Phonological Cues Predict Gender of Unfamiliar Names
Saundra Wright
English, CSU Chico

Investigations of first names in English demonstrate that male and female names differ according to phonological characteristics. I show that subjects rely on those same cues when determining gender of unfamiliar names. Subjects were presented with lists of novel names and asked to indicate whether they sounded more masculine or feminine. Results reveal that four phonological traits account for gender identification: syllable structure, coda segments, vowel length, and onset segments. These results support earlier studies suggesting a link between phonology and name patterns. Moreover, they suggest that phonological cues are salient enough to designate gender of names never encountered before.