  To contribute to understanding of information economies of daily life, this
paper explores over the past millennium given names of a large number of
persons. Analysts have long both condemned and praised mass media as a source
of common culture, national unity, or shared symbolic experiences. Names,
however, indicate a large decline in shared symbolic experience over the past
two centuries, a decline that the growth of mass media does not appear to have
affected significantly. Study of names also shows that action and personal
relationships, along with time horizon, are central aspects of effective
communication across a large population. The observed preference for
personalization over the past two centuries and the importance of action and
personal relationships to effective communication are aspects of information
economies that are likely to have continuing significance for industry
developments, economic statistics, and public policy.
