Linguistic/Social

Barry, H. and Harper, A.S. ‘Feminization of unisex names from 1960 to 1990’ Names 41:4 (Dec 1993), 228-238
Abstract: authors abstract: "The evolution of the use of unisex given names was studied in an examination of the frequencies of names given to boys and girls in 1960 and 1990. Data were taken from the electronic data files of the PA State Health Data Center. A total of 33 unisex names, given with substantial frequency to children of both sexes, was identified. An examination of baby name books reveals that most of these unisex names were, prior to 1960, given mostly to boys, whereas in 1990 most of these names were given to girls. The findings support previous findings that names tend to evolve from masculine to unisex to feminine over time"

Barry, H. and Harper, A.S. ‘Final letter compared with final phoneme in male and female names Names 51:1 (2003), 13-34

Barry, H. and Harper, A.S. ‘Increased choice of female phonetic attributes between first names of boys and girls’ Sex Roles 32 (1995), 809-819

Barry, H. and Harper, A.S. ‘Phonetic differentiation between first names of boys and girls’ in: Proceedings of the XIXth International Congress of Onomastic Sciences, Aberdeen, August 4-11, 1996 edited by W.F.H Nicolaisen. Aberdeen, University of Aberdeen

Barry, H. and Harper A.S. ‘Persistent popularity of male last letter in female first names’ in : A Garland of Names: Selected Papers of the Fortieth Names Institute ed. W Finke & L Ashley, East Rockaway, NY : Cummings & Hathaway, 2003. viii, 158 pp.

Barry, H. and Harper A.S. ‘Sex differences in linguistic origins of personal names’ in:Names New and Old : Papers of the Names Institute Volume II- Revised 2nd edition, edited by E. Wallace McMullen, Lewiston: Lampeter, E. Mellen Press, 2002 (Isbn 0773475346)

Barry, H. and Harper A.S. ‘Three last letter identify most female first names ‘ Psychological Reports 87 (2000), 48-5

Brennan,T. ‘On the meaning of personal names : a view from cognitive psychology’ Names 48 (2000) , 139-4

Crystal, David The Cambridge encyclopaedia of the English language’ Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2002
Notes: Section on Names

Crystal, David The stories of English London : Allen Lane, 2004. – 0713997524
Notes: [Chapter 6] Interlude 6- Lay subsidy dialects pp 140-143 includes map 6.4 – ‘The distribution of q-, wh-, and w- spellings in personal names in East Midland Lay Subsidy Rolls’

Cutler, A., McQueen, J.M. & Robinson, K. ‘Elizabeth and John: sound patterns of men’s and women’s names’ Journal of Linguistics 26 (1990), 471-482
Notes: essential to read Carole Hough (2000) as a corollary
Abstract: First names in English resemble the rest of the vocabulary: they tend to be mono- or bisyllabic, and to begin with strong syllables. But the sound patterns of men’s and women’s first names show systematic differences. Women’s names tend to be longer than men’s; they are far more likely to begin with an unstressed syllable; and they are more likely to contain the vowel [i]. These asymmetries may reflect the operation of phonetic symbolism via a principle of phonological weight; preferred ordering in conjunctions may also play a role.

Duffy, J.C. and Ridinger,B. ‘ Stereotyped connotations of masculine and feminine names’ Sex Roles 7 (1981), 25-33

Hough, Carol ‘Towards an explanation of phonetic differentiation in masculine and feminine personal names’ Journal of Linguistics 36 (2000) , 1-11
Abstract: Recent research has identified characteristic differences between the phonetic structures of names and of ordinary nouns, with particularly distinctive patterns being exhibited by feminine personal names. No explanation has yet been found. This paper suggests that the solution lies not in the English sound system, as has previously been assumed, but in differences between the linguistic origins of the various types of material..

Kelly, B. Leben, W. and Cohen, R. ‘The meanings of consonants’ Lexicon Branding,Inc. 2003
Notes: suggests that obstruents like [g] [b] and [k] are perceived as ‘hard’ and therefor masculine; whilst in contrast, postulates that sonorants like [l], [n] and [r] are ‘soft’ and feminine. Application to given names?

Lieberson, Stanley and Bell, E.O. ‘Children’s first names : an empirical study of social taste’ American Journal of Sociology 98 (1992), 511-554

Mehrabian, A. ‘Impressions created by given names’ Names 34 (1997), 19-33

Perfors, Amy ‘What’s in a name? the effect of sound symbolism on perception of facial attractiveness poster presentation

Slater, A.S. and Feinman, S ‘Gender and the phonology of North American first names’ Sex Roles 13 (1985), 429-440