Americans used to farm a rich variety of crops. Some were very labour intensive, requiring neighbourly cooperation. In these counties, parents were more likely to give their children names that were common. This may indicate a desire for conformity. By contrast, in areas where farmers could be more self-sufficient, they chose names that were more individualistic. And when exogenous shifts propelled farmers into economic autonomy, they became even more self-expressive.
This podcast digs into a phenomenal new paper by Martin Fiszbein, Yeonha Jung and Dietrich Vollrath https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w29643/w29643.pdf
My Substack: https://draliceevans.substack.com/p/the-roots-of-cooperation