Abstract
This study investigates why some immigrants choose names for their children that are common in their home country whereas others opt for names used by natives in the host country. Drawing on the sociological literature on symbolic boundaries, the first strategy can be described as boundary-maintenance whereas the second can be classified as boundary-crossing. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study and applying bivariate and multivariate methods, two broader explanations for name-giving practices are tested: (1) cultural proximity and the permeability of the symbolic boundary between home and host country; and (2) immigrants’ levels of linguistic, structural, social, and emotional integration in the host country. Overall, the theoretical model explains the differences very satisfactorily. Whilst both sets of factors proved relevant to immigrants’ name-giving practices, the immigrants’ level of integration in the host country was less important than the cultural proximity between the origin group and host country.
Highlights
First names often act as markers of social identity
We started from the hypothesis that immigrants who came from a country with a language that is similar to German are more likely to choose a name for their children that is common in Germany than immigrants who came from a country with a language that is different from German
Higher rates of boundary-crossing in name-giving were expected for those immigrants who came from a country with a language that is similar to German
Summary
First names often act as markers of social identity. They typically reveal information about the person’s gender and sometimes even about their generation, social class, or ethnic origin (Lieberson and Mikelson 1995; Lieberson, Dumais, and Baumann 2000; Sue and Telles 2007). This paper analyzes the strategies of ethnic boundary-making in the name-giving of immigrants coming from 41 different countries and living in Germany.. This paper analyzes the strategies of ethnic boundary-making in the name-giving of immigrants coming from 41 different countries and living in Germany.1 It seeks to explain why some immigrants adopt boundary-crossing strategies while others choose boundary-maintenance strategies. It is proposed that immigrants are more likely to opt for boundary-crossing when (1) the symbolic boundary between the home and host countries is “blurry”; and (2) they are better integrated into the host society in linguistic, structural, social, and emotional terms. Higher rates of boundary-crossing in name-giving were expected for those immigrants who came from a country with a language that is similar to German (hypothesis 1a)
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