Callback gaps can mix racism, class inference and simple processing fluency; designs try to separate them, not always cleanly. Identical U.S. résumés with Emily/Greg versus Lakisha/Jamal names received different callback rates — evidence of statistical or taste-based discrimination, not of the names’ “meanings”.
A Matter of Taste showed that first-name popularity often follows endogenous cycles (endings, novelty hunger) rather than one-to-one celebrity copying. Historical U.S. evidence linked some immigrant name changes to later labour-market outcomes — a cost-benefit story, not a moral rule.
Check each criteria to confirm findings against the atlas verdict.
Callback gaps can mix racism, class inference and simple processing fluency; designs try to separate them, not always cleanly. Identical U.S. résumés with Emily/Greg versus Lakisha/Jamal names received different callback rates — evidence of statistical or taste-based discrimination, not of the names’ “meanings”.
A Matter of Taste showed that first-name popularity often follows endogenous cycles (endings, novelty hunger) rather than one-to-one celebrity copying. Historical U.S. evidence linked some immigrant name changes to later labour-market outcomes — a cost-benefit story, not a moral rule.
Parents avoid last year’s peak and copy nearby sounds, producing waves that look like “eras” in SSA and ONS tables. Co-author of the Emily/Lakisha résumé study that made name-based callback gaps a standard citation.
A Matter of Taste (2000) is the clearest argument that first names move like other fashions. With Steven Levitt, documented the late-20th-century rise of distinctively Black given names in U.S. data.
This is a reading check for the atlas, not personal advice, a live price, or a booking. It does not replace the full topic page.
Next question: Baby naming · Open the topic: Why names matter
🛠 Brand naming: use “Cousin science” in the tool · 📍 Brand naming: the local fact in “Not a baby chart” · 🛑 Gender and names: what “Law” does not decide · 🛠 Given names: use “Not a forecast” in the tool · 📍 Given names: the local fact in “Order” · 🔎 Name changes: read “Not required” before you decide · Decision checks