Submitted by beingsubmitted t3_z4el7h in dataisbeautiful
unenlightenedgoblin t1_ixt8a82 wrote
Reply to comment by beingsubmitted in Trendeigh: Popularity of "eigh" in US names 1910-2020 [OC] by beingsubmitted
I can’t prove causality, I could prove correlation, but frankly it isn’t worth the effort to gather and interpret all the necessary data. If you’re interested, I’d encourage you to test the correlation that I suggest.
If I were to string together an anecdotal argument for causality, however, it would be a sense of threatened white identity. The linkages between this belief and Republican political affiliation are well-documented. To extend this to the significant trend and spatial distribution in names your data shows (1.5% is significant from a possible sample of 000s of names), I would contend that this is a form of ‘defensive’ cultural consolidation of rural whites who feel threatened by national shifts in ethnic composition, share of college-educated adults, and economic growth heavily favoring metropolitan areas.
It’s a way of saying ‘we’re different, we’re not like them’
beingsubmitted OP t1_ixu3b2b wrote
>1.5% is significant from a possible sample of 000s of names
A percentage is already "out of". It's already a ratio.
How would fearing a loss of identity lead to abandoning that identity and inventing a new one?
Fearing a loss of identity is not the same as trying to establish an identity. It's very much the opposite.
I see no compelling reason for the hypothesis you suggest.
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