that a childwhose name begins with a B or C may fare worse in schoolexaminations。
That a person's name may be bound to his or her destiny is farfrom a new phenomenon. The Ancient Romans promoted the concept'nomenest omen', meaning 'name is destiny.'
Studies have indeed shown that those with more conservative,'Caucasian' names are more successful whensubmitting resumes for employment。
And a recent poll conducted in Australia revealed that peoplerespond more warmly to colleagues and politicians with names theycan easily pronounce。
Yet parents nowadays are putting that much more effort intogiving their offspring original names that are largelyunfamiliar。
Though historically names have been passed down through familiesof gleaned from the Bible, in recent days thetendency has been to think outside the box and considermovies, songs and stories for inspiration。
When Britney Spears rose to fame the slightly altered Brittaneybecame wildly popular among new parents and recently, thanks to theTwilight series, Isabella has made a comeback。
One study found that 30 percent of African American girls bornin California during the 1990s were given unique names that theyshared with not a single person born in the same year in the samestate。
Dr Martin Ford of George Mason University, however, believes aname does not stand for much。
He explained to The Week: 'Names only have a significantinfluence when that is the only thing you know about the person.Add a picture, and the impact of the name recedes. Add informationabout personality, motivation, and ability, and the impact of thename shrinks to minimal significance.'