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Comment by nickff | Hacker News Reader

Is it not also possible that the people with Anglicized names are a self-selecting group with high emotional intelligence quotients, or who possess generally above-average self-awareness? Both of these traits are indicative of career success, and make one more likely to change their name.[1]

[1] http://www.eiconsortium.org/reports/business_case_for_ei.htm...

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There are a number of reasons I'd question this line of reasoning, but the biggest one is that many of us did not have a choice - our names were changed without our consent.

Oh yes, I am by no means certain about my line of reasoning, but emotional intelligence and self-awareness are inheritable traits; so even if your parents or grandparents changed their names, it would still indicate an increased likelihood of your possessing these traits.

The point is that a lot of the time immigrants who received Anglicized names did so not because they chose to, but because they happened to get an immigration officer who gave them an Anglicized spelling on Ellis island.

Even if that is true that doesn't contradict the conclusion that having anglicized name helps to earn more. They are inteligent, and they realized the fact their US collegues earn more just because of name, so they changed the name, leaving the gap even bigger for ones that kept up with their original name.

It's possible they changed their name because they wanted to blend in, but that other things they did to blend in were what caused their success, not the name change.

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