Does our first name have a direct impact on our IQ level? This is the question that researchers at Stanford University tried to answer through a study according to which these ten first names tend to obtain a lower intelligence quotient than the average.
Choosing a first name is never easy for many future parents. It is indeed difficult to find the ideal first name capable of satisfying everyone around you while meeting your own expectations. And if parents who fear seeing their offspring mocked in the playground because of their first name sometimes think about the symbolism of different first names, it is rare to see research interested in first names from a scientific point of view.
In the United States, researchers from the University of Stanford were interested in the link between first name and intelligence quotient (IQ). In a study whose results were shared in October 2022, university scientists analyzed the first names of 70,000 volunteers who were also subjected to tests to measure their intelligence quotient. As a reminder, the intelligence quotient, or IQ, is the result of a psychometric test which intends to provide a standardized quantitative indication of human intelligence.
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Does first name influence IQ?
Generally speaking, an IQ around 100 is considered to be around the overall average. When this intelligence quotient falls below 85, it is considered “low” from the point of view of this measurement system. A widely controversial and above all quantitative measurement tool, but to claim to measure the intelligence of an individual it is necessary to take into account as many quantitative as qualitative elements, human intelligence being more complex to conceptualize than through ‘an integer.
As part of the study, however, Stanford researchers revealed a correlation between an individual’s first name and the level of their intelligence quotient. According to the results shared as part of their research, the ten first names below are associated with lower intelligence quotients. This is particularly the case for the Jonathans who demonstrate an average IQ of 80 as part of the study.. Then follows Alice (82), Hervé (83), Manuel (84), Louise (85), Emma (86), Olivier (86.5) And Carolina (86.5).
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Finally come the Thimothée and the Juliewho get a Average IQ of 87 as part of this study conducted at Stanford in 2022. Results that should be handled with a grain of salt given the controversy generated by IQ tests. Furthermore, correlation is not the same as causation.
A journalist passionate about social issues and current affairs, Hugo puts his pen at the service of information. Interested in all themes, from the impact of artificial intelligence on…