How Keyboards Affect Baby Names

September 28, 2014 in Daily Bulletin

 Kate Gammon wrote about the impact that keyboards are having on babies:

  • Humans have a preference for typing words with keys on the right side of a standard QWERTY keyboard.
  • This is theorized to be because there are fewer keys on the right side, making it easier to type. This also explains why the effect holds true for both left and right handed individuals.
  • The “QWERTY effect” as it is known also seems to be affecting baby names.
  • Since the 1990s, when the keyboard became more widely used, names with letters on the right side of the keyboard such as Olivia, Jacob, and Mia have become more popular.

Read what this says about humanity’s evolving relationship with language, and details of other research into the QWERTY effect here.

Source: Popular Science