HOW MUCH A NAME REALLY MATTERS? INVESTIGATION OF THE STEREOTYPICAL EVALUATION OF PERSONAL NAMES IN IRAN

The present study investigated how people may evaluate others’ personality by noticing their names in an Iranian community. Before initiating the study, the effective facets based on which names are chosen in Iran including religious belief, historical tendencies and newly fashionable names, were sought. Two hundred students in Ilam University filled out the questionnaire in which 30 names, and 30 attributes, from the three above-mentioned groups were represented. Having analyzed the data, the researchers found out that the participants’ attitudes towards each category were so close to each other. They proposed approximately the same attributes to each group in general and each name in particular. Analysis of the data suggests that people in the given context often shape mental attitudes towards one’s personality by considering his/her name. It was also revealed that stereotypical characters significantly affect the participants’ attitude toward others names.