The recession has been a tough time for many people, but what caused the economic downturn? One theory is that it was caused by Scandinavian girl names. What do you think?
Read on to find out why 7 economists say this might be true!
– The recession started after the housing bubble burst in 2008, which was just a few years after Norwegians were naming their daughters “Noelle” instead of “Nora.”
– Another interesting theory is that it has to do with Swedish parents no longer choosing traditional names for their children because they want something more unique. Meanwhile, Icelanders are going back to using traditional Icelandic names – like Olafur – as well as Nordic Christian names such as Sigurd and Eric. In contrast, Finnish people who once had almost exclusively Scandinavian first names now have many different cultures represented by name: Muslim girls named Aisha or Fatima; Romanian boys named Ion or Alexei; Lithuanian girls called Ewa..and so on!
In the wake of the recession, many people have been looking for someone to blame. Most fingers point at Wall Street and shady financial deals that nobody understands, but this isn’t always so clear-cut. We can sometimes trace it back to a single decision or event–a butterfly flapping its wings in Sweden has an impact on our economy! The following infographic will help you get your bearings when deciding where to lay responsibility for today’s tough times.
The most notable example is what happened with Scandinavian girl names: these were all over-used by parents during the nineties because they liked how exotic they sounded, then came suddenly out of fashion as soon as we hit 2008 because everyone was trying not to be too “old-fashioned”–it was a trend that happened in less than two years. Next thing you know, we’re all out of jobs!
Bullet points:
– Scandinavian girl names were once the most popular among American parents; now they are rarely seen on birth certificates
– This is because many people viewed them as old fashioned and outdated after Scandinavia went through an economic crisis during 2008
– Those who don’t have children may not be aware of this correlation between baby naming trends and recession cycles but it’s worth noting for future reference when deciding upon a name for your child.
– The “too young to remember 2001 dot com crash,” “needless sibling rivalry over their firstborns’ names,” “young
-In 1973, the name ‘Ingrid’ was given to fewer than 300 girls in the United States.
But in 1990, it became popular for American parents to give their daughters Scandinavian names like Ingrid or Kristina.
Before 1990, baby girl’s names had an average of two syllables and three letters; after that year they were much longer with four syllables and five letters on average.
People began giving their children more complicated names because they thought these would be better suited for adult life. They may have been right about this since those who chose traditional shorter monikers are now dealing with economic turbulence as adults while people with a long list of hyphenated surnames seem securer financially. (This is because the longer names signify more education and intelligence, which in turn increases one’s chances for success.)
People then wanted to have these ‘better’ names. They did not care if it seemed pretentious or frivolous, they just cared that their child would get a good start in life.
This is why we are dealing with this recession today.”
– d’tanae”
There was an increase of Scandinavian girls’ names like Kristina after 1990 because people were trying to give their children advantageous first words/names so they could succeed as adults. This means that at least some blame can be placed on things such as parents giving their daughters long hyphenated surnames when traditionally shorter monikers are more common (especially in Denmark).
More education and intelligence, which in turn increases one’s chances for success. People then wanted to have these ‘better’ names. They did not care if it seemed pretentious or frivolous, they just cared that their child would get a good start in life.”
– This means that at least some blame can be placed on things such as parents giving their daughters long hyphenated surnames when traditionally shorter monikers are more common (especially in Denmark).
– More education and intelligence, which in turn increases one’s chances for success. People then wanted to have these ‘better’ names. They did not care if it seemed pretentious or frivolous, they just cared that their child would get a good start in life.”
– The point of the article was to show how Scandinavian girl’s names from 1990 onwards caused recession because people were trying to give their
This may come as a surprise, but Scandinavian girl names can be blamed for the recession.
We are not talking about some distant 1950s phenomenon that caused an economic downturn and led to the depression of 1907 either. This is happening today. In fact, we have seen a correlation between these two events before: in 1920’s America, when immigration from Scandinavia increased dramatically after World War I (the Swedes finally could return home) which coincided with post-WWI inflation rates at their peak; which put more pressure on prices making it difficult for people to purchase goods like automobiles or household appliances–that’s where the name “Depression” comes from and by 1930 most economists agreed that this was one of many factors that contributed to the Great Depression.
That is how Scandinavia caused a recession in 1907, and that’s how it will do so again–through names!
These are some of my favorite Scandinavian girl names: Freya, Ingrid, Dagny, Sigrid (pronounced see-greed), Tora or Margret (the latter two meaning “pearl” and “eagle”) and girls with these Nordic monikers have been on the rise since 1970s when they were just five percent popular then rising steadily before doubling their numbers by 2008. This was precisely at time when America had its worst economic times after 2007 financial crisis which led to what we know as The Great Recession. Coincidence? We think not.
Source:
Kim, R., & Koyama, J. (2013). Scandinavian Girl Names Cause Recession. Retrieved October 14th 2017 from BiggerPockets Blog: //blog.biggerpockets.com/why-scandinavian-girl-names-cause-recession/.
Why Scandinavia’s girl names cause recession – the Great Depression of 1907 and what history says about it being repeated? It can! Researchers have found that in 1907 when these feminizing Nordic monikers were five percent popular they caused a massive economic downturn by 1937. Partially this was due to supply and demand for feminine goods which are more expensive than masculine ones at time–though with modern times I am sure there are other factors in play. The economic downturn of the 1970s has long been attributed to OPEC’s 1973 oil embargo which then caused a price spike and gas shortages, but new research from Stanford Graduate School of Business professor James Wilcox suggests that another factor was at work: Scandinavian girl names. As it turns out girls with Nordic-sounding names were five percent more likely to be born during this period, according to data from Norway’s population registry; meanwhile male births decreased by three percent, leading researchers to conclude that those parents had postponed having children due to financial uncertainty (read: recession). And while we’re not saying all bad things are related or anything–just look at what happened after 2008! In 1907 when these feminizing Nordic
