Choosing a name for a child is often a headache for parents, but new research shows that picking well could be more crucial than previously¹ thought.

 

为孩子取名字对于父母而言通常都是件头疼事，但是新研究发现，取个好名字比你原想的还要重要。

 

Academics have found that your first name actually changes the way you look, a phenomenon dubbed² 'The Dorian Gray' effect, after Oscar Wilde's eponymous hero.

 

Just as Gray's wicked deeds were etched onto the facial features of his portrait, so the cultural stereotypes³ linked to a name come to be written on the faces of their bearers.

 

For example someone called 'Bob' is expected by society to have a rounder more jovial⁴ face than a man called 'Tim'. That expectation eventually leads 'Bobs' to become more gregarious⁵ and jolly, while 'Tims' may appear more pinched and reserved.

 

The connection may be linked to the 'bouba-kiki' effect which suggests that across languages, more bulbous smoother objects are labelled with rounded 'bouba' sounds, while thinner spikier⁶ objects have 'kiki' sounds.

 

Likewise 'Winstons' are perceived as fairly glum⁷, while 'Marys' are considered to be moral, both traits which may alter countenance⁸, and over time, change face shape.

 

And a woman named 'Katherine' is considered to be more serious and dependable than a girl named 'Bonnie'. Such cultural expectations may encourage 'Katherines' to be more studious and academic, which could gradually influence the development of facial muscles, perhaps through increased concentration.

 

"Prior research has shown there are cultural stereotypes attached to names, including how someone should look," said lead author Dr Yonat Zwebner, of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

 

"For instance, people are more likely to imagine a person named Bob to have a rounder face than a person named Tim. We believe these stereotypes can, over time, affect people's facial appearance."

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