“Wetin dey inside name? Di thing wey we dey call rose, even if e get another name, e go still sweet like dat.”

Shakespeare talk dis one for im play, Romeo and Juliet. Di Bard famous quote don turn part of pop culture, wey you fit see for coffee mugs, T-shirts, and greeting cards.

But if you ask people wey dey study di science of names – wetin dem dey call onomastics – di answer fit shock you. Names, according to experts, na di beginning of person identity and e dey represent di person life as "symbol of di self." E dey show who di person be or di ethnic or religious background wey dem come from.

But name fit also cause wahala like racist bias, especially for US and Europe. If your name dey sound like Arab, e fit hard you to get job for US or Europe pass person wey get Western-sounding name. One study wey dem call “Are Emily and Greg More Employable Than Lakisha and Jamal?” show dis kain discrimination.

Di study wey two economists – Marianne Bertrand and Sendhil Mullainathan – do, test di theory say name fit affect job opportunity for Chicago and Boston because of discrimination for labour market. Dem create 5,000 resumes, some get White-sounding names while others get Black-sounding names. Dem also add different qualifications – some get better experience and skills, others no too qualify – and dem send am give employers wey advertise job.

Di result show say even when Black-sounding names get better qualifications, dem still no get as much response as White-sounding names. White-sounding names get 50% more response. Di economists write say, "Based on our estimates, White name dey bring as much callback as extra eight years of experience. Since we assign di names randomly, di gap na because of name discrimination."

For di bigger political level, dis study dey show di economic and political gap wey still dey between developed countries and underdeveloped ones wey get colonial history. Experts also talk say name dey affect people life beyond di business world.

David Zhu, professor for Arizona State University, talk say, "Because name dey identify person and we dey use am to communicate everyday, e dey form di foundation of how person see imself, especially in relation to others."

Rare name fit make person feel isolated or even lead dem to commit crime. Studies also show say name fit reduce di chance to find life partner. Different theories dey try explain why dis dey happen.

One theory na Nominative Determinism, wey mean say name fit influence wetin person go do for life. For English, words like euonym and aptronym dey describe how name fit match di person or di work dem dey do. Dis theory first come from CR Cavonius, ordinary reader of New Scientist journal.

Example na di surnames of AJ Splatt and D Weedon wey write article about incontinence for British Journal of Urology. Psychologist Jen Hunt also talk say authors dey like research wey match dia surname. She write dis for article wey she title "The Psychology of Reference Hunting."

Plenty examples dey. Sigmund Freud, founder of psychoanalysis, talk about joy for life, and im last name mean "person wey dey happy." Carl Gustav Jung, Freud student, also believe dis idea wey dem later call nominative determinism.

But some scholars no agree with dis theory. Dem prefer di idea of implicit egotism, wey talk say people dey make choices unconsciously based on wetin dem like about dia self. Uri Simonsohn, psychologist, argue say people dey choose spouse, place to live, and work wey get name similar to dia own.

Simonsohn talk say di evidence of implicit egotism dey plenty. For example, people dey like letters wey dey dia name pass other letters. Jesse Singal, investigative journalist, also explain say di idea say name fit predict life outcome don get scientific backing.