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Given names in 2003: Forenames as résumé signals · 462

This page stays with forenames: how they are chosen, counted and constrained. Surnames, nicknames and username The spelling on a form and the sound in a classroom can differ. For Given names the year of that difference is 2003, the line is “Forenames as résumé signals,” and the figure is 2003. A popularity rank is not a personality score. It is “given” by parents, godparents, elders or a ritual — and then given again every time a teacher, clerk or algorithm decides how to say it.

This page stays with forenames: how they are chosen, counted and constrained. Surnames, nicknames and usernames have their own chapters. Is a given name always the first name? No. In much of East Asia the family name is written first. “Given” means bestowed, not left-to-right order.

Where can I see how common a given name is? SSA (U.S. from 1880), ONS (England and Wales) and Statistics Korea publish counts. Always keep the year on the citation. They can be used as signals. Bertrand and Mullainathan showed U.S. employers treating forenames as racial cues on otherwise identical résumés.

In Chinese practice a shared character marks a sibling or cousin cohort. Korean 돌림자 is a related kin design — description, not fortune-telling. Yes. Iceland’s committee, German Namensrecht and Japan’s kanji lists all constrain what may be filed. Usually yes — additional given names. Some systems treat them as optional; others expect several.

The two places are the register and the nickname. 2003’s “Forenames as résumé signals” splits them. The figure is 2003.2003

Figures to keep

Year of the rule
2003
Figure on the name
2003
Topic
Given names
Line in the record
Forenames as résumé signals

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