Question of the Week: Just how important is a name?

One of the most basic yet most essential of questions this week: How important is a name?

Is a name central to one’s identity and destiny? Does a buttoned-up William have a better chance at a bank presidency than a free-wheeling Wylie? Are you making an important difference to your child’s future when you choose his or her name?

Or is it one factor among many in how people perceive you–as incidental as the color of your eyes or the wattage of your smile– but not necessarily the overriding one?

Or maybe, as Shakespeare suggested, a Rose would smell (and look and act) as sweet if she were named Bertha or Brooklyn.

On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being completely unimportant and 10 meaning you think a name is destiny, what importance do you place on a name?

About the Author

Linda Rosenkrantz

Linda Rosenkrantz

Linda Rosenkrantz is the co-founder of Nameberry, and co-author with Pamela Redmond of the ten baby naming books acknowledged to have revolutionized American baby naming. You can follow her personally at InstagramTwitter and Facebook. She is also the author of the highly acclaimed New York Review Books Classics novel Talk and a number of other books.

Introducing the Nameberry App

Nameberry App
Find your perfect baby name together with our new mobile app.
  • Swipe through thousands of names with your partner
  • Names you match on are saved to your shared list
  • Get personalized recommendations that learn based on your and your partner's preferences
  • Partner with friends and family to find names you all love
  • Backed by Nameberry's 20 years of data around name preferences.
Sign up to be notified when the app launches and to receive a discount on full access.
Nameberry App Logo

Introducing the Nameberry App

Nameberry App
Find your perfect baby name together with our new mobile app.
  • Swipe through thousands of names with your partner
  • Names you match on are saved to your shared list
  • Get personalized recommendations that learn based on your and your partner's preferences
  • Partner with friends and family to find names you all love
  • Backed by Nameberry's 20 years of data around name preferences.
Sign up to be notified when the app launches and to receive a discount on full access.
Nameberry App Logo