Signaling ethnic-national origin through names? The perception of names from an intersectional perspective.

Abstract

Different methodologies rely on names, by assuming that people clearly and solely perceive signals of ethnic-national origin from names. This study examines the perception of names from an intersectional perspective in a West-European context. Firstly, we analyze whether people perceive signals of ethnic-national origin in names. Secondly, we test the excludability assumption by analyzing whether names signal also other factors. Thirdly, we distinguish between homogenous and mixed names. For these purposes, we collected data on the perception of 180 names in Belgium of Belgian, Moroccan, Turkish, Polish and Congolese origin. It appears that respondents distinguish Belgian from non-Belgian names rather than perceiving a specific ethnic-national origin. Besides, people perceive signals about a person's gender, religiosity, social class and educational level. This implies that scholars should be precautious with comparing discrimination against ethnic groups, if ethnic-national origin is only signaled through names. Moreover, the question arises as to what we are measuring exactly, since names contain complex signals.