Guys! Are youuuuu hot or not?
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Meet Amy Perfors of MIT. On the rating website hot or not dot com, she posted pictures of 24 friends, adding names in the upper corner. She then re-posted, changing the names.
Hotness scores? MUCH different!
For males in particular, a “hot” name contained stressed vowel sounds made in front of the mouth, like “e” or “i.”
Names with rounder vowel sounds, pronounced back of the mouth—like “u”—scored lower.
So Ben is hot. Paul not.
Small SOUNDING names imply smallness, as opposed to hulking, testosterone filled brawn. Perfors guesses women might be drawn to gentler, more sensitive types.
Like Steve Urkel. He’s wearing you down!