FIRST-NAME DESIRABILITY AND ADJUSTMENT - SELF-SATISFACTION, OTHERS RATINGS, AND FAMILY BACKGROUND

The association between undesirable first names and poor psychological adjustment has been studied by several investigators. However, it is not clear if self-ratings, commonness, or others' ratings of name desi rability are most important in this relationship. In addition, family background might influence both psychological adjustment and first nam es. In a sample of undergraduates and their same-sex siblings (n = 294 ), self-satisfaction with first names predicted adjustment more consis tently than did name commonness and others' ratings of name desirabili ty. Using a paired-siblings design to control for family background, t he sibling with higher scores on adjustment was also more satisfied wi th his or her name and received higher name desirability ratings from others. Results are discussed in terms of identity and the looking-gla ss self.