I really should be in bed right now. But after talking to other new grads in my area that are also jobless I just wanted to get some opinions. Do you feel that people's names may prevent them from getting them a job as a nurse? I know we've all heard, silly names before and I'm just wondering would say, "Ms Poppy Sunflower" be offered a job? Or would a recruiter look at the name and be like, "heck no, trash bin"!
I'm just curious and this is not a slam to anyone who has a name that is different. Shoot my name is completly, better yet, extremly hard to prononue. But even though my name may be hard to pronouce its not silly or childish sounding. I'm wondering would Bambie buttercup find it easy to find employment.
I know this seems like a weird topic (blame it on sleep deprevation). But after talking to some friends about issues that they believe might be preventing them from getting jobs. I just started thinking about how names can effect landing a job as a nurse. My friend was saying her obviously ethnic name might be keeping her from employment because it might be preceived as ghetto. I usually roll my eyes whenever anyone starts swinging the golden race card(you know that card that has the innate ability to seem to be the cause of whatever the user wishes it to be. No matter even if the said offender is of the same race).
But it got me thinking do we really view people by their names. I used silly examples here but is say Jennifer Rose seen as more dependble or gentle towards patients? Would Poppy sunflower be viewed for a job as maybe childish and unreliable. Would Cu'nae Alize' be percieved as ghetto and unprofessional?
Sorry for the long post. But I am curious to what others have experienced relating to this topic or stories they may have heard. I guess I should have not read the silly children's names post tonight either. :)
This is a collection of user-submitted comments on names and naming trends they disagree with. After you go through the entire list, there isn't much left.
Just goes to show that reactions to names are just as individual as the names themselves.
Specializes in Plastics. General Surgery. ITU. Oncology.
LOL that is very funny, However I have worked with a "Blessing" a "Chastity" and a "Gift of God" amongst my African colleagues. Those names are common in African countries.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
what an interesting topic!
i don't know if a person's name has an effect on hiring decisions -- in fact, one place i worked covered up the names on the resumes they had us evaluate. i suspect, however, that it would effect how people who are meeting you for the first time -- or who have heard about you but not met you -- would perceive you. at my current job, we put up big welcome signs with the names of our new hirees on the door to the break room. it's usually not difficult to figure out someone's gender and race with no more information that their name. (i'm not saying that those assumptions are always right, but whether or not they are correct, people do make assumptions.)
i'm english, irish, scots, german, dutch and cherokee. my sister married a chinese man with a very chinese last name. she's also well known in her field. people who meet her for the first time after reading her articles or corresponding with her via email are often very surprised that she isn't asian. i married a hispanic man, and people who meet me for the first time have often created a mental picture of me that includes spanish fluency and dark hair, eyes and complexion. an ex- was french canadian -- when i stayed at a b&b in vancouver years ago, the owners assumed that i would speak french because i had a french surname.
first names lead to assumptions, too. if i told you we were hiring a woman named bertha, what mental image would you have? what if i told you her first name was princess? ping? tiffany? le-a? lady parts, urethra or meconium? you might be willing to give the last three a chance, but you would have already made a judgement about their socioeconomic status and the iqs of their parents.
i've worked with people who choose to use nicknames at work. what mental image to you get knowing your preceptor's name is toot? lovely? sweetie? rock?
should people be judged by their names? of course not. are they? probably.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
so far the responses have been that it not only is possible, but that it does and can happen. i just think it's unfair because people can't pick their names. my daughter has at least 2 girls in her daycare with some variation of the name princess/la'princess. my daughter comes home fuming (she is at that princess stage, where she lives, breaths, and sleeps princess) that i did not name her princess. :)
i just wonder if that practice will come to a stop cause when all these children (really check out the crazy kids name list on this board) with "unique" names grow up maybe it will be less of a shock to see something like apple smith on a resume. thanks for discussing this with me everyone. i am really curious about this topic. off to sleep for now i'll check back in the morning.
if you truly feel that your name is holding you back in life, you may change it. i changed my first name and my last name when i married dh!
Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.
This is a very creative thread and I am thankful to read this. I think that subconsiously, we tend to judge people by their names. I'm African American myself, and my first name is Joy. Last names are common, but hypenated when I got married. When I encounter patients or people in general with the DeShawns, Tamikas, Shequannas, etc, I automatically assume that they are of lower economic status, and unfortunately, they are. It does fit into stereotypes. I just never thought about it until this thread, and now, I plan to pay more attention to my pre-conceived judgements.
I discussed this with a friend of mine that is a teacher at an elementary school yesterday, and she was terribly interested in this. She is also African American, and she told me that her experience is that most of the students that have the names similar to the ones I mentioned are usually the students that gave her more trouble and that their parents were not any better...in fact, she feels that she surely saw how the apples didn't fall far from their tree. She said that uncommon, but more 'tame' names like Chasity, Rain, Storm, etc have had parents that were more 'free and artistic' or metaphysical'. I am truely enjoying this thread, folks. It has made me think, and has been the topic of almost all of my casual conversations as of late.
There's a mentality of "I can do whatever I want and nobody should judge me for it." Which is great, but well, there's reality. If you have 50 piercings and a tattoo on your face, getting a job in an uptight attorney's office probably won't go too well. If you name your kid with a "-" in the middle of it, don't get mad when people don't realize that it's not a silent "-" but you're actually supposed to say "dash" in the middle of the name.
Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.
There's a mentality of "I can do whatever I want and nobody should judge me for it." Which is great, but well, there's reality. If you have 50 piercings and a tattoo on your face, getting a job in an uptight attorney's office probably won't go too well. If you name your kid with a "-" in the middle of it, don't get mad when people don't realize that it's not a silent "-" but you're actually supposed to say "dash" in the middle of the name.
I agree. It is one thing, I believe for an adult to legally change their names to whatever they want, but, some of the names I have seen children burdened with make me shudder and wonder what their adult years will be like. Again, until this thread, I could not put a finger on it, but, now, I know. There is a judgement call made-many times on the parent and suspected background. It may not remain after meeting the person, but sometimes, first impressions are lasting, even on paper or the computer.
Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
QUOTE=rn/writer;4500097. . . .I remember reading an article many years ago that said the mini-series Roots started a trend toward naming black children with pseudo-African names. These were names that sounded ethnic but were invented by the parents. Roots was first aired back in 1977, so now, many of the mothers on my unit have this kind of name.
I think that's right. I worked in a peds hospital then, and over around a three year period of time '77-'79, these names increased dramatically in popularity. There was a parallel phenomenon in play, that actually ended up as the title of a baby name book, "Beyond Jennifer and Jason" I think every male child born to members of my high school graduating class was named Jason. It got to the point I started to call them "the Jasons". The Jasons are now in their late 20s-mid 30s! My how they've grown!
also. . .brief aside to Mr. Ales wherever you are. . . naming your daughter "Ginger" wasn't nearly as cute or funny as you thought it was! :uhoh21:
I wonder if the same goes for people with who have names that are more often used for the opposite sex. For instance, a guy named Kelly or Shannon? Or a girl named Charli or Alex.
I never really thought of my name as a "guys" name but over the years I have gotten more emails addressed to "Mr." than I can count. My name is used for both males and females (probably about equally) but each usually with a different spelling ('K' typically for girls and 'C' for boys) and mine is with the more typical "male" spelling. It makes me wonder, when applying for jobs in the Nursing field, if I should include my, very obviously female, middle name. Just a thought.
But even though my name may be hard to pronouce its not silly or childish sounding. I'm wondering would Bambie buttercup 
iNurseUK, RN
348 Posts
The NHS have a bad habit of putting your full name on your ID badge.
So if you were named Tarquin Fin-tim-lin-bin-whin-bim-lim-bus-stop-F'tang-F'tang-Olé-Biscuitbarrel hard luck. The whole world could read it
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