- Researchers examined 3 million death certificates from 1802 to 1970 and found out that a racially distinctive name seems to prolong one’s life
- Analysis of data revealed that having a distinctively black name added more than one year of life as compared to other black males
- Researcher said those having traditional names were held to a higher standard in academic and other activities, even implicitly, and had stronger family, church or community ties
WASHINGTON, USA – A new study suggested that having a traditional distinct black name, such as Moses and Elijah, can add up to another year of life.
NDTV mentioned in an article published on March 27 that the study examined 3 million death certificates from 1802 to 1970 and found out that racially distinctive names seemed to have prolonged one’s life.
Earlier studies that analyzed the present widely used black names, like Jamal and Lakisha, revealed that the modern-day names lead to discrimination.
“A number of studies indicate that modern black names can act as a burden whereas our findings show that historical black names conveyed a large advantage over a person’s lifetime,” said Lisa D. Cook.
Cook, who is one of the leading researchers for the study, is also an associate professor at Michigan State University.
The study tabulated the death certificates from four states namely, Alabama, Illinois, Missouri and North Carolina. In studies made during the early 20th century, researchers revealed that there is a set of distinctive names given to black men, like Abraham, Booker and Isaac.
The study made by Cook and her team studied the rate of death among men with those distinct names. The analysis of data revealed that having a distinctively black name added more than one year of life relative to other black males.
Other factors, such as socioeconomic and environmental factors including single-parent households, education and occupation were all ruled out.
“A whole additional year on their lives, in mortality terms, is remarkable,” Cook said.
Explaining the results, Cook said many of the distinctive names come from the Bible and possibly denote empowerment. The researcher said that one theory is that men with these Old Testament names may have been “held to a higher standard in academic and other activities, even implicitly, and had a stronger family, church or community ties.”
An article by Economic Times published on March 26 said that the researchers believed that these stronger social networks could help a person deal with the negative events throughout life.
“I think the teachers in these one-room schoolhouses – teachers who also taught Sunday school – probably placed implicit expectations on students with these distinctive names,” Cook said.
“And I think that gave them a status that they otherwise would not have had,” she added.
Meanwhile, previous research has found out that having distinctive modern names, such as Tremayne and Tanisha, has led to discrimination among job applicants, college students seeking mentors and researchers seeking federal funding.
“When people see a name that’s foreign or strange to them in their profession, implicitly they shut down, as previous studies have shown,” Cook said.
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