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Ethnicity and population structure in personal naming networks
Pablo Mateos1, Paul A Longley, David O'Sullivan
1Department of Geography University College London, London, United Kingdom. p.mateos@ucl.ac.uk
Plos One
|September 13, 2011
Summary
Personal naming practices reveal hidden ethno-cultural structures globally. Naming networks, built from forename-surname data, automatically classify populations, offering insights into migration and integration.
Area of Science:
- Social Sciences
- Human Biology
- Population Genetics
Background:
- Personal naming practices are not random but reflect deep-rooted ethno-cultural customs.
- Contemporary name distributions show distinct geographic, social, and ethno-cultural patterns.
- Previous methods for population classification lacked automated, generalizable approaches.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate how 'naming networks' can represent global cultural, ethnic, and linguistic population structures.
- To develop an automated method for population classification using naming conventions.
- To analyze the emergent social and ethno-cultural clusters within large populations.
Main Methods:
- Construction of 'naming networks' using forename-surname pairs from a large sample across 17 countries.
- Utilizing conventional national data sources (e.g., telephone directories, electoral registers).
- Application of a probabilistic approach for community assignment at city and global scales.
Main Results:
- Naming networks effectively represent cultural, ethnic, and linguistic population structures worldwide.
- Clear social and ethno-cultural clusters were identified, persisting even after migration.
- These clusters emerged organically from individual naming decisions without researcher input.
Conclusions:
- Naming networks offer a novel and valuable method for automated population classification.
- The study reveals insights into population structure, migration, identity, and social integration.
- This approach has significant implications for research in population genetics, public health, and social science.
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