Among the slew of end-of-decade and end-of-year wrap-up lists, there were several tallies of the most popular names of recent years (as well as predictions for name-trends of the future。) But If you are pondering giving your baby a distinctive name - like, say, Garland or Malcolm - you might want to think again。
隨著2009年的結(jié)束，以及21世紀(jì)第一個(gè)十年落幕，眾多年度及十年盤點(diǎn)紛紛出爐，其中包括幾項(xiàng)對近年來最熱門名字的統(tǒng)計(jì)(以及對未來哪些名字會(huì)受到青睞的預(yù)測)。不過，如果你正考慮給自己的孩子取個(gè)特立獨(dú)行的名字，比如賈蘭德或馬爾科姆，那我勸你三思而后行。
Not only do kids with unusual names tend to rise to the top of big companies less often than others, but they also are more likely to wind up in jail。
名字特別的孩子不僅更難進(jìn)入大公司的高層，而且蹲監(jiān)獄的幾率會(huì)大一些。
Names like Michael, David, John, James, Richard, Paul, Edward and Robert are significantly more common among Fortune 1000 CEOs, compared with that same age group in the population as a whole, USA Today reported recently. (Not enough women appear among corporate leaders to assess the relative clout of female names。)
根據(jù)《今日美國》報(bào)近日公布的一項(xiàng)調(diào)查結(jié)果，在《財(cái)富》1000強(qiáng)企業(yè)的首席執(zhí)行官中，名字為邁克爾、戴維、約翰、詹姆斯、理查德、保羅、愛德華和羅伯特的人所占的比例遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)高于同一年齡組的總?cè)丝谥薪羞@些名字的人所占比例。(由于女性企業(yè)家數(shù)量過少，關(guān)于女性名字的相關(guān)調(diào)查沒有進(jìn)行。)
Separately, a scholarly study reported earlier this year showed that juveniles in jail, on probation or otherwise in trouble with the law had an above-average likelihood of having unpopular names - such as Walter, Ernest, Ivan, Kareem, Malcolm, Preston or Garland. The study compared juvenile delinquents' names with those of the population as a whole in a large, populous state. Researchers found youth with common names, such as Michael, Matthew, Christopher, David, Ryan or Brian, were less likely to get in trouble. The research, conducted at Shippensburg University, appeared in Social Science Quarterly。
此外，2010年初的一份學(xué)術(shù)研究報(bào)告顯示，入獄、緩刑和違法的青少年擁有特別名字的幾率超出平均水平，如沃特、厄內(nèi)斯特、伊萬、凱林姆、馬爾科姆、布萊斯頓或賈蘭德等。研究人員將少年犯的名字與一個(gè)人口眾多的美國大州的青少年名字進(jìn)行對比，發(fā)現(xiàn)擁有普通名字的年輕人，如邁克爾、馬修、克里斯托弗、戴維、瑞恩或布萊恩等，犯事的可能性更低。這項(xiàng)研究是由賓州西盆斯貝格大學(xué)做出的，報(bào)告刊登在《社會(huì)科學(xué)季刊》上。
Of course, many people with unusual names - Barack, for example, or Oprah - have done fine. A child's name alone doesn't shape his or her life. The Shippensburg study found unusual names were linked with other factors that make life harder for kids, such as a weaker family structure, poverty or low education. Kids with popular names tended to live among higher-income, better-educated populations. For example, the name Allison is usually selected by mothers with 17 or more years of schooling, and bypassed by mothers without a high school diploma。
當(dāng)然，也有許多獨(dú)特的名字，如貝拉克和歐普拉，沒有出現(xiàn)這種問題。孩子的命運(yùn)不可能光憑名字就能決定。西盆斯貝格大學(xué)的研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，與眾不同的名字跟其他一些因素存在關(guān)聯(lián)性，這些因素會(huì)讓孩子的日子不好過，如家庭關(guān)系緊張、貧窮或受教育程度低等。擁有熱門名字的孩子往往生活在收入較高、教育水平較高的圈子當(dāng)中。舉例而言，為孩子選擇艾利森這個(gè)名字的母親通常受過17年或以上的正規(guī)教育，而沒有讀過高中的母親往往跳過這個(gè)名字。
Other research has suggested, however, that uncommon names can have a direct impact on kids, embarrassing them in their formative years, the USA Today story says. While parents might want their children to feel special or unique, it may be better to give children names that encourage them to be team players and put ego aside。
不過，《今日美國》的報(bào)道說，其他一些研究顯示，特立獨(dú)行的名字會(huì)給孩子帶來直接影響，讓他們在性格形成過程中因?yàn)樽约旱拿侄械綄擂�。雖然父母的本意可能是讓孩子感到特殊和與眾不同，但如果不那么在意個(gè)性，給孩子起個(gè)普通名字以鼓勵(lì)他們?nèi)谌爰w，效果可能會(huì)更好。
Also, adults may treat kids with unusual names differently in handing out opportunities; one widely reported experiment found that among 5,000 resumes sent to prospective employers, job applicants with names that suggested an African-American background were less likely to receive interview callbacks。
此外，成年人在提供各種機(jī)會(huì)時(shí)，可能會(huì)另眼看待名字特別的孩子。一項(xiàng)被媒體廣為報(bào)導(dǎo)的試驗(yàn)發(fā)現(xiàn)，在用人企業(yè)收到的5,000份簡歷中，名字像黑人的應(yīng)聘者得到面試通知的幾率更低。
Jugglers have had animated discussions in the past about baby names. How important do you think a name, especially an unusual one, is in setting someone's course in life? Did you think about the social or career effects of the names you chose for your children?
以往，已有不少人圍繞著該給孩子起什么名字的話題展開過熱烈討論。你覺得名字，尤其是特別的名字，對于一個(gè)人的人生會(huì)產(chǎn)生多大的影響?你在給孩子起名時(shí)，有沒有考慮過名字會(huì)給孩子今后的人際關(guān)系或職業(yè)生涯帶來什么樣的影響?
