Another intriguing way to document the cultural shift toward individualism is in the names parents give their children. When parents want their children to fit in, as they do in a collectivistic culture, they are more likely to give them common names that many other people also have. When parents instead want their children to stand out, as they do in an individualistic culture, they are less likely to bestow common names because individualism values uniqueness.
Jean M. Twenge, Generations
This is one of the best books I’ve read in the last decade. It’s not about baby names, but every time a parent tells me their new baby’s name (or mentions that they’re not sharing yet — a separate, but related, phenomenon worthy of attention) I can’t help but think about this quote from Generations.
What separates someone who names their child “Michael” (something common), for example, from someone who names them “Journi” (something unique)? Jean M. Twenge suggests the answer is culture. I’m fascinated by how it’s possible for people, presumably from the same culture, even the same family, to end up on different sides of this.
Do you want your child to stand out or fit in?
Given the prominence of expressive individualism in the US (a term coined by Robert Bellah in his 1985 book, Habits of the Heart), it seems more of us want our children’s names to stand out than them to fit in.
Maybe you feel that it’s almost an injustice for a parent to desire that their child fit in. Or maybe you feel that the country is going down the drain and non-traditional names are just a symptom. There is no morally upright answer to this question.
Whether you want your kids to stand out or fit in, the temptation to moralize name choice and the value of the individual is strong.
Unique baby names are increasingly common
Flowing Data highlighted the changes in baby name diversity over the years using name data from the Social Security Administration. The upward trend in babies who’s names don’t yet exist in the database is trending strongly upwards. Wherever you stand on the topic, it’s clear that unique baby names are on the rise.
If you’re fascinated by this too, you might find these links interesting.
- Flowing Data: one of my favorite websites. Period.
- NameGrapher: Explore the historical popularity of United States baby names
- The epic rise and fall of the name Heather: Nothing against Heathers, but this is fascinating.