Can A Name Make You Live Longer?

Popular actor and film director Woody Allen once said, “If only God would give me a simple sign, like making a deposit in my name in a bank!” Who knows? Perhaps the problem was that his name is Woody, and not Antonio. Perhaps with a different name he would have received his long-awaited income.

What do we mean by this? If we look at a study published by Lisa D. Cook of MSU (Michigan State University), it seems that a name can make you live longer. And not only that, it is also a reason for your life to be more bitter … or not.

Studies on names

The study that has been carried out within the MSUs in the United States has shown that black men with names considered racial who died between 1802 and 1970 lived on average one year longer than their race companions.

Although it seems incredible, this study joins other research that has already shown the surprising news, a name can extend a person’s life. Will you change your idea when deciding what you would call your son?

In this study it has been revealed that names like Moses, who in Spanish we know as Moisés, and Elijah, who we call Elías, lived longer than their peers between 1802 and 1970. In total, about 365 days on average.

To end this surprising conclusion, a total of 3 million names were studied through their death certificates divided among four states, North Carolina, Missouri, Illinois and Alabama.

It should also be noted that this study has ruled out a series of factors such as environmental, educational levels, socioeconomic capacities and the occupation of each of the involuntary deaths that have been the object and part of the research.

Benefits of having one name or another

According to study author Lisa D. Cook, having one racial name or another has clear benefits. In this case, it seems clear that being black and being called Moses or Elijah is a reason to live longer, yes, knowing the time and the area of ​​the world, was it really an advantage?

To Cook’s research are added other studies that say a racial name like Jamal or Lakisha are conducive to discrimination. However, no data are known about the life expectancy of those who are called that.

Be that as it may, it seems that in the group of black people in the United States, the name is associated with the conditions and quality of life. What was once a longevity advantage can be a notable problem today.

Curious Biblical Theories

Distinctive names such as Moses or Elijah come from the biblical scriptures. In this case, these historical persons denote “empowerment”. According to religious theorists, this fact enables them to reach higher academic levels.

In the same line of thought, it is established that these names allow their bearers to have deeper and more intimate family ties. This uniqueness also happens within your religious community.

Thus, these primitive social networks would have cushioned the pain in the face of losses and increased the determination in the face of difficulties. Two factors that on the other hand are related to a longer life expectancy.

Other theories about names

Another detail, which arises from other previous research, is that those that present less complexity when pronouncing them are better. Thus, those who have “more pronounceable” names tend to have a better quality of life than someone in similar conditions with another name that is more complex to pronounce.

According to many unique studies, the chances of being hired in a job increase if you have a common name. Meanwhile, the weirdest and most peculiar tend to be associated more with conflict, such as juvenile delinquency, for example. By this we do not mean that it is necessarily so, but studies show that we tend to have this association.

Does this mean that we have to take statistics into account when choosing a name for our offspring? There is no doubt that there are a priori factors that will condition his life to a greater extent than the name we choose for him. Thus, choosing it for this would not make sense since the individual differences found in the studies are large.

Our intention with this article is nothing more than to reveal a curious fact that, on the other hand, does not stop hiding other types of associations that may not surprise us so much, as there are certain names that occur more in certain social strata. So it is not the name that produces the association, but it is the social stratum and the comforts that the child can access that will most condition their quality of life.