Liking for name predicts happiness: A behavioral genetic analysis

• Liking for one’s name is heritable, while unique environment also plays a role.
• Liking for one’s name predicts subjective well-being.
• Name-liking and subjective well-being share some genes and non-shared environments.

Research has established that humans tend to view their names in a positive light and liking for one’s name is positively associated with subjective well-being. In this study, the genetic basis of individual difference in liking for one’s name was examined in a survey of 304 pairs of twins from Beijing, China. Results showed that (1) liking for name was heritable (47%), while unique environment also played a role (53%); (2) the positive association between name-liking and subjective well-being is driven by common genetic (rg: .21–.41) and non-shared environmental (re: .14–.22) influences. These findings have provided novel evidence that liking for one’s name is a fundamentally important trait and further shed light on the understanding of implicit self-esteem.