Uncommon given names and attendance at pediatric medical genetics services: a single-center study from Mexico

Uncommon given names have long carried social and cultural meanings that may influence clinical perceptions and healthcare interactions. This study examined whether the rarity of given names among children attending a pediatric medical genetics service in Mexico is associated with a higher likelihood of attending for evaluation of rare or inherited diseases.

This observational, retrospective, cross-sectional study compared name records from the Medical Genetics clinic at Hospital Pediátrico Villa (HPV; n = 206, first year of operation) against the national INEGI population database (2017-2021; n > 10 million). Names were classified as uncommon using a pre-specified frequency threshold (< 1 in 13,463), with explicit conventions for compound names and spelling variants. A sensitivity analysis estimated the statistical power achieved across a range of hypothetical odds ratios (OR 1.5-6), using the observed proportion of uncommon names in the reference population (64.5%) as the baseline. As an exploratory secondary analysis addressing, name frequency was additionally compared against an internal non-attendance comparison group drawn from the hospital's well-child pediatric visits during the same study period (n = 115, census sampling).

No statistically significant association was found between name rarity and genetics clinic attendance at any frequency threshold (primary OR = 1.0; 95% CI: 0.8-1.4; p = 0.87). Sensitivity analysis showed that given the high proportion of uncommon names in the reference population (64.5%), the available sample achieved adequate power (≥ 80%) to detect odds ratios as low as 1.5; detecting smaller, near-null effects below this threshold would have required samples ranging from roughly 240 to several thousand participants. The exploratory comparison against this internal well-child control group likewise showed no statistically significant difference (OR = 0.7; 95% CI: 0.4-1.1; p = 0.14), a difference plausibly attributable to the substantial age gap between groups (6.0 vs. 3.4 years) rather than to attendance status.

Uncommon given names are not appreciably enriched among patients attending this genetics clinic relative to the general population. These non-significant findings carry direct clinical value, suggesting that name distinctiveness alone should not be assumed to enrich genetics clinic populations in this context, and are consistent with evidence that structural barriers, cost, workforce shortages, and limited clinician training, are the principal determinants of access to genetic services in Latin America. Multi-site studies linked to national registries are needed to adequately power future confirmatory research.