Here's what it looks like when you graph the predicted ratios against the actual ratio. The names for which the AI prediction and actual historical data differ are found in the top left and bottom right. The majority of predictions are straightforwardly correct, like Jill or Mohamed: names we might assume go with a specific set of pronouns.

Some names are a bit more interesting, and it's instructive to see where the model messes up:

  • Just like us, the model is strongly influenced by famous people, fictional or not. Most people named Rey in the US are boys, but if you're talking about Rey on the Internet there's a good chance you're talking about the heroine of the third Star Wars trilogy.
  • The model doesn't distinguish between names and other words. That's my theory as to why a name like Robin that is mostly for girls gets misclassified by the model. Similarly, Isis has rather unfortunate modern connotations with the terrorist group that overshadow its use as a girls name. There's some evidence that the meaning of names can influence our own behavior just like it seems to here—we have a strong subliminal positive association with our own names which may influence us to, for example, pick careers that match our name.
  • It's important to remember that the Social Security Administration tracks what gets put on birth certificates. Sasha is a common nickname for Alexander, which explains why the model associates it with men. But the SSA doesn't track what people go by in their daily lives, and if Sasha is on your birth certificate you were probably born a girl.
plot

Here's what it looks like when you graph the predicted ratios against the actual ratio. The names for which the AI prediction and actual historical data differ are found in the top left and bottom right. The majority of predictions are straightforwardly correct, like Jill or Mohamed: names we might assume go with a specific set of pronouns.

Some names are a bit more interesting, and it's instructive to see where the model messes up:

  • Just like us, the model is strongly influenced by famous people, fictional or not. Most people named Rey in the US are boys, but if you're talking about Rey on the Internet there's a good chance you're talking about the heroine of the third Star Wars trilogy.
  • The model doesn't distinguish between names and other words. That's my theory as to why a name like Robin that is mostly for girls gets misclassified by the model. Similarly, Isis has rather unfortunate modern connotations with the terrorist group that overshadow its use as a girls name. There's some evidence that the meaning of names can influence our own behavior just like it seems to here—we have a strong subliminal positive association with our own names which may influence us to, for example, pick careers that match our name.
  • It's important to remember that the Social Security Administration tracks what gets put on birth certificates. Sasha is a common nickname for Alexander, which explains why the model associates it with men. But the SSA doesn't track what people go by in their daily lives, and if Sasha is on your birth certificate you were probably born a girl.
plot