Sarah Palin hailed as typical representative of frontier naming
By ANIThursday, February 24, 2011
NEW YORK - Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has been hailed as the perfect representative of frontier naming by the author of a book.
According to LiveScience, Palin, 47, whose kids are named Track, Bristol, Willow, Piper and Trig, is said to be a perfect frontier mama by the author of the book ‘Baby Name Wizard’.
“Sarah Palin, even though she talks about traditional values, she’s a perfect representative of frontier naming,” the New York Daily News quoted author Laura Wattenberg as saying.
LiveScience also reported that according to a study published in Psychological Science, mothers who hail from states newer to the union are more likely to choose more unusual names for their babies.
Women from states settled later-including Hawaii, Alaska and Wyoming-tend to choose names that are “high in individualism and foster and reward individualistic values such as uniqueness and self-reliance”.
Researcher Michael Varnum of the University of Michigan believes that wilderness-state settlers managed to make their way in the world with fewer institutions and infrastructure. Fewer rules meant fewer reasons for conventional naming.
“This leads to regional cultures which perpetuate these values, which in turn shape behavioural practices, such as baby naming,” Varnum added.
In contrast, kids who hail from the original 13 colonies are more likely to have more popular, less unique names. (ANI)
