On the Nature of Implicit Self-Esteem: The Case of the Name Letter Effect

In 1811, Napoleon (whose armies occupied The Netherlands) ruled that all Dutch citizens should have their family names registered. At the time of Napoleon's decree, family names were used only by members of the upper class. Thus, this decidedly unpopular decree forced much of the Dutch populace to invent a name for their families. To express their dissatisfaction with Napoleon's ruling, some families engaged in a very creative form of rebellion. Specifically, they registered themselves under ridiculous family names. To the likely delight of many of these Dutch families, Napoleon met his Waterloo four years after his highly resented decree (in 1815). Nevertheless, by this time, it had become clear that there were some practical benefits to the French system of name registration, and this system survived long after Napoleon perished. Notably, few families went to the trouble to erase their ridiculous family names from the official records. Even when it eventually became very easy for subsequent generations of Dutch citizens to change their family names, many found that they had become quite attached to ridiculous family names. Thus, to this day, a substantial number of Dutch families go through life bearing such dubious surnames as Naaktgeboren, Den Boef, and Poepjes (whose respective English translations are "Born Naked", "The Crook", and "Little Poops").