Class is a concept that is frequently misunderstood. Some think about a socialist class struggle of labor unions against capital, or blue collar against white color. That is not what I mean. I refer to class as the social concept that we are beings with an inborn sense of hierarchy; i.e., we know each other as individuals, and we are willing to accept the leadership of some, but not others.

While knowledge of the local hierarchy worked in small hunter-gatherer packs or small farming communities on the basis of individual knowledge of others, the size of our societies has forced humans to resort to other means. Status symbols signal to others where we stand, and they can take all kinds of forms: it may be the new car in which you pick up your child from school, or her/his new iPod. The symbols change – do you still remember how cool it was to have a Walkman? – but the concept remains.

The fleeting nature of status symbols is accentuated by their inevitable inflation, i.e. once the trendsetters started to have iPods, everyone else followed suit. Names work the same way. The leading classes start giving certain names to their children – names which are subsequently adopted by the masses. This is rational behavior; when you share the name of leaders, you share the goodwill they enjoy.

In the iPod example, the leaders will stay with their gadget until something better comes out. Not so with names. Because names are not chosen because of their “features,” but because of the associations they evoke, the leading class switches to a new name-pool as soon as its prior choices are copied in great numbers. To benefit from the goodwill of upper class names, your child will have to be on the cutting edge of the naming curve. If you come too late, the goodwill is gone. For example, Rebecca, Rachel, and Megan, all front-runners ten year ago, have experienced an erosion of their goodwill through inflationary use. Julian, James, and Ethan are making their ascend – but be quick if you want to follow this trend.

The sources of class perception in our society are income and education. Our reports help you determine your Class Score so you know your child will piggyback on these positive perceptions.