Trickle-Down Names: How Social Class Shapes Naming Patterns

• In Event: 30620 - Section on Inequality, Poverty, and Mobility Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 11: Social Class at Work and Everyday Life

Abstract

This paper examines the seemingly unconstrained cultural practice of name-giving to understand how ingrained social structures reinforce class boundaries. While most cultural practices are influenced by purchasing power (e.g., dress codes, participation in cultural events, music preferences), first names are largely exempt from such material constraints, making them less susceptible to external influences and a unique lens for studying intrinsic taste. Using a century of Chilean civil registry (1920-2020) and census data, we analyze the correlation between name adoption trends and social class. We develop a social class score for each name based on weighted socioeconomic information from the municipalities where newborns' first names were registered. Contrary to the view that naming patterns primarily reflect internal diffusion mechanisms, our findings reveal a downward diffusion of upper-class names to middle and lower classes, with a roughly decade-long delay. This finding resonates with prior research on class imitation from the lower strata. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the upper class responds to the popularization of their names by recycling historical upper-class names, thereby remaking the boundaries for their class distinction. This study offers broad implications for understanding how deeply embedded social structures shape even seemingly free cultural practices like naming patterns.

Authors

• Roberto Cantillan

• Mauricio Bucca, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile

• Mario D. Molina, New York University-Abu Dhabi

• Luca Maria Pesando, McGill University