Signatures of geography, climate and foliage on given names of baby girls

Parents often weigh social, familial and cultural considerations when choosing their baby's name, but the name they choose could potentially be influenced by their physical or biotic environments. Here we examine whether the popularity of month and season names of girls covary geographically wi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Evolutionary human sciences 2022, Vol.4, p.e56-e56, Article e56
Main Authors: Huey, Raymond B, Miles, Donald B
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Autumn
Babies
Births
Children & youth
climate influence on culture
Culture
Foliage
Given names
Hypotheses
Names
onomastics
Phenology
seasonality
Seasons
Social security
Trends
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Summary:Parents often weigh social, familial and cultural considerations when choosing their baby's name, but the name they choose could potentially be influenced by their physical or biotic environments. Here we examine whether the popularity of month and season names of girls covary geographically with environmental variables. In the continental USA, April, May and June (Autumn, Summer) are the most common month (season) names: April predominates in southern states (early springs), whereas June predominates in northern states (later springs). Whether April's popularity has increased with recent climate warming is ambiguous. Autumn is most popular in northern states, where autumn foliage is notably colourful, and in eastern states having high coverage of deciduous foliage. On a continental scale, Autumn was most popular in English-speaking countries with intense colouration of autumn foliage. These analyses are descriptive but indicate that climate and vegetation sometimes influence parental choice of their baby's name.
ISSN:2513-843X
2513-843X
DOI:10.1017/ehs.2022.53